DNA analysis found that the ages of the dead ranged from 35 weeks gestation to 3 years.
Ok, atrocities aside, how the hell can you tell age from DNA? DNA doesn't change as you age.
this post was submitted on 18 Jun 2025
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Thank you. I asked myself same. Telomeres I guess you would need to know the length after birth. But we only have one sample (moment of death). Plus the victims bodies are probably not very good preserved. My best guess is, the text is just not accurate and they might used DNA testing for different things (sex, etc).
Telomere length is the only thing I can think of, but that's totally a guess and I don't know much about it. Telomeres, as I understand it, are padding at the end of DNA and shorten as you age.
I'd guess they look at the telomeres but I don't how accurate it can be.
I love how the headline says as if this happened recently. Clowns.
Scopes reports that the babies were buried in an adjacent structure and that the number is undetermined. An amateur published that number without evidence.
Until additional information is uncovered, it is not possible if the grave was a result of legitimate or initiate reasons.
https://www.snopes.com/news/2025/06/18/796-children-septic-tank-ireland/
You say the number is inaccurate, which begs the question: what exactly is an acceptable number of infant remains to find in an orphanage septic tank?
Raises. It raises the question.
If you read the scopes article, the number is zero and zero is a great number. "The human remains found by the Commission are not in a sewage tank but in a second structure with 20 chambers..." How did these children die? Were they murdered? Was there a pandemic? Neglect? Famine? Over what time range was this collective grave used?
After the story in Canada that sparked the burning of multiple churches was found out to be entirely false, I'm going to wait for actual facts here.
Wow, what an awful but fascinating read. Really changes the perspective on this.
It wasnt a place that harmed or neglected children, but rather a place that housed the most vulnerable at a difficult time and endured immense hardship.
Antitheism needs to rise.
Wow, thinking religion is bad just because there are more babies than you can really comprehend looking at in this septic tank, and you had to ask yourself 'wait I've read this one before'?
Bigot.
Yeah! How many times has a religion done this?
And that first one you thought of doesn't count. Or the next 3 cause those were all recent mass graves. Or those old ones if you thought of those. So just don't count the first 20 times of this from religions that pop into your head and then tell me how often you really think this happened.
Heretic.
This isn't the only place this has happened. More info here.
Thats awful, but you know who wont drown babies and hide their bodies in a septic tank?
I swear to God if the answer is a shark....
Don’t get off topic. Also, that’s speciesist, and just kind of rude.
The answer is the sponsors of this podcast!
religions don't deserve to exist.
Religion is the last mental illness you can't call out or treat. When you have Mike Huckabees et al going around ushering in the End Times, we should have the power to medicate these people into a barely functional stupor.
Sure but you might be making some assumptions that don't really apply here.
You mean assumptions about the 800 dead hidden babies in what is a very common finding inthese settings? Those assumptions?
They can exist - if they pay taxes.
I'd rather they not, though.
the idea of banning religion is painfully tyrannical, like how could you do that without instituting a thought police or a state sanctioned belief system...
however, in reality, they most toxic part of religion of organised religions, when they are big institutions fighting for political power rather than maintaining their beliefs and communities.
possible solution: progressive tax on religious institutions based on their size, a small community of 50 to 100? tax free, you have 1000s of congregants? start rising, megachurches with 1000 thousand people? 95% tax...
banning religion? I didn't say ban it.
i assumed you wanted them gone.
I do. religion is a profound evil, and the cause of nearly all human suffering.
God has caused the bloodiest and most brutal wars ever fought, which were all based on religious hatred. Millions have died simply because ‘God told’ Hindus, Muslims, Jews, and Christians it would be a ‘good idea’ for them to kill each other.
- George Carlin, Comedian and Social Critic
The most detestable wickedness, the most horrid cruelties, and the greatest miseries, that have afflicted the human race have had their origin in this thing called revelation, or revealed religion. It has been . . . the most destructive to . . . the peace and happiness of man.
- Thomas Paine, Political Philosopher (1796)
The bloodiest wars in history have been religious wars.
- Richard Nixon, even this Dick thinks so
I don't think religion itself is evil. But corporate religion. Organizations and individuals that claim religion as the reasons for thier own sin for profit. People waving the bible as an excuse to do harm unto others.
Worship of a higher power or purpose shouldn't ever be used as a reason or means to commit sins. That's the major problem. Corruption and hypocrisy is rampant because people gather power under the flag of religion. Power easily corrupts the more it gathers.
agree 100%
but will be pedantic and complain about your usage of "sin", as it is a Christian concept and not necessarily a bad thing.
Sin/evil deeds then. Many decent religions denounce evil deed and have good morals. Then there are other religions that promote sacrifice of life (your own or others).
Could have been worse, could have been atheists running the home.
There would have been no remains.
If there was an infant death, it would also have been reported to authorizes and given proper respects. The number of deaths is way to high, but SIDS is real and atheists wouldn't have dumped the bodies in a mass grave in the backyard.
Most of the infants died from bacterial or viral infections.
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