Page 181 - (DK) Danger! Open with Extreme Caution!

Smoke gets in your…
The supposed stimulant effect
of tobacco smoke was used for
an unusual purpose during
the 18th century. Using special
bellows, doctors blew smoke into
the rectums of people who were
apparently dead from drowning.
It was thought to revive them.
Secret recipe
In the 18th century, English quack
Joanna Stephens became wealthy by
Hot stuff!
gallstones. It contained snails, eggshells,
Doctors of the 18th and 19th centuries concocting a potion to dissolve
herbs, and soap and was completely
believed that if inflammation inside useless. Yet the British government
the body was causing a disease, paid Stephens a large sum of money
making the skin inflamed would “remove
the disease below.” Techniques used
to inflame the body included bandaging to reveal her secret recipe.
burning substances to the skin to
produce open sores or blisters.

Kill or cure?
In the early 20th century,
radioactive substances, now
known to be dangerous,
were regarded as a novelty.
Some quacks even sold
radioactive cures. Most
notorious of these was
Radithor, which caused
the death of at least
one person from
radiation poisoning.

KILLER CURES 181
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