The phony health craze that inspired hypnotism
We all know progress in medicine is not linear, and that people love a new health craze. Health crazes even predate green juices, cleanses, and diet drinks by hundreds of years! There’s a kooky and cool example of this in a recent video from Vox.
Scientific progress in the 18th century in Europe, a period known as the “Age of Enlightenment,” was demystifying the universe with breakthroughs in chemistry, physics, and philosophy. But medical practices were still relying on centuries-old treatments, like leeching and bloodletting, which were painful and often ineffective. So when Franz Anton Mesmer, a charismatic physician from Vienna, began “healing” people in Paris using an alternative therapeutic practice he called “animal magnetism,” it got a lot of attention.
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