Joseph Priestley did experiments where he placed a candle and a mouse into a sealed jar. Whathappened to them? What did he discover?

Joseph Priestley conducted a series of experiments to study the nature of air. In one of his experiments, he placed a candle and a mouse in a sealed jar. After a while, the candle went out and the mouse eventually suffocated. This happened because both the candle and the mouse were consuming the oxygen in the jar, and once the oxygen was depleted, neither could survive.

From these experiments, Priestley discovered that plants have the ability to "restore" the air, making it fit for a mouse to breathe and a candle to burn again. This led to his discovery of oxygen, which he initially called "dephlogisticated air". He also discovered that animals and burning objects consume this oxygen, leading to the understanding of the process of respiration and combustion.