King Louis XIV (1638 –1715) was at the height of his reign when, in 1685, his butt started to hurt. A lot. His royal physicians tried all kinds of treatments, endeavoring to shrink the swelling, but finally, after months of… Read More
Prior to the acceptance of Germ Theory (at the end of the 19th century), it was common for surgeons to whet their knives on the soles of their shoes.… Read More
The passenger pigeon was hunted to extinction during the last century. One method used by hunters was to sew a decoy pigeon’s eyes closed to attract other pigeons. It was called a “stool;” hence the term “stool pigeon.”
source: from an article by Paul R. Ehrlich, David S. Dobkin, and Darryl Wheye.