108 Items Tagged

Health

Amazake-babaa

This statue of a deified “hag” is said to protect children from the common cold and coughing fits.

Ben Smime Tuberculosis Sanatorium

This abandoned hospital facility is associated with regicidal conspiracies and paranormal activities.

Nineteenth-century illustrator George Cruikshank depicted indigestion as torment by imps.

Does Our Stomach Define Who We Are?

In her new book, Elsa Richardson explores how the gut has been viewed across history.

Andrew Coletti September 20, 2024

Battle Creek, Michigan

Graves of the Kellogg Brothers

The final resting place of the visionary founders of Kelloggs, a global leader in breakfast cereals.

Aguas de Busot Spa

Once a spa resort, then a tuberculosis sanatorium, and now a crumbling ruin.

St. Augustine, Florida

Disease Vector Education Center

The United States' only educational center specializing in disease vectors and mosquitoes.

Merry Widow Health Mine

What if the cure for all that ails you was as simple as repeated exposure to low-dose radon?

In this manuscript of the work of 12th-century physician al-Ghafiqi, <em>bunk</em> is depicted either as bark, or perhaps the husk of a coffee bean.

Before Drinking Coffee, People Washed Their Hands With It

This mysterious ingredient was often found in medieval Arabic books of medicine and botany.

Nawal Nasrallah December 11, 2023

Camp Century trench construction in 1960. Caption reads "Metal arch forms being emplaced over undercut trench."

Wonder Is Everywhere: Viking Hoaxes, a Secret Nuclear Ice Base, and More From Around the Web

Get a peek into what we’re obsessed with right now.

April White November 22, 2023

Wonder Is Everywhere: Ancient Lampreys, Outdoor Learning, and More From Around the Web

Get a peek into what we’re obsessed with right now.

April White November 10, 2023

The hostage drama that took place in this building on Norrmalmstorg in 1973 gave rise to the term “Stockholm Syndrome.” The bank has long since been replaced by a high-end clothing store, but the vaults are still there.

There Are at Least 10 Cities With Their Own Psychological Disorders

Stockholm Syndrome is the most famous, and most relate to tourism or hostage-taking.

Frank Jacobs July 21, 2023

Corrie, Scotland

Doctor's Bath

A doctor had this large tub carved into rocks to facilitate easier seawater bathing.

Permanently Closed

Louisville, Ohio

Molly Stark Sanatorium

This former tuberculosis treatment facility now stands at the center of a public park.

The stream is milky from the hot springs

Yonezawa, Japan

Ubayu Onsen

Located in a remote mountain valley in Yamagata Prefecture, these hot springs have attracted bathers for over 450 years.

This 1833 painting by Alexandre Hesse in the Louvre in Paris depicts the funeral rites of the painter Titian after his death from plague.

Venice Is Almost One Big Plague Graveyard

A city built on water was always going to struggle with burials—especially when a deadly pandemic came to town.

Vittoria Traverso October 27, 2022

Sanatorium Lake

Mount Macedon, Australia

Sanatorium Lake

This artificial lake was built to provide water for a planned facility that would treat tuberculosis patients.

Whey bathing at Berglialp in Switzerland.

The Return of Swiss Cheese Baths

Melting into a tub of whey has a long history in the Alps.

Oriana Pauli July 26, 2022

Podcast: The Goiter Belt

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.

The Podcast Team June 28, 2022