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jetpackdracula's review against another edition
dark
funny
informative
fast-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Medical content
jay_sy's review against another edition
funny
informative
fast-paced
3.5
The Mystery of the Exploding Teeth and other Curiosities from the History of Medicine by Thomas Morris is about the strange medical accounts throughout history. Medical journals were kept since the remedies that doctors found could be shared and potentially help other people.
Thoughts while reading:
-it starts rather strongly and shockingly with a story of a man who's intestines ends up in his balls when he gets run over by a cart, and how he survived by being angled with his head downwards so that his intestines could slide back in place
-the patient who placed the fork in his anus sounds like so many other stories of objects misplaced there, but the story of the sailor who swallowed multiple knives was really shocking and cringe-worthy
-when the patient swallowed glass and the doctor was trying to decide what to do, since having it vomited or going through the intestines could shred the patients organs, the doctor had a really clever idea of stuffing the patient with food to surround the glass so he ended up vomiting a bunch of cabbage and glass
-while interesting, I couldn't help but think that the story with the boy with a piece of wood that ended up in his heart was really sad. I just keep thinking of the parents spending their last moments with him
-I imagine it was horribly painful, but the guy that got his dick stuck through a small opening in a glass just made me laugh, especially since he was apparently trying to pee in it but it contained potassium and napalm
-I had heard of ergot poisoning, but I had no idea that it could cause your extremities to go gangrene and basically rot
-the story of the woman who may have had pica and ate a whole bunch of needles which ended up all over her body and had to be removed was so unsettling
-it's disturbing that there were once baby farmers, people who raised babies for a sum, who might have killed them by pushing sharp objects through their eyelids into their brains since they got paid either way
-it's pretty funny that people used to believe that applying smoke up someone's rectum was good for reviving people such as those that had drowned, a process called Dutch fumigation, and the origin of the saying “to blow smoke up one's ass”
-the pigeon rump cure that was used for children was pretty funny, as was the story of the tapeworm trap, especially since it used a tiny piece of cheese and the patient was supposed to fast so that the tape worm would be drawn to the Trap which was in the patient's stomach, notwithstanding the fact that stomach acid would kill tapeworms
-I really like hearing the story of the drunken man who had a successful surgery after accidentally swallowing a knife, when he was using the handle of it to try to induce vomiting. I can't imagine how harrowing it would have been to receive surgery in the 1600s, although apparently the patient was awake and quite excited about what was happening
-I've heard of stories of people performing surgeries on themselves, but the man who used a tiny file to deal with his own bladder stones by putting it up his urethra was surprising
-it's quite stunning to hear the stories of some of the accidents that people survived, with things like metal bolts from sailing masts or scythes that went straight through a person's body and just happened to not hit any major organs or blood vessels
-I'm in shock about the story of the chronically masturbating Shepherd who kept inserting things into his urethra until he became calloused and lost all sensation and resorted to using a knife, eventually cutting his penis into two
-it's really fascinating that in the proper conditions, that is in moisture and lacking oxygen, the fat in corpse can solidify so that when they are buried they become extremely well preserved
-I always find it interesting to hear the misconceptions that people had in the past, including the idea that hats weren't good for children, or that too much exertion on the bicycle was bad for the heart. What we are taught in school is so often about what people get right and I like hearing about the mistakes people made.
The book was an entertaining read with quick chapters. A lot of it is more focused on humour, so a part of me wishes it was balanced out by a bit more depth. I'd give it 3.5 out of 4
Thoughts while reading:
-it starts rather strongly and shockingly with a story of a man who's intestines ends up in his balls when he gets run over by a cart, and how he survived by being angled with his head downwards so that his intestines could slide back in place
-the patient who placed the fork in his anus sounds like so many other stories of objects misplaced there, but the story of the sailor who swallowed multiple knives was really shocking and cringe-worthy
-when the patient swallowed glass and the doctor was trying to decide what to do, since having it vomited or going through the intestines could shred the patients organs, the doctor had a really clever idea of stuffing the patient with food to surround the glass so he ended up vomiting a bunch of cabbage and glass
-while interesting, I couldn't help but think that the story with the boy with a piece of wood that ended up in his heart was really sad. I just keep thinking of the parents spending their last moments with him
-I imagine it was horribly painful, but the guy that got his dick stuck through a small opening in a glass just made me laugh, especially since he was apparently trying to pee in it but it contained potassium and napalm
-I had heard of ergot poisoning, but I had no idea that it could cause your extremities to go gangrene and basically rot
-the story of the woman who may have had pica and ate a whole bunch of needles which ended up all over her body and had to be removed was so unsettling
-it's disturbing that there were once baby farmers, people who raised babies for a sum, who might have killed them by pushing sharp objects through their eyelids into their brains since they got paid either way
-it's pretty funny that people used to believe that applying smoke up someone's rectum was good for reviving people such as those that had drowned, a process called Dutch fumigation, and the origin of the saying “to blow smoke up one's ass”
-the pigeon rump cure that was used for children was pretty funny, as was the story of the tapeworm trap, especially since it used a tiny piece of cheese and the patient was supposed to fast so that the tape worm would be drawn to the Trap which was in the patient's stomach, notwithstanding the fact that stomach acid would kill tapeworms
-I really like hearing the story of the drunken man who had a successful surgery after accidentally swallowing a knife, when he was using the handle of it to try to induce vomiting. I can't imagine how harrowing it would have been to receive surgery in the 1600s, although apparently the patient was awake and quite excited about what was happening
-I've heard of stories of people performing surgeries on themselves, but the man who used a tiny file to deal with his own bladder stones by putting it up his urethra was surprising
-it's quite stunning to hear the stories of some of the accidents that people survived, with things like metal bolts from sailing masts or scythes that went straight through a person's body and just happened to not hit any major organs or blood vessels
-I'm in shock about the story of the chronically masturbating Shepherd who kept inserting things into his urethra until he became calloused and lost all sensation and resorted to using a knife, eventually cutting his penis into two
-it's really fascinating that in the proper conditions, that is in moisture and lacking oxygen, the fat in corpse can solidify so that when they are buried they become extremely well preserved
-I always find it interesting to hear the misconceptions that people had in the past, including the idea that hats weren't good for children, or that too much exertion on the bicycle was bad for the heart. What we are taught in school is so often about what people get right and I like hearing about the mistakes people made.
The book was an entertaining read with quick chapters. A lot of it is more focused on humour, so a part of me wishes it was balanced out by a bit more depth. I'd give it 3.5 out of 4
robinyabooks's review against another edition
4.0
Overall, this book was entertaining, gruesome and mysterious.
I find myself now bringing up the cases stated in this book to friends and family to watch their expression contort into disgust; which I find highly amusing!
Unfortunately the last chapter felt like it was missing something and the book seemingly closed on one of the least interesting parts with no seeming conclusion or 'outro'.
It feels like it just needed acknowledgement of the advances of modern medicine but there are still individuals who experience bizarre medical anomalies that even 21st century medicine can't explain.
I find myself now bringing up the cases stated in this book to friends and family to watch their expression contort into disgust; which I find highly amusing!
Unfortunately the last chapter felt like it was missing something and the book seemingly closed on one of the least interesting parts with no seeming conclusion or 'outro'.
It feels like it just needed acknowledgement of the advances of modern medicine but there are still individuals who experience bizarre medical anomalies that even 21st century medicine can't explain.
kitschbitsch's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.5
I’m just really grateful for modern medicine after reading this! Very entertaining and easy to read.
chambersaurusrx's review against another edition
dark
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
ameyawarde's review against another edition
5.0
This was delightfully gross, horrifying, and hilarious. The writing and narration (audiobook, narrated by the author who did a fantastic job) was excellent. Anyone who likes history/science/medicine/gross stuff should read this. It's only the second non-fic book I can remember that made me laugh out loud.