The Sawbones Book: The Hilarious, Horrifying Road to Modern Medicine
A compelling, often hilarious and occasionally horrifying exploration of how modern medicine came to be!
Wondering whether eating powdered mummies might be just the thing to cure your ills? Tempted by those vintage ads suggesting you wear radioactive underpants for virility? Ever considered drilling a hole in your head to deal with those pesky headaches? Probably not. But for thousands of years, people have done things like this—and things that make radioactive underpants seem downright sensible! In their hit podcast, Sawbones, Sydnee and Justin McElroy breakdown the weird and wonderful way we got to modern healthcare. And some of the terrifying detours along the way.
Every week, Dr. Sydnee McElroy and her husband Justin amaze, amuse, and gross out (depending on the week) hundreds of thousands of avid listeners to their podcast, Sawbones. Consistently rated a top podcast on iTunes, with over 15 million total downloads, this rollicking journey through thousands of years of medical mishaps and miracles is not only hilarious but downright educational. While you may never even consider applying boiled weasel to your forehead (once the height of sophistication when it came to headache cures), you will almost certainly face some questionable medical advice in your everyday life (we’re looking at you, raw water!) and be better able to figure out if this is a miracle cure (it’s not) or a scam.
Table of Contents:
Part 1: The Unnerving
The Resurrection Men
Opium
An Electrifying Experience
Weight Loss
Charcoal
The Black Plague
Pliny the Elder
Erectile Dysfunction
Spontaneous Combustion
The Doctor Is In
Trepanation
Part II: The Gross
Mummy Medicine
Mercury
The Guthole Bromance
A Piece of Your Mind
The Unkillable Phineas Gage
Phrenology
The Man Who Drank Poop
Robert Liston
Urine Luck!
Radium
Humorism
The Doctor Is In
The Straight Poop
Part III: The Weird
The Dancing Plague
Curtis Howe Springer
Smoke ’Em if You Got ëEm
A Titanic Case of Nausea
Arsenic
Paracelsus
Honey
Self-Experimentation
Homeopathy
The Doctor Is In
Part IV: The Awesome
The Poison Squad
Bloodletting
Death by Chocolate
John Harvey Kellogg
Parrot Fever
Detox
Vinegar
Polio Vaccine
The Doctor Is In
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Community Reviews
Well, well, well—a book that takes the literal butchered history of medicine and turns it into an entertaining mix of "What were they THINKING?" and "I can't believe that worked for some people!" I can't decide if this was an educational journey or the most disturbing field trip I never signed up for. But hey, it’s a wild ride, and I can’t lie: I loved every moment of it.
Written by Dr. Sydnee McElroy (a real-life doctor, by the way—so she might know what she's talking about) and her charmingly sarcastic husband Justin, The Sawbones is like sitting through an episode of a podcast but in book form. The McElroys walk you through the thrilling history of medicine, where leeches were a common solution to everything, and people thought rubbing powdered mummies on your skin might cure diseases. Mummies, folks. The actual ancient, embalmed kind. If you don’t think that’s a fun way to spend an afternoon reading, I’m not sure we can be friends.
The book cleverly blends horrifyingly bad medical practices with a healthy dose of humor. And the best part? It’s actually kind of educational. Who knew that drilling holes in your skull (a procedure called trepanation, by the way) was once the go-to treatment for headaches? It’s nice to know that modern medicine has come a long way, even if that “long way” includes some questionable detours like radioactive underpants. Yes, that’s right—radioactive underpants—because why wouldn’t you want to boost your virility with a little extra radiation?
Now, if you're looking for a book that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy about how far we've come, you’ll get that, too. After reading about how doctors used to treat everything from the common cold to broken bones with bizarre and terrifying remedies, you'll be eternally grateful for your Tylenol and antibiotics. Sure, we've got our own modern-day fads (looking at you, raw water), but at least we’ve avoided the "let’s drink some mercury to fix that cough" mindset. So, I guess we’re doing okay?
What’s remarkable here is that despite all the ridiculous and horrifying content, The Sawbones manages to be not just funny but genuinely informative. The McElroys do a fantastic job making sure that every medically questionable moment comes with a nice little nugget of actual, solid history. It’s like a comedic medical history lecture, only with less snoring and more "I can't believe that's a thing" moments.
If you're into history, medicine, or just like laughing at humanity’s past attempts at healing, then you’ll definitely enjoy this. Just be prepared to get a little grossed out. (Seriously, avoid reading while eating.) But don’t worry—it’s all for the greater good of your education and possibly your future health decisions. Because, let’s be honest, if you ever come across a miracle cure involving snakes, you’ll be able to spot the scam from a mile away.
This book is a hilariously educational look at the worst, weirdest, and most wonderful ways we've tried to heal ourselves throughout history. It’s a perfect blend of humor and cringe-worthy facts, and I highly recommend it—just maybe don’t try anything you read here at home. Your skull probably doesn’t need a hole drilled into it just yet.
Written by Dr. Sydnee McElroy (a real-life doctor, by the way—so she might know what she's talking about) and her charmingly sarcastic husband Justin, The Sawbones is like sitting through an episode of a podcast but in book form. The McElroys walk you through the thrilling history of medicine, where leeches were a common solution to everything, and people thought rubbing powdered mummies on your skin might cure diseases. Mummies, folks. The actual ancient, embalmed kind. If you don’t think that’s a fun way to spend an afternoon reading, I’m not sure we can be friends.
The book cleverly blends horrifyingly bad medical practices with a healthy dose of humor. And the best part? It’s actually kind of educational. Who knew that drilling holes in your skull (a procedure called trepanation, by the way) was once the go-to treatment for headaches? It’s nice to know that modern medicine has come a long way, even if that “long way” includes some questionable detours like radioactive underpants. Yes, that’s right—radioactive underpants—because why wouldn’t you want to boost your virility with a little extra radiation?
Now, if you're looking for a book that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy about how far we've come, you’ll get that, too. After reading about how doctors used to treat everything from the common cold to broken bones with bizarre and terrifying remedies, you'll be eternally grateful for your Tylenol and antibiotics. Sure, we've got our own modern-day fads (looking at you, raw water), but at least we’ve avoided the "let’s drink some mercury to fix that cough" mindset. So, I guess we’re doing okay?
What’s remarkable here is that despite all the ridiculous and horrifying content, The Sawbones manages to be not just funny but genuinely informative. The McElroys do a fantastic job making sure that every medically questionable moment comes with a nice little nugget of actual, solid history. It’s like a comedic medical history lecture, only with less snoring and more "I can't believe that's a thing" moments.
If you're into history, medicine, or just like laughing at humanity’s past attempts at healing, then you’ll definitely enjoy this. Just be prepared to get a little grossed out. (Seriously, avoid reading while eating.) But don’t worry—it’s all for the greater good of your education and possibly your future health decisions. Because, let’s be honest, if you ever come across a miracle cure involving snakes, you’ll be able to spot the scam from a mile away.
This book is a hilariously educational look at the worst, weirdest, and most wonderful ways we've tried to heal ourselves throughout history. It’s a perfect blend of humor and cringe-worthy facts, and I highly recommend it—just maybe don’t try anything you read here at home. Your skull probably doesn’t need a hole drilled into it just yet.
I adore weird medical facts - anything to gross out friends and family. This is a great addition to the podcast!
Review here!
Review here!
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