MemeMachineGo!

Max von Pettenkofer was a high roller.

During the early 1850s there were epidemics of cholera and typhoid in Munich which led Pettenkofer to investigate John Snow’s thesis that they were water-borne. The results of his investigation convinced him that the cause lay in the moisture content of the soil which varied with the rise and fall of ground water. Despite his fallacious theories Pettenkofer’s sanitary work improved the health of Munich. He steadfastly refused to believe in the germ theory and is said to have drunk a vial of water contaminated by Vibrio cholerae which was sent to him by Robert Koch, assuring Koch that he remained in his usual good health.