Galileo Galilei was born on February 15, 1564. He worked on the improvement of a telescope with which he later discovered craters on the moon, the satellites of Jupiter, and every luscious detail of the girl next door’s nubile young form. Galileo’s astronomical observations seemed to confirm Copernicus‘ theory that the Earth went around the Sun rather than the other way around. Unfortunately, Copernicus‘ theory was heresy and therefore not supposed to be confirmed.
The church was in a tough spot. Galileo was every bit as Bad and Heretical as Copernicus had been, but they didn’t want to inspire a bunch of angry Germans to start another church, as Martin Luther’s followers had not long after the church’s previous brush with Astronomy.
High-ranking church officials pleaded with the astronomer: “Come on, Galileo.” “Please, Galileo.” “Knock it off, Galileo.”
But he wouldn’t stop talking about the Earth spinning around the Sun. He couldn’t even be persuaded to talk about something else, such as sports, the weather, or the girl next door’s nubile young form. So they threatened to kill him.
At this point Galileo remembered that the Sun actually did revolve around the Earth, and the church rewarded his improved memory by giving him free room and board for the rest of his life (a level of hospitality sometimes referred to as “house arrest“.)
And so it goes
The Haus of Dcaligari 