Voted 'First Lady Least Likely to Put Up With Your Anti-Vax Shit.' Once upon a time, there was a disease called 'smallpox.' This smallpox was a son of a bitch, with a 30% mortality rate. And if you survived it? There was a pretty danged good chance you'd be scarred terribly as a permanent reminder … Continue reading Abigail Adams Haiku
Tag: history of medicine
Sweating Sickness Haiku
You think you're hot shit? Too bad weird mystery plagues Don't give a sweet damn. I've been sick as a dog lately. I've been miserable as fuck. Be that as it may, my knowledge of history has helped me acknowledge that welp, it could be worse. For example, I don't have to worry about a … Continue reading Sweating Sickness Haiku
James Barry Haiku
C-section required! Mum and babe in peril? Ha! Think again, losers. Today on Crossdresser Week: James Barry, badass British Army surgeon with a secret! A word on pronouns before we begin: I'm opting for the singular 'they' for Barry, as while there is sound speculation that they were transgender, I just don't feel like there's … Continue reading James Barry Haiku
Isaac Baker Brown Haiku
Wife hysterical? Gentle sir, there's a simple cure: Remove clitoris. On our final day of Quack Week, we have Isaac Baker Brown, Victorian gynecologist and the worst. Isaac Baker Brown was born in 1811 in Essex, to a farmer and a schoolmaster's daughter. After an apprenticeship with a surgeon, he skipped off to study at … Continue reading Isaac Baker Brown Haiku
Pliny the Elder Haiku
Fuck! What did he say Treated inhaling toxic Fumes from volcano? A cold is sapping my energy this evening. Thus, I share with you some of the foolproof cures of Pliny the Elder, Roman military commander and naturally philosopher. (Yes, this is inspired by the 'Sawbones' podcast.) I know quite a few ladies that are … Continue reading Pliny the Elder Haiku
Theodor Morell Haiku
Third party ensured By force of arms, brains, daring, Meth-addled Fuhrer. Today on Quack Week, we have an example of questionable medicine that may have aided in the salvation of Europe! All because Hitler was really bad at choosing his doctors. Theodor Morell (1886-1948), Nazi, started out as a proper doctor. But after World War … Continue reading Theodor Morell Haiku
Clark Stanley Haiku
Come! Buy my sketch meds! You can trust me, because I Saw Indian once. Welcome to Quack Week, where we explore some, how shall we say, 'questionable' practitioners and peddlers of medicine. We begin with Clark Stanley, who originated our image of the snake oil salesman. Snake oil as a medicine originated with the Chinese. … Continue reading Clark Stanley Haiku
Joseph Meister Haiku
Rabies got you down? Hold tight as Pasteur invents Vaccine from dead hares. On this day 133 years ago, Joseph Meister, after being bit by a rabid dog, was the luckiest little son of a gun in the world when he became the first human test subject for Louis Pasteur's brand new rabies vaccine. As … Continue reading Joseph Meister Haiku
John Snow Haiku
Cholera outbreak! Is a miasma to blame? No. Shitty water. John Snow (no, not that guy) died 160 years ago today. He is most famous for tracing the source of the 1854 cholera epidemic in Soho to a water pump where the mother of an afflicted infant rinsed the soiled diapers. (How did the poor … Continue reading John Snow Haiku
Kelsey Ehler, AKA The Great Kelsini 