For those of you who want more on this subject, albeit in a fictional sense, I recommend the nifty British crime series “Ripper Street”, which is set in Whitechapel in 1888. The fictional police portrayed in the series are shown utilizing some of the forensic techniques covered in the video.
Like labeling and categorizing store products because Victorians would drop dead after eating cake baked with rat poison mistaken for a cake ingredient 🍰💀
@@SonOfTheDawn515 good point, thank goodness we have the means for empirical evidence to prove a person innocent or not. I can only imagine how many people were wrongly convicted and how many were free… it happens now even despite our technology
Some people realized as early as 1788 that fingerprints could be used to identify individual people, yet they were hardly ever used in criminal investigations until almost the end of the 19th century. This is an example of “cultural lag”- the gap in time between a discovery or invention and its being widely adopted in society.
Watch Murdoch Mysteries! It's a crime show set in the Victorian-Edwardian era in Toronto Canada. Not sure how accurate their investigations are but still very interesting!
I've always found the field of forensics fascinating, case in point, I watch Forensic Files. However, I had no idea that some of the most common methods used in forensics originated in the Victorian Era. In conclusion, Weird History is awesome.
It wasn't until Jack, when a true focus was placed on serial killers. His bodies were found, it's the killers who don't leave corpses lying around like Hansel and Gretals bread crumbs, that existed long before Jack. Many of the Wild West Gun Slingers could be considered serial killers.
I was thinking the same thing. While victorian england was in full swing the wild west was full of gunslingers and murderers. Even the police were mass murderers, since it was easier to deal with a criminal that way than to have a trial in a land that was still technically lawless
Like who? Many gun slingers from the wild west killed in mutual combat or as a way to achieve their goal(robbery, cattle rustling, escaping the law) where the goal for a serial killer is killing. Plus serial killers are usually beta-males, that pick targets that are weaker than them.
Yes, but most of them were not in an ideal situation to have perpetrated the murders, as they were dead, decomposing, and in many cases, buried beneath six feet of earth.
@@nicksosicc rich business owners wanted all thieves punished and removed from society. now, it is the only way to *legally* get free slave labor in the USA.
It's interesting to see how perspectives changed as science discovered more. I'd like to know how the polygraph came to be considered a "lie detector" when it's mostly useless as such.
Same. I’m sure it had something to do with the sci-fi aspects of a machine being able to decipher human emotions. When I was a kid, the idea of a device being able to tell if a human was lying or not was fascinating because one never knows what someone else is truly thinking and personal bias can always cloud the information one receives. Now that I’m an adult, the whole idea seems crazy given that we have to prove to computers that we’re not a robot.
Mostly because of pop culture depictions & oversimplification. The polygraph was never a "lie" detector. It only ever detected changes in the subject's vital signs. At the time the theory was that while lying, most people would have some increase in anxiety, vs when they were being honest. This isn't an unreasonable theory & in fact is partially true. The problem is the "partially" part of that. The theory has many complications & pitfalls. For example the person must know that what they are saying is not true, be intentionally deceptive, & have a negative emotional reaction while being deceptive. A person can say something factually untrue, but if they believe it is true, they aren't actually lying. When stating facts people can make honest mistakes & unintentionally say something untrue, they are not actually lying either. And of course, even if someone is intentionally deceptive, they may not have an emotional change while telling the lie. They may practiced liars, or even psychopaths, the "lie detector" does not work well on such people. These complications have always existed, but in mass adoption & pop culture these complications were simply "swept under the rug" & the simplistic viewpoint of a "lie detecting machine" took over.
"How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?" Arthur Conan Doyle, The Sign of Four
@@lilgabs222 Because it is preposterous. Real investigation is hard work. The idea of eliminating all the impossibles is ridiculous. You can rule out suspects, but there is no way to eliminate possible perpetrators you do not know about. You do not solve crimes by proving negatives. You have to prove that a specific person did the deed.
Among the many screwups of the Ripper investigation, the English were adamant that the killer had to be a "foreigner", since " no Englishman would ever perpetrate such a horrific crime". And they invariably depicted fanciful illustrations of what they thought the killer might look like as brutal, almost primitive looking men. God forbid that a nice looking gentleman could ever do such terrible things!
This was fascinating. I highly recommend "The Poisoner's HandBook: The Birth of Forensic Science in the Jazz Era"... The book gives examples of tests discovered and refined by a doctor and Police official in the early 1900s. The author gives fascinating accounts of grisly murders as well as fatal accidents that occurred during the early 1900s. U.S. Prohibition caused many to turn to wood alcohol for their liquor needs and it caused blindness and often death. There is also a case of a woman murdering her younger brother, but she was acquitted due to lack of test accuracy related to the poison she used. Years later, she repeated her crime against her mother-in-law, but this time the authorities were ready for her and upon exhuming the bodies they proved she laced her victim's food with rat poison. I cannot recall if she was hanged or if she was given the electric chair.
Never sneer at someone who started something that flourished. You can giggle now and again at some of their zannier moments, but always recognize them as the attempts of a pioneer.
Imagine having these amazing ideas 💡 And then even going so far to reach out and tell people about your invention and then no one can actually use it for at least another 50 years when you’re dead. 🥴
Loved this one! I have a book that was written late 1800’s, early 1900’s I believe. The author goes into detail about transference. Every crime scene has it. We just moved so the book is still in one of too many boxes. It’s fascinating and truly brilliant. The author’s methods are still used to this day along with the many other technological advances. At first, his book book was considered tosh. Now it’s on it the list of books requirements for all Forensic students.
@@malkomalkavian evidence example if you were at a crime scene you could leave hair, skin and fiber behind. Also you could pick up the same thing and take it with you.
Can you make a video about scientific advancements/contributions that were actually invented by people of colour (black, east/south Asian, indigenous, etc)
Ok, this is kind of a catch for me: I think it would have been so cool to be so cool to be a doctor in the Victorian era, but I also think it would have been cool to be able to (more or less) literally get away with murder lol. Great video!!
Then Jack the Ripper wouldn't be famous. He'd be just another of the countless men killing women. That he is still unknown is what makes him so well-known, ironically.
*you may have covered this aspect of crime investigation on another video but here in Knoxville TN we have the Body Farm that was started by Dr Bass at the University of Tennessee and has since been replicated in many other places...*
I do love these topics! If you are interested in the weird, astounding and ghoulish historic aspects of health, hygiene, and the human body, Dr. Lindsay Fitzharris is a must-follow! She's magnificent.
Even today you can still identify a gun to a bullet by looking at the bunter marks from the machines that stamp the back of bullets or even looking at the firing pin’s mark on the primer, similar to comparing forensic tool marks based on small details of wear with advanced microscopes. Same way one can compare a pair of pliers that bend wires in a detonated bomb
The description of Jack the Ripper’s personality falls chillingly in line with how many serial killers like Bundy were described. I mean if serial killers actually LOOKED like homicidal maniacs, they would be less successful in accumulating victims. And I cannot even begin to comprehend what it was like for the man who photographed Mary Kelly, especially if he had to try and get a photo of her eyes. Tbh, it doesn’t seem like her eyes would have necessarily been in any condition to be recognized as eyes.
Older comment, sorry, but that’s something that always confused me, like people really think serial killers’ll just walk up to you and say “Hi, I’m going to flay you in my basement.”
Some RU-vid video showed that forensic science began in 1908!!! I wondered about the sudden and rapid growth of forensic science.. But which information is more authentic ?
Can someone please explain what the sparkling is caused by In the very opening scene of this video. Anyone familiar with the origin of that footage? I figure it must be an affect added in early film… But it looks so great. Obviously they would be using extremely bright lights, but I would be surprised if that were natural. Thanks for your time
India was the first country to adopt Fingerprints in 1858. And " Weird History " fact is that actual people who were behind the work didn't get recognition because British Officer took All Credit. Will you make a video about Who these people were ?
Economic prosperity for some. Obviously no one wants to be homeless. But the Victorian era in England was one of the worst times and places to be out on the streets. Either due to poor health or simply having gotten a bit old. Still capable of working. Just not as fast a younger man.
@@bofadeez. I definitely get that one. I always get kinda sad when I wake up on a Sunday and they aren't releasing the Timeline. I just find it to be a treat to watch whilst drinking a coffee, maybe beer, and having myself a smoke. And they really should say something in the Community tab.
