Good Ole' Biology - A Revised TL

I only wonder what the local Native American tribes thought of the odd beasts.

Probably: "Tougher than buffalo, but hey, meat's meat!"

Alternatively, for really interesting results, it could have been: "Slower than horses, but hey, a desert-proof mount is a desert-proof mount"
 

NothingNow

Banned
Interesting. I'm sad I didn't find it earlier, but I'm definitely going to be following this closely from now on.
 
The Youth of the World, Part 1


Aleksandr Ulyanov [1], 'Alex Julianov' as he was known in Great Britain, was born in the town of Simbirsk, Russia. His father, Ilya Ulyanov, an honorary noble in Russian society, decided it would be best for his children if they lived and studied in London. In 1874, He left to enroll in several academic schools. Unfortunately, his harsh accent and paranoid exterior gave his chance to enroll into a proper education in Britain away. Instead of returning to Simbirsk, Alexander enrolled in an apprenticeship for Francis Galton.
The inventor of fingerprinting, eugenics, and meteorology, Francis Galton was interested in hiring Alex for purely scientific reasons. Julianov was not of Noble birth, yet nobility by the state. Alex was a unique opportunity to see if truly noble bloodlines differed from politically appointed. Alex was also quite athletic, a perfect example of Galton’s perfect man.
Alex became interested in being Francis Galton’s Apprentice was hoping to gain knowledge of the theory of Evolution, which was still young and controversial. Charles Darwin was Sir Galton’s cousin, after all.
As Francis Galton’s Protégé, Alex Ulyanov learned about the Galtonian theory of Evolution, how gemmules were in fact not carried in the blood supply, as Darwin had speculated. Alex developed his own ideas upon evolution, theorizing after Galton’s Death that Humans had been slowly diverging into different species. When Alexander raised enough money, he had his Father, mother, Sister, Anna, and little brother Vladimir [2] sent to London.




Franklin Milhous heralded the arrival of his son, Andrew Milhous [3], with great importance. After the Economic slump a few years earlier, He and his wife, Almira Burdg, had been praying for a sign to move west. If they had incentive to leave Ohio, they would do so in a heartbeat. Andrew was a gift from God, and accordingly, Franklin assumed it was time to head west.
Approximately Two Months Later, The Trio family was happily residing in a wheat farm outside Los Angeles. Franklin and Almira frowned upon the city, but Andrew found boundless friends in the city, and learned bigoted and corrupt ideas about the Black and Asian minorities. Quickly, he became disobedient, and unruly.
Soon enough he was tossed out upon the street, and began the formation of Andrew ‘Murder house’ Milhous.





Excerpt from Encyclopedia of Food and Beverage History pg.174

Irony. The Precise word people used to describe a Priest from Virginia creating a beverage with common herbs. Thomas Wilson created a medicinal tea, known today by its popular name, Dr. Woodrow. Despite this superficial resemblance, original ingredients are known to have been replaced by more synthetic substitutes. Such Replacements include Tobacco, Coca, and Raspberry.
_____________________________

[1] Aleksandr/Alexander was killed in OTL when he tried to assassinate Czar Alexander II, and was hung.
[2] Vladimir Lenin appears to be a minor figure in this timeline.
[3] Similar to LTTW, I played a bit of handwavium, allowing Franklin Milhous (Maternal Grandfather of Richard Nixon) to have a son early, and move west Earlier as well.

Comments and criticisms would be vastly appreciated. :D
 
Review of The Human Breed written by Alexander Ulyanov, coauthored by Francis Galton, 1878:
...This idea is quite vulgar to me in how it seperates people.
If you [Francis Galton and Alexander Ulyanov,] are proposing Jews, Asians, and Negroes are different from an Englishman, how can we be expect to also believe that there is no discernable difference between nobility and those of average stature in society?
You [Galton and Ulyanov] are also basing this theory of human breeds upon the newly discovered discipline of Darwinism. If these traits of disease, as specified in Chapter 8, are true, would a Briton or Welshman suffer from diseases you would call 'Jewish'.

...In short, I believe this work to be a frivolous attempt to apply darwinism to humanity as a whole.
 
Bump

Must I bump this thread to get any attention?

(EDIT:Updated the Alliances to 1875, not 1885)
Allies in the World:
Pale Yellow: Britain and Russia's allies
Dark Grey: France, Austria, and Allies

blankworldUCS%201885GOB.PNG
 
Last edited:
This is a very well-thought timeline worthy of a nomination for a lesser Turtledove for its style and concepts alone. I, too, continue to read and endorse it!
 
Controversy and Navajo

The ‘Scientific Seeds of Destruction’ were marked, although not initiated by Charles Darwin’s then radical book ‘On the Origin of Species’ in 1859. While it was not the origin of Natural Selection, it brought the idea to the attention of the wider, common public. Agnosticism, Darwinism, and Evolution became common words in debates across the Western World. Charles Darwin was, contrary to many myths, was not very avid in defending his work, letting people criticize it as they pleased.

Alexander Ulyanov, inspired by both Charles Darwin and his own mentor, Francis Galton, published ‘The Human Breed’, 1875, which outlined the ideas of Human evolution, and suggested that races are only superior in their habitat. Along with subtle inclinations towards what we now label nationalism, it had many objectionable ideas, such as exportation of Indians and Chinese to Africa, and Interracial Marriages to ‘breed out the Negro Gemmules’ (pg. 175, Ulyanov). The question of racism, while not ignored, was shoved aside for another controversial idea: Monarchism was not what it seemed. Ulyanov and Galton converged on the idea that aristocracy and monarchs had no ‘real’ reason for being at the helm of a country. Many monarchists burned The Human Breed in Trafalgar Square in November of 1871. While Galton reacted in a manner most similar to his cousin, Ulyanov would make a point to belittle critics of the Eugenics idea.

Herbert Spencer published ‘Survival of The Fittest’, 1880, in response to critical response of ‘Darwinism’. It, however, focused primarily upon the morality and the capitalistic ideas the titular quote entailed, mentioning briefly Darwin and Ulyanov’s theories. He denounced Das Kapital and the Communist Manifesto, both writtenby Karl Marx and Friedrich Engel, as ignoring the ‘obvious and abundant suggestions to a world altogether contrary to these men’s theories. Such is not what science is about. Ideas combat each other and whichever arise on top are accepted by the scientific community’. Herbert Spencer, although defensive of his ideas, didn't go to the lengths Ulyanov did. Future Political activists and radicals would pervert the idea into Progressive Nationalism.

Goldschmidt, Edwin R. History of Invasive Species: Mammals. Boston: HarperCollins, 1997.

Pg. 38-39

The Dromedary Camel began to immediately impact the desert ecology. Mustangs, Burros, and Jackrabbits, herbivores that had already carved themselves a niche in the American Southwest, were now being out competed as herds of camel could consume largely inedible plant parts, and would drink gallons when they happened upon a swimming hole. Puma and coyote couldn’t kill camels very easily, and often had unappealing, rough meat. Many parts of the desert which bloomed from waterholes and the occasional pond quickly became hyper-arid. Weedy and toxic plants flourished, and a biological desert bloomed in the Sonora.

The Amerindians however found them of great use as pack animals. The Navajo Tribal Police mounted on camel back invoked fear into the civilians simply by displaying the spitting, kicking beast to the public. While the Tribal Police was disbanded in 1875, camels saw continued use by the Navajo. The Camel meat was sold at a high price for local black immigrants searching for cheap meat. While Camels were quite temperamental, moderately tamed individuals were used to transport belongings and children. They also served to ward off white attacks; such a beast should best not be spooked.

Comments, flames, criticisms are much appreciated.
 
Last edited:
Pesticides and the Deep South
Othmar Zeidler, who first synthesized the dangerous weapon we know as DDT, was hesitant to dispense the chemical, as it very well might be poisonous. His brother, Franz Zeidler Jr., however, decided to dispense it to several pharmaceutical companies to see what medicinal properties the chemical had.

Richard H. Anderson sought to create new flavors of O’reillys, and decided to purchase The DDT as an additive. Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane was not well received as an additive, overwhelming the green tea flavor, introducing a rot-gut hard alcohol flavor. Seeing as DDT was ‘alcoholic’ employees used the chemical to clean glasses and bar tables.

One day, a farm laborer accidentally doused some tea plants in the DDT. The accident went without mention until some mice began to consume the tea.
Those plants which escaped unscathed, were the DDT covered ones. After an inquiry, it was discovered the DDT prevented the mice from consuming the tea without dying.

Soon after, Anderson was selling Pesticides as well as Tea and other beverages.

The Product made its way around the country. Out west, people used it to wipe out those damn locusts that kept afflicting their farmlands, sprinkling it on baits to kill coyote and other vermin, and spreading it into local swamps to rid themselves of mosquitoes.

Floridian backwaters once thought of as impermeable tracts of mosquito filled swamps, were much less foreboding with the advent of DDT.


RESPOND! FLAME, COMMENT, POKE FALLACY IN THIS ZEPPLIN OF A TL!
And thank you Strategos for responding whenever you do.
 
Top