5 Crazy Things People (Mostly) Stopped Doing (Thank Goodness)

It makes you wonder if we do other ridiculous and harmful things now

Human history is laced with weird, ridiculous, and barbaric treatments for everyday complaints and needs. In their time, of course, they were considered perfectly acceptable.

Once you learn about these five stupid things people used to do, you may wonder what we do now that’s dangerous or silly yet believe helpful.

Barbaric treatments for stuttering

Years ago, doctors and therapists subjected people who stuttered to brutal treatments, which, naturally, didn’t work.

The sixth-century royal physician Aetius of Amida considered the tongue to blame for stuttering. He advocated the division of the lingual frenulum (the membrane anchoring the tongue to the mouth’s floor).

You’ll see yours if you raise your tongue and look in the mirror. You probably wouldn’t want anyone messing with it, would you?

In the 1800s, German physician Johann Frederick Dieffenbach considered it wise to cut out an actual triangular wedge of the tongue.

Other treatments, as years passed, were equally silly but not as brutal. If you stuttered, your doctor might have suggested you speak with the tip of your tongue touching the roof of your mouth behind your teeth. I dare you. Try it. It’s not easy!

Unfortunately, although many therapists are wiser than those of the past regarding stuttering, a few are unhelpful. For example, according to the Stuttering Association, therapists sometimes advise stutterers to relax and speak more slowly to solve the issue; this well-meant advice suggests individuals who stutter are at fault and are oversensitive and nervous, which often isn’t the case.

If you want to reduce stuttering, your best bet could be to see a specialist who will examine your specific needs and devise a modification program to suit you. But, of course, the very idea stuttering is problematic might be at fault. Many people manage fine with a slight stutter.

Swallowing tapeworms for weight loss

Victorian women sometimes succumbed to the lure of unhealthy weight loss methods, including swallowing tapeworms. They imagined the creatures would consume the foods they ate and help them stay slim.

Later, 20th-century celebrities adopted the tapeworm diet, most notably the opera singer Maria Callas is supposed to have done so, but we don’t know for sure.

Having learned about what happens when you have a live tapeworm in your body, I think it’s unlikely she followed the practice. And all the speculation in the press about the possibility might have encouraged young girls to copy the idea, an unsavory move.

A few unwitting people still practice the tapeworm diet, although doctors do not recommend it. Swallowing a tapeworm can lead to malnutrition and even, in rare cases, death.

A pork tapeworm can grow up to 8 meters in length and infiltrate your brain. Knowing this could make the cabbage soup diet sound more attractive than you once thought.

Fish tapeworms can grow even larger, up to 10 meters, and beef tapeworms develop to a whopping 22 meters. I don’t know about you, but if I want to lose weight, I’ll use smaller dinner plates, a much healthier option.

Damaging skulls/brains to deal with mental illness

Perhaps the earliest form of damaging the skull to cure mental illness occurred over 7,000 years ago when trepanning was popular. It involves drilling a hole in the head to relieve pressure or let out the evil spirits thought to be the cause of suffering.

Trepanning was still all the rage in medieval times when it wasn’t unusual for someone with a mental illness or epilepsy to undergo many surgical sessions to create holes in the head.

More recently, in 1965, Dutchman Bart Hughes operated on himself. From reading about him, I can’t see that he trepanned his head to manage a mental illness. Instead, it was something to do with the desire to increase blood flow to the brain. Although, I do wonder if anyone sane would engage in the act.

Testicles and earwax as birth control methods

I can see how powdered beaver testicles could aid birth control. After all, it’s not sexy. Likewise, mule’s earwax or wooden blocks (ouch) would put the kibosh on making babies. And people once used these baby-making prevention tools. Also, people considered half a lemon (inserted) or tadpoles fried in mercury effective ways to avoid pregnancy.

Happily, humans have devised more practical alternative birth control methods.

Rabbit brain gum rub for teething

19th-century doctors sometimes thought teething killed babies. So finding a cure for this deadly condition was vital. Although recognizing their baby’s teeth coming through won’t lead to death, modern parents may still agree it’s helpful to remedy the situation.

Before the 20th century, it wasn’t unusual for doctors to slice open babies’ gums. (Poor wee babes).

It eventually became likely the so-called cure didn’t work, along with the uselessness of donning a wolf’s tooth. In Greece, hare or rabbit brains were used as a popular baby gum rub. Elsewhere, alcohol and morphine, delightfully labeled as syrup, were thought a terrific solution to teething troubles.

The modern alternative remedy for teething (rubbing whiskey on a baby’s gums) is not advised by doctors. Perhaps it will be on a list like this one about unhealthy remedies in the future.

I wonder what else we do now that will be considered downright ridiculous in a few decades? I bet you can think of a few ideas. Let me know in the comment section!

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