John Bonner - The biddies of Harvard (19/59)
87 views · Published 3 July 2017 · 1:31 · Indexed 23 October 2026
Channel: Web of Stories - Life Stories of Remarkable People · 2017 · Science & Technology
To hear more of John Bonner’s stories, go to the playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoKbjMVfBA0&list=PLVV0r6CmEsFzJx77ir9rbTxVC9EnCyfHD Born in 1920, John Bonner is one of the world's leading experts on cellular slime molds. His prime interests are in evolution and developmental biology and he uses cellular slime molds as a tool to understand both disciplines. [Listener: Christopher Sykes; date recorded: 2007] TRANSCRIPT: Harvard was a very different place then it is now. It's amazing what… when we were there as an undergraduate, there were waitresses in the dining hall. The idea of such a thing just seems incredible now. We had all sorts of perks. We had biddies who came to clean our rooms, and make our beds. It's hard to believe, but it's of course, left over from 19th century way things were done. And biddies were great. They were all Irish women, and we loved them. One day I was going out to some big exam and a biddy said, have a good day, or something of that sort. And I said, 'I'm terrible'. I said, 'I have to take this exam. And I'm not so sure I'm going to do too well'. 'Oh', she said, 'you'll do all right'. And I said, 'How do you know?' And she said, 'I lit a candle for you last night'. So we were very well taken care of by the biddies.
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