Hydropathy, or the water cure, was a 19th-century health reform movement and treatment popular in Europe and the United States. Patients soaked in cold or hot baths, took showers, were wrapped in wet compresses, sheets, belts, or special wet dresses, and also drank vast amounts of water. Hydropathy became a popular craze – a treatment … Continue reading Hydropathy: Pseudoscience in the 19th Century
Almanacs were a popular and handy reference for information and entertainment centuries before internet search engines, calendar apps, YouTube, blogs, and Google Maps. And like the internet, almanacs also informed us about new products and services through advertising and promotional articles. Select the images for a larger view and more information. At the heart of … Continue reading Almanacs: Information before the Internet
One hundred years ago, 25.8 million Americans got the flu in the 1918-19 influenza pandemic. Fifty percent of the U.S. military deaths in World War I were caused by the flu and 670,000 Americans died. And quack cures offered frightened Americans false hope. Below are just a few quack cures and preventative nostrums that were … Continue reading Cure for the Flu!? Don’t fall for quack cures.