You're listening to the Skeptic Sky to the Universe. You're escape to reality.

Hello and welcome to the Skeptic Sky to the Universe. Today is Wednesday March 16th, 2011,

and this is your host, Steven Novela. Joining me this week are Bob Novela.

Hey everybody, Rebecca Watson. Hello everyone.

Jane Novela. Hey guys, and Evan Bernstein.

Hello and 1827 Charles Darwin made his earliest scientific discovery at age 18.

He dissected specimens of barnable-like marine organism called the Blosian Flustra.

And that's when he became very interested in biology and natural history,

and instead of becoming a doctor, a physician like his father wanted to be instead when he became a naturalist.

Although apparently he couldn't stand the sight of blood. Well there was that, and screaming from him.

What? The two went hand in hand often in those times.

Teacher and blood and screaming.

And that also started the lifelong love affair with barnacles for Darwin.

In fact, most of his technical writing was about barnacles.

Life-long love affair with barnacles, not something you hear very often.

But look what it led to. I mean that was really those with some of the first steps that led to bigger and more momentous findings later in life.

I mean you always wonder with things like that, or at least I do.

So if Darwin's life took a different course, and he never developed the theory of evolution,

how long would it have taken for that theory to emerge from other minds and to rise to the prominence that it did?

Like where would we be today? You know Alfred Russell Wallace. Yeah, he was like 90% of the way there.

It wasn't 100% of the way.

So is it fair to assume that somebody around that time or that generation would have come up with those ideas?

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