The Fear of Being Buried Alive (and How to Prevent It)
Pliny the Elder remarked: “Such is the condition of humanity, and so uncertain is men’s judgment, that they cannot determine even death itself.”
Surgery for Stuttering
In the 19th century, Europe and the United States saw a "mania for operating."
Disability Studies: Foundations & Key Concepts
This non-exhaustive reading list highlights some of the key debates and conceptual shifts in disability studies.
Richard Wright Helped Bring Mental Healthcare to Harlem
The famous novelist worked to fight the psychological cost of black oppression.
When Dancing Plagues Struck Medieval Europe
The tarantella is named for a peasant woman from southern Italy whose tarantula bite started a contagious dancing fever!
When America Incarcerated “Promiscuous” Women
From WWI to the 1950s, the "American Plan" rounded up sexually-active women and quarantined them, supposedly to protect soldiers from venereal disease.
From the Belly of a Goat to the Mouth of a King
Bezoars, a strange lump formed in the belly of a goat, once were considered a panacea, and worth more than their weight in gold.
Why Male Midwives Concealed the Obstetric Forceps
The history of obstetric forceps shows the dangers of privatizing important medical know-how.
The Man Who Invented Modern Infection Control
He's hailed as the "father of infection control" and the "savior of mothers," but the truth about Ignaz Semmelweis is more complicated than that.