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Cocaine, Chloroform, and Other Old-Timey Medical Cures | Mental Floss List Show | 530 | Mental Floss
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| Duration: | 08:39 |
| Uploaded: | 2019-04-19 |
| Last sync: | 2025-10-12 09:00 |
Feeling sick? You might not want to try these historical medical treatments. In this week’s episode of The List Show, Erin (@erincmccarthy) shares 28 old-timey medical cures that you should probably avoid using at all costs. From “asthma cigarettes” (designed to cure, not cause, asthma) to ground up bird beaks, these historical medical cures prove that medical science wasn’t always much of a science.
From the superstitious and ineffectual to the downright dangerous, these old-timey medical cures will make you glad it’s the 21st century. Watch this week’s episode to find out the weird ways medical professionals throughout history treated toothaches, sniffles, epilepsy, and even sadness. Can you guess what illness boiled carrots were thought to cure? What about the diseases gunpowder, saffron, and sour cream were used to treat?
In case you forgot, The List Show is a trivia-tastic, fact-filled show for curious people. Subscribe here for new Mental Floss episodes every two weeks.
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© 2025 Mental Floss
Cocaine, Chloroform, and Other Old-Timey Medical Cures | Mental Floss List Show | 530 | Mental Floss
https://www.youtube.com/@MentalFloss
From the superstitious and ineffectual to the downright dangerous, these old-timey medical cures will make you glad it’s the 21st century. Watch this week’s episode to find out the weird ways medical professionals throughout history treated toothaches, sniffles, epilepsy, and even sadness. Can you guess what illness boiled carrots were thought to cure? What about the diseases gunpowder, saffron, and sour cream were used to treat?
In case you forgot, The List Show is a trivia-tastic, fact-filled show for curious people. Subscribe here for new Mental Floss episodes every two weeks.
Don't miss a video! Subscribe NOW: https://www.youtube.com/@MentalFloss?sub_confirmation=1
About Mental Floss:
Mental Floss is where curious people come for trivia-tastic information. Mental Floss produces lists of fun facts, debunks common misconceptions, and tells untold stories from history, science, culture and more.
Website: http://www.mentalfloss.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mental_floss
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mentalflossmagazine/
Store: http://store.mentalfloss.com/
Copyright Notice: This video and YouTube channel contain dialog, music, and images that are property of Mental Floss. You are authorized to share the video link and channel, and embed this video in your website or others as long as a link back to this YouTube Channel is provided.
© 2025 Mental Floss
Cocaine, Chloroform, and Other Old-Timey Medical Cures | Mental Floss List Show | 530 | Mental Floss
https://www.youtube.com/@MentalFloss
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