Who hasn’t experienced times of sluggishness? All of us have those days when we just want to shut off the alarm clock, roll over, and not have to worry about getting out of bed.
When you are faced with a bad case of lethargy, what is your preferred remedy? Caffeine? Energy drinks? A brisk stroll under a sunny sky? If none of those approaches do the trick, you might try something from The Queen’s Closet Opened. This recipe and general advice book was published in England in 1696. It suggests the following for people who are tired all the time:
It is necessary for lethargy-sufferers that people talk loudly in their presence. Tie their extremities lightly and rub their palms and soles hard; and let their feet be put in salt water up to the middle of their shins, and pull their hair and nose, and squeeze the toes and fingers tightly, and cause pigs to squeal in their ears… Put a feather, or a straw, in his nose to compel him to sneeze, and do not ever desist from hindering him from sleeping; and let human hair or other evil-smelling thing be burnt under his nose.
If that doesn’t cause you to cast off the doldrums, we don’t know what will.
Radithor: The Radium Medicine That Worked Fine… Until the Patient’s Jaw Fell Off
Learn about Radithor — the radium-based medicine that worked just fine — until the patient’s jaw fell off.
A Smile So Sharp It Will Split Atoms
During 1940-1945, radioactive Doramad toothpaste was easily available in German pharmacies, containing thorium as a marketing strategy. This raised concerns among U.S. intelligence about Germany’s atomic bomb research progress. However, it was later discovered that German entrepreneurs were stockpiling thorium for profit, being ahead of their time.
Take Some Mummy Powder, A Few Drops of Gladiator Blood, and Call Me in the Morning
Quack medicine is nothing new. Over the centuries, people have ingested some pretty disgusting things in hopes of curing whatever ails them. Consider some of the following examples from history: Mellified Man: Take one male volunteer aged 70 or 80, bathe him, and feed him with nothing but honey. Upon his death (usually within a…
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