What’s in a Name? 4 Curious Things Named After Poland

maria-koltun-polonez_smile.jpg, default, Find four Polish things in this picture... photo collage: Wikimedia / Culture.pl

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From chemistry and entomology to human pathology and musicology... Here are the curious stories behind some very different things that seem to have very little in common – except the word ‘Polish’ in their names.

And yet, these things do have one thing in common. Each has something to say about Polish history and culture. So prepare for some trivia polonica, and meet the bug, the dance, the disease and one (more) element.

Polish cochineal – a Polish bug

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Polish cochineal, photo: Wikimedia

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Did you know there was a time when Poland became a real economic power just from cultivating a small insect? It sounds odd until you realise that this bug was the main source of red dye many years ago. In the late Middle Ages, Poland’s production of the little creature almost made it a monopolist in bringing Europe the colour, earning the bug a ‘Polish’ surname.

The famous red dye was extracted from a little insect known as the Polish cochineal (Porphyrophora polonica). Its larvae lived on the roots of herbs, particularly that of perennial knawel (Scleranthus). The inhabitants of Polish regions specialised in growing the plants and were experts in manufacturing the beautiful crimson dye, which was beloved by kings, dukes, and their courts all over Europe.

In the 16th century, the popularity of the Polish red started to wane due to the cheap import of an alternative dye from Mexico (also extracted from a cochineal insect, but one living on cacti). The Polish supplier was eventually superseded, and Poland lost its leading position in bringing Europe red.

Still, it seems tempting to think that the cultural memory of the Polish cochineal is somehow preserved in the red colour of the Polish flag. With all due respect to the historic bug, perhaps it’s fortunate that the more impressive eagle has become the national emblem of Poland.

‘Plica polonica’ – the Polish plait

'Plica Polonica', illustration from a book by Thomas Salmon published in Venice, 1739, photo: Wikimedia

For many centuries, plica polonica, or Polish plait, was one of the most mysterious diseases bothering mankind. It’s also one of the most nauseating. The condition is characterised by the hair shaft becoming irreversibly entangled, ‘forming a mass which is matted and sometimes can be sticky and moist’ (the latter being the result of scalp inflammation). As a result, someone suffering from this condition developed a rather unforgettable hairstyle.

The condition was first reported by Western travelers to Eastern Europe who saw it on the heads of local peasants. Therefore, the plica became associated with Polish territories, although the living conditions of peasants were pretty bad for most of Eastern Europe.

For a long time, plica polonica was surrounded by mystery. It was even considered to be the work of evil spirits: devils, strigoi, and witches, namely Polish witches. Those affected were cautioned not to cut it, as cutting the plait could supposedly result in blindness, hearing impairment, madness, bleedings and even violent convulsions. Actually, for quite a long time, even doctors weren’t sure if it was a disease, and were unaware of what caused it. Some believed it was a distinct disease entity, a neurotic condition, or a symptom of rheumatism, while others considered it an inherited disease.

Today, we know that the condition known as plica polonica is caused by the lack of proper hygiene, poor hair care, and the various diseases caused by all of that. Be it in Poland or anywhere else.

Polonaise – a Polish dance

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Polish nobility dancing Polonaise, painting by Korneli Szlegel, photo: Wikimedia / CC

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The Polonaise is surely the most Polish of all Polish dances. Therefore it might be a bit of a paradox that its name is actually a French word. Polonaise means ‘Polish’, and danse polonaise simply means ‘a Polish dance’. In another ironic twist, the Polonaise – this time as a musical movement – was first popularised in Germany, by such composers as Johann Sebastian Bach and Georg Philipp Telemann, and later Beethoven and Schubert. But it was Frederic Chopin, the son of a French emigrant to Poland (now it all clicks) who took the Polonaise to a whole new artistic level.

In Poland, the polonez is a slow, solemn and dignified dance in three-quarter time, usually danced in traditional national costume. It is closely connected with Polish history – Tadeusz Kościuszko reportedly composed one, and another, by Michał Kleofas Ogiński, is titled Farewell to the Fatherland. The most famous instrumental Polonaise in Polish literature appears in Adam Mickiewicz’s grand epic Pan Tadeusz, where it is performed on dulcimer by Jankiel the Jew. Today, not so popular as it once was, the Polonaise remains the traditional first dance of the Studniówka ball.

Polonium – a politically dangerous chemical element

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Marie Skłodowska-Curie with her husband Pierre Curie in their laboratory, Paris, 1900, photo: Wikimedia

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Can an element on the periodic table carry a political meaning? This certainly was the case with polonium. The discovery of polonium (Po, atomic number: 84) was first announced on 18th July 1898 by Maria Skłodowska-Curie and her husband Pierre Curie. The discovery would open the new field of science known as radioactivity, but it would also lead to political controversy – the name of the new element was deliberately chosen to highlight a political issue.

The name ‘polonium’ was a clear reference to Poland, and as such, it was an obvious political statement on the part of Maria Skłodowska, a Polish emigrant. Maria chose the name in blunt defiance of the politics of the day – at a time when the name ‘Poland’ wasn’t even on the map, a result of the partitioning of the country more than a century before. With polonium, Maria was sending a powerful and potentially subversive political message, reminding the world that Poland did, and should, exist.

The discovery was soon followed by another one, that of radium (in the same year). These groundbreaking elements earned the couple a Nobel Prize in physics in 1903, and certainly contributed to further publicity of the Polish issue around the world.

Written by Mikołaj Gliński, 12 Sep 2017

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