Sawbones: A Marital Tour of Misguided Medicine

Remember when the Cheerios box said it would lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease? Well, it doesn’t say that anymore because cereal isn’t medicine. But this is just one example in a long history of breakfast cereals claiming to be beneficial to health.Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/

A very long time ago, in 2019, we talked about the Corrupted Blood plague, a pandemic within the World of Warcraft. How it affected the digital world was used as a model for how people might behave during an actual real-life pandemic. Well . . . we’ve got that real-life pandemic now. So how did it actually play out (and is still playing out) versus how it went in-game?Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/

In the mid-20th century, Dr. Edward Bach developed a series of diluted tinctures from ingredients of the natural world to combat negative emotions, and by extension, disease. Bach supplied that these remedies were different for everyone, depending on mood. And to find out what you need? Just take an online quiz!Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/

Do artificially colored food dyes make your kids behave badly? This sounds like it could be true, and is certainly alluring to parents as an easy fix. But are they actually related? In the 1940s, Dr. Benjamin Feingold was set to research just that, believing that food dye not only could cause bad behavior, but was linked to asthma, eczema, and hives. But the solution to how to solve any of these problems is a bit extreme – too extreme to be practical or even show any real results.Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/

It’s time to do a little bit of inbox spring cleaning with all these listener medical questions! Justin reads and Dr. Sydnee answers medical questions about things like healing hickeys, eating all of the meat, tongue-based diagnostics, and tasting with your feet.Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/

Have you ever gone outside and found gelatinous goop on the ground? It’s jelly from the stars! But actually . . . what is it? As far back as the 14th century, people have noticed mucilaginous goo that has been associated with both the medicinal and the magical. Dr. Sydnee talks about the many instances of “star jelly” throughout history, what it could possibly be, and the effect it has on people – sometimes harmful, but mostly benign.Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/

Havana Syndrome has been in the news lately, so we've brought an update. The CIA has continued to look into people experiencing the symptoms of this strange illness and have found . . . there is some sort of cause after all? So enjoy the full episode explaining the history of Havana Syndrome, and what we've learned in recent weeks. Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/

In a Sawbones rarity, we’re talking about someone who contributed positively to the medical field. Very positively. Dr. Charles Drew, the first Black person to get a doctorate from Columbia University was also the person to discover a better method for preserving blood for use in transfusions. And we’re glad he did, because did you know there’s a national blood shortage?For information on the blood shortage and how to donate blood: https://www.redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/dlp/red-cross-national-blood-shortage-crisis.htmlMusic: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/

What question would you ask a doctor if you were sitting next to them? That’s what the goal is today on Sawbones, where “we”, mostly Sydnee, answer listeners’ most pressing weird medical questions. Questions about cool things like ear gauges, absinthe, the strength of car doors, self-advocacy, hydration, and the hole that is your belly button.Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/

Benjamin Franklin: Prolific writer. Founding Father. Inventor. Creator of a killer instrument? The Glass Armonica, more or less a series of singing water bowls with haunting melody, became a popular instrument for a very short amount of time. But by 1830,  it ceased being played entirely. Was it because its strange harmonics were making people ill? Or maybe it was just very fragile and hard to carry around? Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/