19th Century Civics and Physiology Exams

More 19th century real student examination answers from Mark Twain.

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Excerpts from students' civics exams in the 1800s:

"The three departments of the government is the President rules the world, the governor rules the State, the mayor rules the city."

"The first conscientious Congress met in Philadelphia."
"The Constitution of the United States was established to ensure domestic hostility."
"The Constitution of the United States is that part of the book at the end which nobody reads."
"Congress is divided into civilized half civilized and savage."

Excerpts from 19th-century students' physiology exams:

"Physillogigy is to study about your bones stummick and vertebry."
"Occupations which are injurious to health are cabolic acid gas which is impure blood."
"We have an upper and lower skin. The lower skin moves all the time and the upper skin moves when we do."
"The body is mostly composed of water and about one half is avaricious tissue."
"The stomach is a small pear-shaped bone situated in the body."
"The gastric juice keeps the bones from creaking."
"The Chyle flows up the middle of the backbone and reaches the heart where it meets the oxygen and is purified."
"The salivary glands are used to salivate the body."
"In the stomach starch is changed to cane sugar and cane sugar to sugar cane."
"The olfactory nerve enters the cavity of the orbit and is developed into the special sense of hearing."
"The growth of a tooth begins in the back of the mouth and extends to the stomach."
"If we were on a railroad track and a train was coming the train would deafen our ears so that we couldn't see to get off the track."

Posted February 9, 2009 8:00 AM

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