033. Electrifying the Dead: Aldini’s Gothic Science

A 19th‑century physician pushed the limits of early electricity by applying galvanic currents to a freshly executed corpse, causing muscles to twitch, jaws to open, and eyes to flicker. His sensational demonstrations sparked public fascination, inspired Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and laid groundwork for modern electrotherapy and defibrillation. The episode explores the scientific, cultural, and ethical legacy of using electricity to animate dead tissue and its lasting impact on medicine and imagination.

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