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    Plutarch's wisdom on virtue and fate, classic statue illustration.
    Blog 8 min read

    Beyond the Veil: Unpacking Plutarch's Enduring Wisdom on Virtue and Fate

    Last updated: Tuesday 14th April 2026

    Quick Summary

    This blog is about Plutarch's ancient writings on virtue and fate. It's interesting because his ideas, written centuries ago, still offer surprising insights into how we live today and the choices we make. His thinking challenges modern views on destiny and personal responsibility, making it remarkably relevant.

    In a hurry? TL;DR

    • 1A 2021 medical first saw all nine babies from a nonuplet birth survive, defying statistical odds and previous high-order birth outcomes.
    • 2The common telephone greeting 'hello' was championed by Thomas Edison over Alexander Graham Bell's 'Ahoy-hoy,' becoming standard through early directory listings.
    • 3Linguistic evolution and historical branding can shape everyday language in unexpected ways, often through individual influence.
    • 4Scientific and historical records frequently reveal that reality can surpass our intuitive understanding of the possible.
    • 5The Mali nonuplets' survival highlights advancements in neonatal intensive care, pushing the boundaries of what's medically achievable.
    • 6Investigating such statistical oddities challenges assumptions and reveals the unpredictable nature of history and discovery.

    Why It Matters

    It's surprising how often common sense is wrong, from medical firsts to the origins of everyday phrases.

    Reality frequently operates outside the bounds of what feels plausible, often favouring the bizarre over the predictable. From medical anomalies that skip past biological limits to linguistic origins hidden in plain sight, these verified accounts prove that truth rarely feels the need to be convincing.

    Quick Summary

    • A record-breaking birth in 2021 redefined the limits of human neonatology.
    • The most common telephone greeting was actually a secondary choice backed by Thomas Edison.
    • Early childhood exposure to dogs may provide a lifetime of respiratory protection.
    • Scientific and historical records often contradict our intuitive sense of what is possible.

    Why It Matters

    Understanding these anomalies prevents us from relying on lazy intuition and highlights how often the world moves in directions we didn't see coming.

    1. The Geometry of the Nonuplet Miracle

    In the history of human reproduction, the survival of multiple births has always been a precarious balance of medical intervention and sheer biological luck. Until recently, the idea of nine children being born at once and surviving was considered a statistical and physiological impossibility.

    In 2021, Halima Cissé of Mali gave birth to nonuplets in Morocco; all nine babies survived, a medical first. This event shattered previous records where high-order multiple births often resulted in tragedy within days. The delivery required a team of over 30 medical professionals and a carefully choreographed caesarean section.

    What makes this more than just a headline is the sheer volume of the feat. Before this, the previous two recorded sets of nonuplets did not survive more than a few hours or days. The survival of the Cissé nonuplets represents a leap in neonatal intensive care that would have been unimaginable just two decades ago.

    2. When 'Hello' Triumphs Over 'Ahoy'

    We assume the words we use daily have always existed in their current form, yet the standard telephone greeting was the result of a specific 19-century branding war. Before it was a greeting, it was an exclamation of surprise or a way to catch someone's attention from a distance.

    The interjection hello first appeared in print in 1826 and later became the standard telephone greeting specifically because Thomas Edison favoured it. His rival, Alexander Graham Bell, insisted on using the nautical phrase Ahoy-hoy.

    Edison won the cultural argument by backing hello in the first telephone directories. By 1877, the word was being typeset as the definitive way to answer a call, effectively erasing Bell’s preference from the public consciousness. It is a rare example of a single inventor's whim permanently altering the linguistic fabric of the world.

    3. The Canine Shield Against Allergies

    Hyper-sanitised environments are often blamed for the rise in modern autoimmune issues, a concept known as the hygiene hypothesis. It suggests that our immune systems need a bit of dirt and dander to learn how to behave.

    Recent research published in journals like JAMA Pediatrics supports this. Growing evidence suggests that exposure to household pets, especially dogs, during pregnancy and infancy may help lower a child's risk of allergies or asthma.

    By introducing diverse microbes into the home, dogs act as a biological primer for a child's developing immune system. Compared to children raised in pet-free environments, those with dogs show significantly lower rates of sensitivities to common allergens. It is an ironic twist of nature: the very thing we thought caused sneezing might actually be the cure.

    4. The Shortest War in Recorded History

    Military conflicts are usually synonymous with years of attrition and complex logistics. However, the Anglo-Zanzibar War of 1896 reminds us that sometimes, power imbalances produce results that feel like a clerical error.

    The war lasted exactly 38 minutes. After the pro-British Sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini died and Khalid bin Barghash took the throne without British approval, an ultimatum was issued. When it expired at 9:00 AM on 27 August, British cruisers opened fire. By 9:38 AM, the Sultan’s palace was a ruin, his flag was down, and the conflict was over. It remains the most lopsided engagement in the history of warfare.

    5. The Pyramids and the Woolly Mammoth

    Our mental timeline of history is often segmented into neat, separate boxes that don't actually overlap in reality. We think of the Ice Age and Ancient Egypt as distant eras, but they shared a brief moment on the same calendar.

    While the Great Pyramid of Giza was being constructed for Pharaoh Khufu around 2560 BCE, a small population of woolly mammoths was still very much alive on Wrangel Island, off the coast of Siberia. They survived there until roughly 1650 BCE. This means that while humans were developing complex mathematics and monumental architecture, prehistoric megafauna from the Pleistocene epoch were still roaming the earth.

    6. Trees That Pre-Date the Invention of Writing

    If you stood beneath a Bristlecone pine in the White Mountains of California today, you would be standing next to a living organism that was already a thousand years old when Troy fell.

    The tree known as Methuselah is over 4,800 years old. To put that in perspective, this tree was a sapling when the first cuneiform tablets were being etched in Sumer. The sheer resilience of these trees comes from their ability to grow in extremely harsh conditions, which slows their growth and makes their wood so dense that pests and rot cannot penetrate it.

    7. The Unsinkable Violet Jessop

    Some people seem to possess a statistical immunity to disaster that defies the laws of probability. Violet Jessop, an ocean liner stewardess, is arguably the most resilient maritime employee in history.

    She was on board the HMS Olympic when it collided with the HMS Hawke in 1911. She was on the RMS Titanic when it struck an iceberg and sank in 1912. Undeterred, she served as a nurse on the HMHS Britannic during World War I, which also sank after hitting a sea mine in 1916. She survived all three disasters, eventually returning to work on ships until her retirement in 1950.

    8. Sharks Are Older Than Saturn’s Rings

    We view the solar system as a permanent, unchanging gallery of celestial bodies, but some features are relatively new. According to data from the Cassini mission, Saturn’s iconic rings are likely only 10 to 100 million years old.

    By contrast, sharks have been in the oceans in some form for roughly 400 million years. This means there was a massive span of Earth's history where sharks were swimming in the deep, but if you had turned a telescope toward Saturn, you would have seen a planet without its famous crown.

    Summary of Extraordinary Realities

    Subject The Claim Contextual Reality Source Connection
    Survival Limits Nonuplets surviving birth First case of nine healthy survivors. Medical First (2021)
    Linguistics 'Hello' as a greeting Defeated Alexander Graham Bell's 'Ahoy'. Thomas Edison (1877)
    Immunity Dogs reducing asthma risk Exposure during infancy is protective. Pediatric Research
    Chronology Mammoths and Pyramids Co-existed for nearly 1,000 years. Wrangel Island Studies
    Biology Ancient Sharks Predate Saturn's rings by 300 million years. NASA / Marine Biology
    Warfare 38-Minute Conflict The briefest war ever recorded. Anglo-Zanzibar (1896)
    Resilience Methuselah Tree Older than the invention of the alphabet. Dendrochronology
    Luck Violet Jessop Survived three major shipwrecks. Maritime Records
    “The truth is not only stranger than fiction, it is usually much more inconvenient for our sense of order.”

    Key Takeaways

    • Human medical limits are constantly being redefined by technology and luck.
    • Common language is often shaped by the preferences of powerful inventors.
    • Early environmental exposure is a critical factor in long-term physical health.
    • Our historical timelines are often more overlapping and messy than textbooks suggest.
    • Biology on Earth frequently outlasts major celestial features in our solar system.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    The most common telephone greeting is 'Hello'. Thomas Edison favored this word, winning out over Alexander Graham Bell's preference for 'Ahoy-hoy'.

    In 2021, Halima Cissé gave birth to nonuplets (nine babies) who all survived, a medical first that shattered previous records for high-order multiple births.

    Recent research suggests that early childhood exposure to dogs may provide a lifetime of respiratory protection and potentially help prevent allergies, aligning with the hygiene hypothesis.

    Unusual statistical oddities and historical realities, like the origin of 'hello' or the survival of nonuplets, demonstrate that scientific and historical records often defy our intuitive sense of what is possible.

    Sources & References