Belladonna Drops

Garrotting Panic

Garrotting panics and hysterias appeared in a few major cities in the mid-19th century. A few creative merchants quickly saw profitable opportunities in the public’s fear…

Here’s a great article on one of such garroting panics: Today I Found Out.

Shopping for Arsenic

Everyday Life, Medicine

There were no regulations on buying and selling arsenic until 1851, and even then it could be relatively easy purchased by anyone who didn’t cause any suspicion.

You can read more on arsenic and other poisons in The Secret Poisoner: The Victorian Age of Poisoning.

Stethoscope

Great Inventions, Medicine

The invention of the stethoscope was inspired by a rather embarrassing moment in a young French doctor’s life. You can read more about René Laennec here.

Cat Mummies

Everyday Life, Funerals, Medicine

For a few centuries, mummies (both human and feline) were used by some in truly surprising and disturbing ways. Read more about the 1888 cat-mummy craze here.

Three Little Kittens

Everyday Life, Funerals

“…It was an age of high infant mortality. Even picture books prepared children for the melancholy realities.”

I stumbled upon this version of Three Little Kittens in the book Necropolis, London and Its Dead.

The Bell

Funerals, Medicine

Safety coffins designs were mostly created during the 18th and 19th centuries, when the fear of being buried alive was quite common, due to numerous epidemics and popular fiction.

This week’s comic was inspired by the first episode of Lore, “They Made a Tonic.”

Whale Cure

Medicine

A short-lived, yet fantastic cure. Find out more about it in the original The New York Times article from 1896, or this piece in The Syndey Morning Herald.

Leeches

Medicine

Bloodletting used to be one of the most popular medical practices, as it was supposed to bring the balance between the four humors inside the human body and thus treat all ailments, from rashes to tuberculosis. Check out this SciShow video to see what role leeches played in the whole process.

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