Famous scientist Galileo Galilei invented the telescope. Yay! Looking through it, Galileo decided that the earth probably WASN’T the center of the universe, which made a lot of people very angry. The authorities threw him in jail for that one. (Boo!)
After Galileo died in 1642, his body was put in a temporary spot before it was moved to Florence, Italy. His new resting spot would be just opposite Michelangelo's tomb. (Not bad!)
But during the move, some of Galileo's fans decided to get souvenirs. And so they cut off three of the scientist's fingers! It turns out that cutting body parts off of famous people (especially fingers and tongues) was an okay way to get a keepsake. Anyway, ONE of Galileo's fingers was recovered and has been in the Museum of the History of Science in Florence since 1927. (That’s the picture there.)
The other two fingers went into a glass jar. They were secretly kept by an Italian marquis, and passed on 300 years in the same family. But now Galileo’s fingers have reappeared! Not only that, but the Museum of the History of Science gets them, so the three fingers that created the world's first telescope will be reunited. *sniff* I’m so happy right now!
Finger photo from the Telegraph.
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