http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_223.html
I can’t have been the only one who thought of tribbles… and they’re a lot cuter than aphids.
I’d like to see some actual evidence behind this so-called “one human example of parthogenesis”.
That’s a Great Debate, by definition.
Two words baby!
DARTH VADER!
Allow me to add a :dubious: to this comment as well.
This “one example” is documented by thin anecdotal evidence only–with none contemporaneous to the alleged event–and with substantial reason to doubt its veracity.
Cecil blew it here, in my opinion.
I thought Anakin’s life was very well documented.
Those were documentaries right? :dubious:
…Because of the religious implications?
When Cecil writes an articles about religion, does a comment on the column, by definition, belong in GD? I would think such a thread would be moved from GD to CoCC.
of course, that comment is probably better suited to ATMB.
As an aside, while exceedingly rare, some scottish women seem to have been rather concerned about the possibility of a virgin birth.
So, there is actually more than one documented case of virgin birth, though as with the purported “one known case” the validity of the claim can be called into question.
There are many claims, a number of which have been investigated by doctors and scientists and deemed valid. Below is a story of one of them and a link to reports of case studies on several more.
One night in Hanover, Germany, in 1944, a young woman was caught on the streets in an Allied bombing raid. She was unable to find her way to a shelter, and was thrown to the pavement by the blast of a bomb in a nearby street. She recovered from minor injuries, but nine months later gave birth to a daughter. This baby girl had identical fingerprints, blood type, and other indicators to her mother. The woman adamantly maintained that she had not had sex, and medical tests supported her claim. How was the child conceived? Examining doctors hypothesised that the shock of the bomb may have jarred a dormant body cell within the woman’s womb, triggering parthenogenesis - nonsexual reproduction. {http://www.theolarts.org/Parthenogenesis.html}
*Dear Cecil:
With regard to your column about aphids being born pregnant, you said, “virgin birth is rare in humans (one known case).” Aren’t you going to tell us about the one known case? -Alison True, Chicago
Cecil replies:
Well, I suppose I could, Alison. But it’s been pretty well publicized.*
… yah, I just got that one…
I call Urban Legend or similar: not even identical twins have identical fingerprints, because while the general layout is genetic, the details of the fingerprints depend on development in the womb.
I’d like to know what tests those were, since last I checked, that was impossible.
Mythbusters tested a similar (nearly exact) myth that took place during the U.S. Civil War. In that instance, impregnation was by musket ball. They showed that the biological material required for the occurance would not have survived the journey.
Jesus. Perhaps some people take some things a bit too seriously.
It was obvious to me on first reading that Cecil was making a reference of this sort, which would hardly constitute “blowing it”.
Oh, that homepage linked to with the story is from a theosophy guy … so I wouldn’t call it “scientific evidence” by a looooong stretch.
[QUOTE=Khangol]
Jesus. Perhaps some people take some things a bit too seriously./QUOTE]
:rolleyes: