9 Bizarre Attempts At Immortality And Eternal Youth Throughout History

Nicolas Flamel, The Alchemist Who Allegedly Found The Philosopher’s Stone

Wikimedia CommonsThe real-life Nicolas Flamel, who served as inspiration for the character in Harry Potter.

The goal of all alchemists was ultimately to make gold out of more common elements. Of course, most of them were unaware that gold itself is an element and, therefore, impossible to create out of other substances — but that didn’t stop them from trying.

One of the most well-known alchemists was Nicolas Flamel, a man who allegedly claimed to have found the one missing ingredient needed in order to create gold: an elusive material known as the philosopher’s stone, also called the “elixir of life.”

According to Dr. Joe Schwarcz of McGill University, the largely incoherent writings that supposedly belonged to Flamel claimed that he discovered the philosopher’s stone on April 25, 1382, unlocking the key to transmutation — and to immortality.

These writings were later discovered by another alchemist named Vincenzo Cascariolo, who believed that he, like Flamel, could create the philosopher’s stone. There was just one problem.

Nicolas Flamel was indeed a real person, but he was not an alchemist at all. He was actually a 14th-century scribe who made a fortune speculating on real estate, and he used his wealth to help build hospitals and homes for the less fortunate.

But for some reason, books supposedly written by Flamel began to appear in the 16th century, well after he had passed. Some theorists speculate that Flamel did indeed discover the philosopher’s stone, became immortal, and faked his own death in the 14th century — but the facts suggest otherwise.

Still, many associate his name with the philosopher’s stone and the quest for immortality.

Alchemists who believed in the philosopher’s stone spent decades of their lives searching for the right combination of ingredients to create it. Of course, most of these efforts were in vain. Cascariolo was one of them — and for a moment, he believed he was on the right track.

Combining barite, powdered coal, and iron, Cascariolo produced a material that shone in the dark and could be reenergized by exposure to the sun. No, it was not the philosopher’s stone, but Cascariolo did create the world’s first glow-in-the-dark substance.

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