Heh. I am now envisioning Voltaire saying something like, "But of course, Maupertuis, I will duel you... with words!" and challenging him to, idk, publicly make up a sonnet sequence from scratch or something :D
I was reminded of Virchow and Bismarck and was going to link you to the sausage story, but then Wikipedia told me it was apocryphal (well, it was too good to be true):
He was opposed to Bismarck's excessive military budget, which angered Bismarck sufficiently that he challenged Virchow to a duel in 1865. Virchow declined because he considered dueling an uncivilized way to solve a conflict. Various English-language sources purport a different version of events, the so-called "Sausage Duel". It has Virchow, being the one challenged and therefore entitled to choose the weapons, selecting two pork sausages, one loaded with Trichinella larvae, the other safe; Bismarck declined. However, there are no German-language documents confirming this version.
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timeasmymeasure
Re: A duel for science...or insanity??
Date: 2025-06-01 03:01 am (UTC)Re: A duel for science...or insanity??
Date: 2025-06-01 03:05 am (UTC)He was opposed to Bismarck's excessive military budget, which angered Bismarck sufficiently that he challenged Virchow to a duel in 1865. Virchow declined because he considered dueling an uncivilized way to solve a conflict. Various English-language sources purport a different version of events, the so-called "Sausage Duel". It has Virchow, being the one challenged and therefore entitled to choose the weapons, selecting two pork sausages, one loaded with Trichinella larvae, the other safe; Bismarck declined. However, there are no German-language documents confirming this version.
Awww. :P
Re: A duel for science...or insanity??
Date: 2025-06-01 07:32 am (UTC)Re: A duel for science...or insanity??
Date: 2025-06-01 01:15 pm (UTC)