Category:
Medicine
Medicine
Dr. Chase’s Nerve Food
Alvin Chase was a successful 19th-century peddler of dubious medical remedies, but his name kept being used to sell medicine throughout the 20th century. His "nerve food" contained arsenic and strychnine (and other good stuff). The Lake Country Museum has a short bio of him:
Born in New York State in 1817, Alvin Chase came to Ann Arbor in 1856 to pursue a medical degree after a career as a traveling peddler of groceries and household drugs. While taking classes at the University of Michigan, he supported his family by selling home medical remedies and household recipes that he had picked up in his travels, starting with a single page of hints and cures.
Chase only audited classes at the U-M, since Latin was required to complete the program and had not been taught at the "log school" he'd attended in New York. He earned the title "doctor" in 1857 after spending sixteen weeks in Cincinnati at the Eclectic Medical Institute.
After returning to Ann Arbor, Chase practiced medicine and continued to expand his book of recipes. To the modern reader, many of his remedies seem very quaint. Besides cures for five kinds of "apparent death," they included tinctures, teas, and ointments made from plants, tree bark, and–in one case–cooked toads. But at a time when doctors were still bleeding patients or poisoning them with mercury, his cures may have been as much help as anything the local doctor prescribed.
Chase only audited classes at the U-M, since Latin was required to complete the program and had not been taught at the "log school" he'd attended in New York. He earned the title "doctor" in 1857 after spending sixteen weeks in Cincinnati at the Eclectic Medical Institute.
After returning to Ann Arbor, Chase practiced medicine and continued to expand his book of recipes. To the modern reader, many of his remedies seem very quaint. Besides cures for five kinds of "apparent death," they included tinctures, teas, and ointments made from plants, tree bark, and–in one case–cooked toads. But at a time when doctors were still bleeding patients or poisoning them with mercury, his cures may have been as much help as anything the local doctor prescribed.
Posted By: Alex - Wed Feb 06, 2013 -
Comments (4)
Category: Medicine
Pubic hair grooming injuries on the rise
The article "Pubic Hair Grooming Injuries Presenting to U.S. Emergency Departments" was published in the December issue of the journal Urology. The authors note that the scientific community has paid little attention to the subject of pubic hair grooming injuries, which is why their article is a welcome correction.The take-home from the article is that a) pubic hair grooming injuries are on the rise, mostly because more people are watching porn, inspiring them to want to look like porn stars down there, so they start grooming, sometimes with bad consequences; and b) razors were responsible for most of the injuries. The authors recommend using clippers instead.
Posted By: Alex - Wed Dec 19, 2012 -
Comments (4)
Category: Hygiene, Medicine, Genitals, Hair and Hairstyling
A Brief History of Artificial Respiration
Courtesy of Boys' Life, April 1964.
Posted By: Alex - Mon Nov 19, 2012 -
Comments (2)
Category: Health, Medicine
Urine Flavor Wheels
Urine Flavor Wheels were once a standard tool used by doctors. Doctors would either sniff or taste a patient's urine to make a diagnosis. But by the 19th Century, urine tasting had fallen out of favor, replaced by the use of various chemical tests. Though some doctors resisted the change, believing that the taste test yielded more information than any chemical analysis could. More info at ediblegeography.com.
Posted By: Alex - Fri Nov 09, 2012 -
Comments (9)
Category: Medicine, Body Fluids
Cold Wind Causing Facial Paralysis
A search on Google Scholar reveals that common causes of facial paralysis include Herpes simplex virus, lyme disease, Bell's palsy, and Ramsay Hunt syndrome. But in Shanghai, doctors are reporting numerous cases of facial paralysis caused by the cold autumn wind. Fatigue is also a contributing factor. A Shanghai doctor cautions that, "Elderly people, new mothers, children with weak immunity, and those exposed to cold wind after drinking are the most likely to suffer facial paralysis."It's also reported that the "majority of the patients are male between 20 and 50 years of age." (I'm guessing they're the ones being exposed to the cold wind after drinking.) They're coming into hospitals complaining of sudden paralysis on one side of the face. A little bit of acupuncture and massage, and they're set right. [hillpost.in]
Posted By: Alex - Thu Oct 18, 2012 -
Comments (8)
Category: Health, Medicine, Weather
Black Draught
Surely this is the worst name for a laxative ever, conjuring up images of torrents of tarry bowel movements. The fact that "black draught" is also a term for a horse and cow purgative doesn't help.
Worst of all, the stuff is still being sold!
Listen to these old grannies wince at the memory of taking Black Draught in their youth.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Oct 12, 2012 -
Comments (8)
Category: Medicine, Excrement, Nineteenth Century
Yeast, Its Not Just For Bread Anymore
Everyone has heard of medicinal patches, stick it on and the medicine is absorbed through the skin. They are used for pain meds, heart meds, even nicotine to stop smoking. Not all medicines can be absorbed through the skin easily though. Piercing the skin to allow absorption is necessary. But what would power the micro needles needed to administer these other meds? How about yeast? Activate the yeast chamber and it produces carbon dioxide that forces the micro needles into the skin. A very clever idea, if it works they will make a lot of dough from yeast this way.
Posted By: Alex - Mon Sep 17, 2012 -
Comments (3)
Category: Medicine
The Pipes of Pain
Would you go to a dentist called Dr. Pain? Would your decision change if you knew he was going to play bagpipes for you as he waited for your anesthesia to take effect?Unfortunately, the question is moot, since Dr. Rodney Pain, the bagpipe-playing dentist of San Francisco, is surely no longer in practice. (He's probably no longer alive.) A photo and caption detailing his unusual blend of dentistry and Scottish music ran in newspapers back in early 1966. [Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, Spokane Daily Chronicle]
More in extended >>
Posted By: Alex - Mon Sep 10, 2012 -
Comments (14)
Category: Medicine, Music, 1960s
Shepherd of the Royal Anus
Strange job title. 'Shepherd of the Royal Anus' (neru pehut) was a title held by several court physicians in Ancient Egypt, including Ir-en-akhty (who lived during the First Intermediate Period) and his predecessor Khuy. It could also be translated as 'Herdsman of the Anus' or 'Guardian of the Anus'. Here's a partial explanation:As in all ancient cultures, the doctor was part of the priesthood. Each physician was responsible for curing only one illness. The god-king was attended to by a host of medical practitioners, each specializing in one body part and bearing such titles as Royal Keeper of the Pharaoh's Left Eye, Royal Keeper of the Pharaoh's Right Eye, or Shepherd of the Royal Anus.
And more:
[Neru Pehut was] a title borne by physicians qualified to prescribe and administer medicines rectally. Herodotus frequently speaks of the alimentary canal: the Egyptians, he says, 'purge themselves, for their health's sake, with emetics and clysters." Diodorus Siculus, writing four hundred years later, echoes this observation, saying that 'in order to prevent sicknesses they look after the health of their bodies by means of drenches, fastings, and emetics.' Enemas were among the most common modes of treatment, employed several times a month for preventive purposes.
Posted By: Alex - Sat Sep 01, 2012 -
Comments (6)
Category: Medicine, Odd Names, Ancient Times
Self-Gassing Device
Kind of like having an octopus attached to your head. From Popular Science, May 1938.
Posted By: Alex - Sun Aug 19, 2012 -
Comments (6)
Category: Inventions, Medicine
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| Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Contact Us |