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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Anything-Complex on 2024-10-20 12:47:10+00:00.

Original Title: TIL That the 16th century Swiss alchemist Paracelsus claimed to have created a homunculus (a tiny human) by placing a vial of semen in horse dung, burying the mixture for 40 days, then digging it up and feeding it his blood for another 40 days.