QI | What Was The Chainsaw Invented For?

[@IgnisPyro]

"do you know you're absolutely right" gets me everytime

[@AspieVoices]

Sandi slamming the pen down in exasperation is the cherry on top

[@patrickglover7506]

Her reaction was PRICELESS.

[@patrickglover7506]

@JONATHAN SUTCLIFFE just how much she was done after Fry's comment.

[@kurtsudheim825]

& it happened twice in this clip, nearly

[@brmbkl]

a bit less dramatic when you realize she peeked at every answer on the show before she made "head captain" of the show. impressive acting though.

[@alecwhatshisname5170]

"I've got it!" "what?" "chainsaw, innit."

[@samuelramsey222]

Alec Whatshisname DAMN HE'S TO GOOD

[@jacobn9228]

1000th like.

[@LetsGoGetThem]

- Karl Pilkington

[@CollinInGame]

*spits water* Chainsaw? :O

[@thebonesaw..4634]

This reminds me of an anecdote: My mother worked for the U.S. Forest Service a long, long time ago (I think this incident happened in the early 1980s). One of the rangers on the forest she worked with had been sent out one day to do a bit of clearing with a chainsaw. He went out completely alone and, since he would be working with some rather big trees, he had a saw with a particularly long blade. One of the dangers with a chainsaw is that there are a few anomalies that can occur, specifically is one where the blade can snap back in a powerful upward motion (the blade snaps up with the handle remaining pretty much in place... other than rotating). This is exactly what happened while he was sectioning a particularly large log to make it easier to remove. When the blade snapped up, he cut himself in the throat. Worse still, he hit his jugular. Knowing that he'd never make it to a hospital in time he decided to accept his fate, so he calmly sat down and began to take in the beautiful scenery, and make peace with his god as he awaited the eventual end of his time here on Earth. After about 10 minutes, being as he was still conscious, he figured, _''To hell with it! I'll try making it to the hospital and, if I start getting light-headed, I'll just pull over...''_ (he didn't want to pass out, lose control of his vehicle and hurt anyone). Lo and behold though... he made it! After arriving at the hospital - and going though emergency vascular surgery - they told him that he made it by the skin of his teeth... another couple of minutes and he would have died from blood loss. They also told him that, his decision to sit down and ''accept'' his fate had a lot to do with his survival. By doing so, he'd calmed himself, which greatly decreased his heart rate and that was one of the best thing he could have done because it drastically slowed the rate of his blood loss; that, in turn, allowed him just enough time to make it to the hospital. Had he set out for the hospital immediately, while being extremely stressed and worrying all the way whether or not he was going to make it, he probably would have bled out and lost his life (even with the 10 minutes head start). Anyway... that's my chainsaw story.

[@Richard_Jones]

Brilliant story. I know its only been a week but why haven't you got a million likes?

[@thebonesaw..4634]

@@Richard_Jones -- Because this video is several years old, only to be found by the occasional viewer. That doesn't bother me though, since this story is exactly for those occasional viewers.

[@LTPottenger]

Wow, like falling out of a plane and landing in a pillow factory.

[@marcnassif2822]

Jesus that's a beautiful story

[@wavydavy9816]

That's how you kill a circus isn't it. Go for the juggler 🤣

[@Xepscern]

"It is the ladies ward, so of course there's some baking going on" XD

[@jabloko992]

Is it a radical thought that maybe there's some hot buns and tea being prepared for the patients? Whilst simultaneously heating the room? Maybe the gents wards looked the exact same. Some radical ideas.

[@BDtetra]

@@jabloko992 It was a joke about woman being in the kitchen.

[@jabloko992]

@@BDtetra no, it was a feminist brainfart about percieved injustice, that was not a joke just standard feminist idiocy

[@ItsPoweRR]

jabloko992 snowflake alert

[@Evija3000]

@@techno1561 Yeah. Hot water can be used for all sorts of things from tea to cleaning up and warm towels. It's possible they're making food there, but I'd imagine something more along the lines of a hot stew in that big pot rather than buns. As a side note... imagine how moist the air must be if they're boiling the water right in the room.

[@anakinator0169]

Stephen; You were in the right area Jeremy: Circumcision! Genuinely laughing my arse off xD

[@SenMysrana]

Better than sawing it off.

[@bucwhovian8305]

That was my first thought as well.

[@DeadlyPants123]

SenMysrana giving the arse a second crack

[@robertjackson3552]

no that was the cigar cutter

[@Elephantstonica]

"I don't know why we're talking about this Steven." 😁 A conversation between two homosexuals, about where one's looking during the moment of conception😂 Brilliant.

[@NoahSpurrier]

“I don’t know why you and I are having this conversation.”

[@CashelOConnolly]

Well LGBTQI people do conceive babies

[@toadfaceass]

@@CashelOConnolly unnaturally yes

[@CashelOConnolly]

Lube no some conceive with lesbians

[@florome]

@@toadfaceass how...how does someone concieve a baby unnaturally what are you even talking about

[@garywood97]

Before we'd invented anaesthetic, all operations were essentially just attempted murder.

[@theirishviking9278]

Gordon Freemason the trick was keeping them alive long enough to pay you

[@Elephantstonica]

Gordon Freemason There's always an exception. Robert Liston only lost about 1 in 10, on the operating table. He did have one terrible case though for which he is famous, for having the only 300% mortality rate for a single operation. He killed the patient and two others.

[@Lucifronz]

+godscop999 Please don't elaborate. I'm going to pretend that he got so frustrated after killing off his patient that he began a killing frenzy and managed to take out two other attending physicians.

[@smoofoperator]

Amputated the leg in under 2 1⁄2 minutes (the patient died afterwards in the ward from hospital gangrene; they usually did in those pre-Listerian days). He amputated in addition the fingers of his young assistant (who died afterwards in the ward from hospital gangrene). He also slashed through the coat tails of a distinguished surgical spectator, who was so terrified that the knife had pierced his vitals he dropped dead from fright. That was the only operation in history with a 300 percent mortality.

[@DarkParagon]

'TRIPLE KILL!'

[@MrWoofie62]

This is by far my favourite quiz show of all time. It doesn't matter how low & down in the dumps I'm feeling, this show always makes me laugh! 😂🤣

[@minticusmaximus4288]

I love it how Sandy always makes these 'boy vs girl' remarks about History, *but she's always right*

[@garywood97]

About history, she's often right. Unfortunately she also applies it to the present where it's mostly wrong.

[@minticusmaximus4288]

I've never seen her apply that mentality to modern times. What you on about?

[@HugSkaltuDeila]

That isnt a lie. Are you a man? if so, ask any woman whose worked customer service.

[@Mrcheckpointeh]

HugSkaltuDeila it isn't a wage gap. it's a salary gap. there is no wage gap

[@semiperfekt]

Easy to say it's debunked if the basis for those different aspects are unfair. Which they always are! Just one example: My sister got a lower raise than the others. Why? She had a baby (this is the reason, the boss told her). Having a baby makes you "less qualified" even if taking care of kids is your actual profession. You can claim the income inequality is debunked, but not on a basis that is realistic. Because you can make anything you want a factor for being less productive or less qualified. Even things that actually should make your more qualified. Take a closer look what those "economists" thinks are aspects that qualificate or dequalificate you.

[@Lucifronz]

I love how she just *knew* what the reason it was created for would be. All the time I'm thinking "what? don't be ridiculous" and then he drops the bombshell and I'm barely believing it... then the picture shows up and I'm like "...okay, that's fucked up".

[@Moxtrox]

Once again, internal combustion engines saved lives by moving the focus away from women to trees.

[@EddSjo]

@Black Rod ha!

[@danieldionne2037]

Moxtrox , I still use my chainsaw exclusively on women’s vaginas.

[@jesuisfudgeman874]

Again?

[@jeric_synergy8581]

Seriously? Dudes, it's the fucking 21st Century, and you're still making these tired 'jokes'?

[@shaunpatrick8345]

Aiding the birth process saved lives too. Sandi only complained because she hates men.

[@TwinTn]

Considering all the crazy shit ancient people stuck inside their orifices, chainsaw isn't that much of a leap.

[@joanglanville4556]

xAquinasx a

[@RAFMnBgaming]

It's always the Vagina. Every time someone discovers something new it's always "Hey, do you think this is dangerous?" "I don't know, how about we go find a vagina to shove it into and lets see what happens?"

[@PerovNigma]

Apparently the ancient Egyptians invented the vibrator... It involved live bees.

[@jabloko992]

@@PerovNigma NO. JUST NO.

[@PerovNigma]

@@jabloko992 This is what originally introduced bee to the concept: _metro.co.uk/2017/06/14/violet-fenn-historical-sex-ancient-egyptians-goats-incest-bees-sex-toys-6651024/_ However, it might not bee real after all: _mistakinghistories.wordpress.com/2017/08/08/cleopatra-and-the-vibrator-powered-by-bees/amp/_ Not gonna lie, I’m a little disappointed to beed that such crazy shit might not have exbeested. Something that bananas beeserves to exist.

[@forkevbot]

I know it seems barbaric to us today, but before medicine, arrest of labor essentially had a 100% mortality. So people were desperate. Even if the mother died the baby could survive if otherwise well. Women were mistreated for sure, but the things women did back in those days were so badass and heroic. And just like most real heroes they went completely unrecognized

[@alexholker1309]

Imagine Leatherface running around with one of those hand-cranked chainknives.

[@jessicalee333]

Edward Symphysiotomyhands?

[@waffleless]

Alex Holker Now I can't help but imagine the Texas Chainsaw Massacre as a silent movie.

[@annacatton5929]

Texas Osteotome Massacre

[@ekstadropsen]

As a woman that is far more terrifying😜😅

[@christopheraaron1255]

Much more environmentally friendly...

[@mercedes3585]

ladies, I am so glad we were born in this day and age!

[@simoliz03]

Amen!

[@marchofaman4975]

Because fake tan has been invented?

[@Daplin1]

Marc Hofaman because you can get refined pseudonyms: Mercedes, as an example

[@OTPulse]

BK : That's exactly why artificial wombs will never be a thing. But the way society is pushing for a war against the two genders. An artificial womb would be devastating to our species. A world without mothers would be terrible, just like the fatherless society feminists are pushing for.

[@OTPulse]

BK : It won't happen. High Risk vs Low Reward. Take your high hat off and think about it. It'll be put in the same bucket as cloning.

[@NoahSpurrier]

“I don’t know why you and I are having this conversation.”

[@fearofthechippan]

The moment Stephen realised he had found his successor

[@ConstantChaos1]

Posh✅️ Smart✅️ Gay✅️ Perfect

[@rmkw4291]

Sandy's reaction after getting the answer right was one of "oh for god's sake, I was meant to be joking" 😆

[@Saeshmea]

No matter how many times I watch this clip it still makes me laugh :)

[@pauciloquentflibbertigibbe5217]

Stephen is so gay in the most innocent way possible. I adore him.

[@balasmj]

2:09 Caesarian, easy as popping out of the sunroof 😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@ConstantChaos1]

I prefer to call it a more apt name Birth by medical disembowling

[@TheSpearkan]

1:56 Not quite, this procedure is actually still used today albeit extremely rare when a C-section is too dangerous and as a "serious to God last resort if we don't do this there will be death" scenario

[@SkinManJim]

Jeremy's face at 3:49 kills me hahahaha

[@Blissful_Simp]

Sandi and Stephen is the ULTIMATE mlm/wlw solidarity!!

[@weatheranddarkness]

Your evening's nightmare fodder brought to you by QI

[@Lynwood_Jackson]

He has such an innocent view of heterosexual intercourse. I love it.

[@songbird7450]

How gay men imagine straight sex: "Gaze lovingly into her eyes" How straight men imagine straight sex: "Keep watching TV while grabbing your drink" I love it

[@rachelcookie321]

@@songbird7450 wait, Stephen is gay?

[@batnacks]

@@rachelcookie321yep. So is Sandi, hence the line "I don't know why you and I are having this conversation"

[@rachelcookie321]

@@batnacks I know Sandi is but I didn’t know Stephen was. He’s one of the last people I would of guessed to be gay.

[@AverageEldritchEntity]

I love how at about the 1:40 mark you can see Jeremy isn't laughing in the slightest- I think he wished, for once, that he had been well off-mark!

[@aarongazzaniga1929]

Sandi saying, " I don't know why WE'RE having this conversation" lol

[@nothanks3236]

I have a "chainsaw" like that in my hiking gear, its light and packs small and is incredibly useful for creating firewood out in the bush.

[@221b-Maker-Street]

...as opposed to fumbling inside one. Perhaps you could add part-time Obs & Gynae to your er... outback services? 😳

[@SavageGreywolf]

I think Clarkson might actually even be more horrified than Sandy Sandy is like 'yep, same shit as always'

[@sheilaghbrosky]

It's called a Gigli saw and it was used in neurosurgery also. The wires was very fine and were twisted.An osteotome is like a chisel with a both edges sharpened. Sometimes your fact checkers are out in left field.

[@infohazard3003]

Stephen's tie is amazing in this clip.

[@angrytedtalks]

I remember when Sandi was a guest. Also, 1783 was a great year. Mozart wrote his great mass, King George recognised the independence of the American States.

[@keiraroberts2113]

Aaaaand this is why Sandi was picked to take over from Stephen on this show. She’s clever, articulate, witty, likeable, brilliant choice.😁

[@ConstantChaos1]

You forgot the most important thing Gay lol

[@PurtyPurple]

@@ConstantChaos1 Nah, that's just a bonus :)

[@ConstantChaos1]

@@PurtyPurple (ik irs just funnier to pretend it's a prerequisite tho if it is I'm a knowledgeable queer person can I host next season?)

[@Elrond_Hubbard_1]

I have this old hard cover book at home called 'The History of Surgery" It is nightmare fuel. If I lived back then, I would rather just die than get surgery, even IF it went well.

[@kdnwksnjwusu6755]

One has to love sandy.. she's intelligent, funny and a great role model

[@danochy5522]

Hanna Würfel The perfect Stephen replacement.

[@boothroid71]

I miss fry

[@flat5sharp11]

Nope. She's not funny.

[@girshin]

The world will be a better place without feminism. Case in point, Duluth Model

[@TheToneBender]

She's a "femminist"! Literally the first thing she did was bring up gender...

[@platypushatstand]

02:09 “Pop it out the sunroof” - as a C-section birth myself - I’ve being saying that phrase for years!

[@songbird7450]

A friend of mine was a C-section birth. I keep reminding her yearly that she has never been born, she had just been removed. Like a tumor. She doesn't like that.

[@InvagPrune]

@@songbird7450 get her to read macbeth

[@truthsmiles]

I literally held my wife's leg while she gave birth to our son. It was an incredible, beautiful experience no father should be denied. :-(

[@daredemontriple6]

On the condition I can have a Lagavulin or three before hand! There's a lot of things I've seen but a live birth is one I don't think I wan't a close-up of, even if it is my wife having my child.

[@truthsmiles]

DareDemon666 - If you had asked me beforehand I probably would have said the same. But thankfully there was no discussion. I was sitting with her holding her hand through the contractions and suddenly the doc told me to hold her leg up. I didn’t have time to think about it being gross or bloody - it was all about the joy of being present for possibly the greatest moment of my life :)

[@CycolacFan]

I’m up for it but I suspect your wife would get a bit annoyed after the third or fourth time...

[@violetskies14]

Aww that you talk about it like that is sweet.

[@JamesBuell88]

From the U.S., never heard of this show. Trying to find it on Netflix or Amazon next thing.

[@Anon-.-]

James Buell its a bbc show. Been on for years. Great show. There are some good clips on youtube. The driving license and tortoise clips ring a bell - check them out.

[@JaniceinOR]

Try Britbox -- some have written that we in the USA can find it with a subscription there.

[@Eatboom]

My reply if asked what the chainsaw was originally invented for, would be "horror movies"

[@ayylmao5664]

Eatboom i saw the title of the video and immediately thought circumsition and i fuckin' flipped when jeremy said it.

[@MikeDCWeld]

Eatboom I said *juggling!*

[@alisaurus4224]

Well, I’m horrified as a uterus-haver

[@rin_etoware_2989]

what i'm learning here is that the Chainsaw Man vs. Childbirth Devil arc is going to be _extremely short_

[@Pfisiar22]

honestly, in a time without proper anatomical knowledge, this brutal procedure was likely safer than cutting open the abdomen. Only a matter of degrees of awfulness but still.

[@gladtobeangry]

And there's Sandi dismissing it as "horrible boys thinking ladies take too long to give birth". The amount of good deeds men need to do before being acknowledged as anything above evil bastard is staggering. Saving the lives of women in labour? Nah, that's nothing to applaud, it's just a horrible impatient evil boy with a chainsaw. Maybe I can't relate, being a bisexual, but I do think there are people in the world I can admire even though I wouldn't want to fuck them.

[@joermundgand]

What was the chainsaw invented for? Hunting down college scantily clad students in Texas.

[@samiraperi467]

Zombies. Or scantily clad zombies.

[@XDlosDominicans]

I had Texas Chainsaw Massacre in mind too! hahahaha

[@baitedlol6972]

Probably the best moment in QI I have ever seen hahahah 0:30 - 0:56

[@kirkyit]

🤣😂😆The exasperated slamming down of the pen at 0:54 is the highlight.

[@mg5347]

You mean the spouting of man hating shit that we have to lap up with a smile on our face in fear of being called a 'misogynistic woman hater'

[@baitedlol6972]

@@mg5347 Triggered much? lmfao Lighten up

[@calliarcale]

Fun fact: ostotomy is absolutely still performed, but now they use reciprocating saws. Or circular saws. Or rotary tools. They use power drills too. Really, it looks even *more* like carpentry these days. ;-)

[@221b-Maker-Street]

Brings a whole new meaning to getting hammered, nailed, and er... screwed. 😳

[@KesselRunner606]

For the Emperor's glorious Astartes.

[@edwinndirangu659]

I love that the video immediately starts with the titular question.

[@Competitive_Antagonist]

I thought about C-section as a joke. The one time I'm too disturbed to laugh at a QI clip.

[@krrrruptidsoless]

3:52 The guy looks like he's on Land of the Giants on some Matchbox game show and the Giants toilet paper dispenser is behind his head

[@India.H]

3:49 Jeremy's face 😂

[@squamish4244]

In 100 years, they will look back at our medicine in kind of the same way. Amazing, isn't it?

[@AMacProOwner]

valar Unless we completely fill the world with resistant infections. Then we’re back to the 1800s as of medicine.

[@michaelmartin9022]

@@AMacProOwner Or 1960's Russia where they used bacteriophages instead of antibiotics. Anyway it's always funny when there's sci-fi movies where they can travel in space faster than light, but somebody's in a wheelchair. People in the future aren't going to ever see them outside museums.

[@danieldionne2037]

valar no, no they will not. Modern medicine is based in science. No one in 100 years is going to say look at that ridiculous M.R.I machine.

[@tehufn]

Pills...

[@kobeandgary]

@@danieldionne2037 well they might have a much simpler, smaller, faster, more efficient version. Making our looks archaic in comparison.

[@qy72hund]

how knowledgeable is this man

[@theldraspneumonoultramicro405]

fun language fact: in swedish, Chainsaws is called Motorsåg, literal translation is Enginesaw or Motorsaw.

[@Rockblue01]

GLORIOUS Sandi!

[@lonelystranger7114]

I'm a man and I'm not religious but if I were a woman living before twentieth century, I would have become a nun to avoid the immensely painful and potentially fatal event known as childbirth.

[@redrob6026]

Jeremy Clarkson stopped himself from making a gay joke right at the start.

[@chrism7574]

From the thumbnail, I thought the guy with the long hair was going to be James May, instead I got Clarkson, well enough.

[@UberOcelot]

amazing bit

[@twintwo1429]

The humor of my past and present relatives is great comfort for the soul. Yes I'm American from Irish and British descent.

[@AHam-wr6yx]

I would have loved it if he said "norow, it's a boy! Whoops not anymore!"

[@1218omaroo]

Stihlborn?

[@cabrown308]

I adore Sandi🥰🥳🥳

[@SigmaHD]

James May is looking well in this, Hammond seems to have turned into a woman

[@cassieoz1702]

Osteotomy wire (not unlike the original) is still used in orthopaedic surgery.

[@ValseInstrumentalist]

Weird when Sandi is a guest and doesn't know things. Almost as if Stephen possessed a Torch of Godly Omniscience and passed it to Sandi when she took over as host.

[@HappyCynic]

That's when the show went down hill.

[@TheSatanshunter]

3:00 Ripper from Fallout 4 anyone?

[@JamesBarraletMusic]

‘Proctology’ would be a funny answer to almost any question.

[@notthecamper]

The dangers of C-section is that they have to cut about and inch and a half into the body, the dangers with that are obvious. As it may not be as gruesome as a chainsaw birth but it certainly is a quick way to kill someone if an accident occurs.

[@Maya_Pinion]

Women are incredible,since forever!

[@VincentGonzalezVeg]

One of the best things about our time is the nurotic habit of people washing their hands

[@michaelritchie2968]

"I don't know why you and I are having this conversation..."

[@BigDictator5335]

Q: what was the chainsaw invented for? A: for purging heretics in the name of the God Emperor!

[@TronTuborg]

This may be the first time I've ever agreed with a Communist.

[@baitedlol6972]

Best clip of Sandy ever. She's so smart hahaha

[@rsporsche]

Huh, well that puts a whole different perspective on the ending of 'Bad Taste'.

[@deenine]

Is it just me or does that guy look like a cross between David Mitchell and Seth McFarland?

[@Harcix]

Yes, McFarland

[@dididrama]

Look up symphysiotomy and Ireland. Warning: it's horrifying.

[@konayasai]

The hit to which you're probably referring isn't exactly nuanced, and there is another side to it. The truth is horrific enough, though.

[@puirYorick]

...as if the church didn't already have enough to answer for in its history!!

[@CianMcsweeney]

S.137 No.5 was* all of that archaic bullshit has been rightly condemned in the last 2 decades in Ireland, our last two referendums show how far the country has progressed, still need to fully separate church and state however

[@MySerpentine]

As bad as the Magdalene laundries?

[@chillimack]

Thanks for phrasing that in a way that guaranteed i would look it up. And it was all horrifying.

[@leifvejby8023]

I didn't know that, I always believed it started as a chain mortiser.

[@tomb8835]

Seems like a cool show.

[@craigkdillon]

They did have anesthetics in the 1700's ---- its called Scotch Whiskey.

[@axelfoley133]

And this is how Sandi got the gig lol

[@sisir123]

How did Sandi 'guess' that answer?

[@grandexandi]

well this took a turn

[@Samld1200]

They say that C-Sections were not practised in the 1700s whenever the chain saw was invented. But in Macbeth, Macduff is said to be born by caesarean and Macbeth was written in 1606 so Shakespeare must have known about it

[@Samld1200]

Btw I’m terrible at and hate both history and English literature so sorry. We do Macbeth in school so it just made me think

[@volatilesky]

It wasn't "before" anesthetic, it was when drugs such as opium, morphine, nitrous oxide, etc, were all used more as upper class party drugs, rather than being seen as something useful for medical use.

[@kingfacedown4132]

Volatile Sky so still before anesthetic because they didn’t use them as such

[@cryptfire3158]

Well.. at least now if your wife goes into labour at home. "Don't worry dear, i got something in the shed just for this occasion"

[@salwaaj1356]

Of course they did. The babe's extraction is more important than the mother's life. Especially if the husband insists ''he doesn t care for the cow, he needs the boy''..doctors had the same policy

[@salwaaj1356]

@John citizen oooh haha. Being a woman, i ll try very hard not to be offended. ;)

[@Ainennke]

Alan's quiet "oh my god" at 1:02.

[@geoffgeoff143]

Cutting?

[@williamsteele]

So, before they were used to cut down trees, chainsaws were used to cut through the bush? :-D

[@pontyfaxjr]

They were carrying these out in Ireland up until fairly recently. Plenty of women still living with the side effects

[@violetskies14]

Oh god that's horrific

[@PanglossWasWrong]

Gotta say, that "chainsaw" looks like it could be Freddy Krueger's sex toy, don't it?

[@GuninGames]

No that would be Slaanesh

[@speccwolf]

The lady is quite funny.

[@waahaah861]

Shes the host now.

[@girshin]

Uh huh

[@imisinjan]

If your only sexual experience consists of staring at the back of someones head then you can be forgiven for not staring into your partners eyes.

[@pinkponyofprey1965]

That's why QI exists! XD

[@ssppeellll]

To explain why they chose to cut a wider path for the baby to come out through by sawing the bone, rather than making an incision in the skin: "This was before any kind of anesthetic." I love you, Stephen, but are you saying cutting through someone's bone is less painful than making a cut in their skin? Doctor A: "Well, maybe we should make a cut in the skin to bring the baby through." Doctor B: "Oh, no, you can't do that! That would be horribly painful!" Doctor A: "Point well taken. Well then, ... Hmmmm. Oh, I know: We can saw through the woman's pubic bone." Doctor B: "Now you're talking!"

[@cjeam9199]

However it was also before antibiotics and largely antiseptics, and the procedure probably represents a significantly reduced risk of infection than a huge slice through one's abdomen and also a better healing process. Wiki says in 1865 the mortality rate in the UK for mothers having c sections was 85% (possibly because they were a last ditch effort anyway).

[@plainjellis]

ssppeellll I think it wasn't really cutting it. The way he describes it is like filing the bone down.

[@Sigart]

Is... is that supposed to make it less painful or lower the risk of infection?

[@emilchandran546]

ssppeellll No. Stephen was saying that it was a lower risk procedure, or thought to be at the time. Anti-sceptics aren't about pain they are about infection. Pain had nothing to do with it. "Septic" as in septicaemia. Also a c section is not just cutting someone's skin. It is cutting through their abdominal skin and their uterus and pulling a baby through. Just imagine the risk of infection. Hence why doctors thought this procedure was safer.

[@ssppeellll]

Emil, I listened again, and Stephen did indeed say antiseptic--and also anesthetic. I was thinking about the latter. You make good points in any case. Thanks.

[@thatguy7155]

Woman: You don't know how birth feels like! Me: Well you're not a 1700's woman!

[@CSpottsGaming]

I'm extremely confused about the precise way they're cutting in this procedure but I'm far too squeamish to look it up.

[@MrDannyDetail]

I assume it's done inside the dilated vagina, to widen the circle inside the pelvis if it's preventing the baby's exit.

[@Imagicka]

Isn't that the first Doctor's sonic screwdriver?

[@Wolf6119]

Wait a minute, but Shakespeare wrote Macbeth in 1606, over a century before Stephen says the chainsaw procedure that was later replaced by Caesarean sections was invented. But in Macbeth, MacDuff was born by Caesarean section. Hell, as the name itself suggests, Caesarean sections were already a thing in Ancient Rome (even though Caesar himself wasn't actually born by one). So did doctors at one point just go "Oh, well, the whole "gently cutting the baby out with a precise scalpel or knife" thing is great and all, but we'd really love to get some violent spinning chains involved in this"?

[@oenrn]

Caesarean sections did exist since forever, but they were not standard procedure. Since antibiotics and antiseptics didn't exist, it was pretty much a death sentence for the mother, so was only done as a last resort to at least try and save the baby rather than leave it in which would cause both the mother and baby to die.

[@emilyprocter3152]

macduff’s mother didn’t survive the procedure though. my understanding was that his mother died during childbirth so they decided to cut him out of her. i may be wrong though

[@Trekki200]

C section in pre modern times was mostly done so that you could bury the baby separate from the mother. Which was important in the Catholic church because the baby hadn't been baptized and therefore wouldn't be allowed in heaven or on the churches graveyard. The rules were later changed and today a stillborn can be baptized and receive it's salvation. But I suppose you still have to actually separate the baby from it's mother to do so.

[@susannam3923]

so as far as I know "ceasarian" has very little to do with the actual ceasar, but rather refers to any emperor (and ceasar is like the best known one; eg. German has "Kaiser" as the literal translation of emperor, polish has "cesarz", etc) bc once hygiene improved it was viable but still really expensive, ergo only available for someone of a high social status.

[@Trekki200]

Susanna M Not quite, Caesar was actually named Caesar (it sort of was his last name, inherited from some uncle) and afterwards it became a title.

[@slook7094]

There's a class action lawsuit against doctors performing symphisiotomies in Ireland because it causes lifelong pelvic pain and trouble walking.