History Of The Fountain Of Youth

Human is a very strange creature. From the moment of their awakening, he has been searching for answers to many questions. One of these very important questions, for which no scientifically acceptable explanation has been found to date, is that of eternal youth. Now, when you watch the Pirates of the Caribbean episode "On Stranger Tides", there is a Spanish gentleman who took himself and 3 boats and set out to find the fountain of youth. If you thought that only happened in the movie, it didn't. It actually happened.

Since a monkey gland transplant wasn't completely out of the question, they thought the fountain of youth would do. What the heck. After all, if the Norse Gods are entitled to consume Idun's golden apples, and therefore to have eternal youth, why not humans? According to the Greeks, the secret of the Goddess Hera's beauty was that she would visit the spring from time to time and bathe in it. This so excited the people of the time that it was a topic of afternoon conversation even in the Middle Ages.

The knights' tales talked about this particular fountain of eternal youth until it was so obvious, that when the exploration of new, unknown continents began. It was also a matter of course, that the fountain should be sought in these places. After the official discovery of America on paper, the idea took shape and a Spanish conquistador, the famous Ponce De Léon, figured out, that he would set off in two ships with their crews, and he would find the source. Let's not think that he just set off like a donkey into the void. He knew exactly where to look. How did he know?

I quote: "The Foolish chatter of the half-wild natives.", this means that the Indians were, shall we say, "lying through their teeth". Not just one, they were lying to the Spanish about the treasure of El Dorado, but let's be honest. What could they do? All they wanted was to be left alone by the unknown white men with the flashy sticks. Back on topic, the exact location of the source of the eternal youth was also given away. It is on an island called Bimini. To everyone's great surprise, he did not find it, but he sailed a little further north and found a beautiful land full of flowers. The sight of the beautiful flowers replaced his childish credulity with a sense of wonder not necessarily worthy of a conquistador.

He took it upon himself to name the place Florida. When Ponce de León returned home, older and weaker, than when he had set out, the failure of the Bimini expedition left a rejuvenated old Europe very disappointed. Despite a series of setbacks, the idea of eternal youth lived on. In Romania, there is a village called Sadova. In this village lived a couple, a certain John Rovin and his wife Sara. What makes them special?

John Rovin lived to be 172 years old and his wife 164 years old. How did they do it? The big question here is not whether we could have lived 170 years with milk and scones, because, well, well......the big question is whether we could have lived 147 years with the same woman with milk and scones. Because they did it, they were married for 147 years. If you don't like this method, there's another one. The University of Salerno Medical School has summarized, in no less than 3 points, the secret of long life.

• Mens hilaris - Serenity of mind

• Requies - Tranquility

• Moderata diaeta - Moderate Diet

In theory it sounds perfectly logical, but in practice it is another matter. Luigi Cornaro, this Venetian nobleman thought he had found the secret to eternal youth. The point is that he was born in 1467 and until he was 40 years old he knew exactly whether he would see the day of his 41st name. He interpreted the 3 points of the University of Salerno, serenity of mind, tranquility and moderate diet, as if it were witchcraft. You can't blame him, we're talking about a noble man, we're talking about a wealthy man, so there you go. However, when he reached the point of almost drinking himself to death, he said: good. That's enough. From now on, I will be the perfect model of a low-key life. He may have gone a little overboard, but that's for everyone to decide.

As it happened, Luigi Cornaro changed one thing, and one thing very much. The secret of the Venetian nobleman was, that he ate just enough and only enough to stay alive, and only enough to eat and drink enough to keep from dying. What does this mean? He made an accurate scale and weighed his daily rations on it every day. He ate exactly 12 ounces of food and drank exactly 14 ounces. To make the story a little more concrete, an ounce of Italian is roughly 30 grams. Because he was old, when his body started to complain about the incredible moderation. He was 80 years old when he said, "OK, let's relax a bit".

He gave in to the temptation of his body and fell into sin. He increased his daily food intake by 2 ounces. And the joke here is not that he ate 60 grams more a day, but that this huge extra load took such a toll on his body, that it was frankly a matter of life and death. But he didn't have any serious problems, he recovered. However, from that moment on, he followed a new way of life, eating two meals a day: lunch and dinner. For lunch: 1 yolk, for dinner: another yolk. He lived no less than 104 years.

So if you want a long life, 2 egg yolks a day. Very exciting, but there were people who were rejuvenated à'la nature. There was once a nun who lived to be 100 years old in her convent, completely at peace. A fine achievement, but the real thing only began after that. Suddenly, without any sign, the old lady became young again. All her teeth grew in, her grey hair turned jet black again and the wrinkles on her face disappeared.

Travellers and other so-called "contemporary correspondents" were sure that the long service to God had something to do with it. Then there was the time when Louis XIV's favorite, Paul Lucas, travelled to Constantinople. He wrote a book about his trip, detailing his quite astonishing discovery. It is worth noting that the Sultan's wife, who was in Constantinople, was ill. The Sultan asked the Frenchman to look at his wife, he said: she looks like a scientist, come on, look at her.

When he entered the sick room, there were 2 young girls beside the ailing Sultana. Members of the Sultan's harem. However, as it turned out, both young daughters were already 70 years old. Paul Lucas writes that members of the Sultan's harem stay young by drinking the brew of a plant. He also writes that this plant is grown only and exclusively in the Sultan's own garden and is not given to anyone. There is another story about a 370-year-old Hindu who had 700 wives in all, but by now everyone knows the point.

Even then, human curiosity was heightened, for the case of the phoenix bird shall we say extended. It is known that when the eagle grows old, it calls on the sun, which burns off the old feathers of the animal so that it can grow new ones. We could go on about the deer, but I think everyone knows that it gets young from time to time. Many have searched, many have found it, but what is certain is that the human mind is quite amazing.