• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Science / What Is Spontaneous Generation and How Did the Theory of Spontaneous Generation Explain the Origin of Life?

What Is Spontaneous Generation and How Did the Theory of Spontaneous Generation Explain the Origin of Life?

April 19, 2020 by Karen Hill

The theory of spontaneous generation was widely accepted in Leeuwenhoek’s time.

This theory asserted that lower forms of life, such as worms or lice, originated from inorganic matter.

Leeuwenhoek showed that these creatures developed from tiny eggs. He documented the life cycle of ants and the development of larvae and pupae from eggs.

The debate also raged at the time whether, in human reproduction, it was the egg or the sperm that contained the human life.

The old idea was that the female uterus merely served as nourishment for the male sperm that developed into a human being.

In one of his rare errors, Leeuwenhoek believed that human life was contained in the sperm and searched for evidence for years. When he could not find it, he made a very unscientific conclusion.

He said human ingenuity would never be able to discover that “great secret.”

Related Facts

  • Who first Discovered Bacteria and that Microscopic Organisms cause infection and disease?
  • How do they select donors at a sperm bank and Why was I rejected?
  • How does artificial insemination work and What is the advantage of frozen sperm?
  • Why do Male Chimpanzees have Bigger Testicles compared to Humans and Gorillas also have Tiny Ones?
  • Top 25 Inventions That Changed the World
  • When Did Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Discover Bacteria With a Microscope and Where Do Beasties Come From?

Filed Under: Science

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « When Did Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Discover Bacteria With a Microscope and Where Do Beasties Come From?
Next Post: What Was the Public Reaction To Charles Darwin’s Book “On the Origin of Species” In 1859? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy