Why Did the Victorians Harbor Warm Feelings for Leeches?
Medical authorities wrote about leeches as if they sucked blood out of the goodness of their hearts.
When Shoes Were Fit with X-Rays
Fluoroscopes were used in shoe stores from the mid-1920s to 1950s in North America and Europe -- even though the radiation risks of x-rays were well-known.
People Who Can’t Feel Pain
While exceptionally rare, congenital analgesia, or a total insensitivity to pain, is a real condition that can be quite dangerous.
Why Male Midwives Concealed the Obstetric Forceps
The history of obstetric forceps shows the dangers of privatizing important medical know-how.
What is Cerebrospinal Fluid?
A patient was convinced that her runny nose indicated a deeper problem. She was right. Her case brought cerebrospinal fluid into the national spotlight.
Treadmills Were Meant to Be Atonement Machines
America’s favorite piece of workout equipment was developed as a device for forced labor in British prisons. It was banned as cruel and inhumane by 1900.
The Long Tradition of Dangerous “Cures”
Medical cures are usually too good to be true. Numerous doctors wrote to the prestigious British Medical Journal, reporting on their prescription of raw meat juice to patients.
When Scientists Perform Experiments on Themselves
More than one self-experiment has resulted in a Nobel Prize. Against all odds, and sometimes in spite of the damage they cause, these crazy gambits pay off.