What Did We Call Electric Eels Before Electricity?

Opublikowano: 2026-08-01

Today I dive into one of my favorite etymology questions I've ever researched: What did we call electric eels before electricity? The answer leads through Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, the Amazon rainforest, indigenous languages, the surprising history of electricity, and even the origins of words like narcotic and torpedo. Along the way we'll explore how electric fish were used as ancient medicine, why Carl Linnaeus named the electric eel when he did, how Alexander von Humboldt witnessed one of history's strangest animal encounters, and how the electric eel even helped inspire Alessandro Volta's...