91˿Ƶ

Subscribe to the OSS Weekly Newsletter!

Is it true that some candies are coloured with insect extract?

20 Mar 2017

Yes some candies and other foods can be coloured with cochineal extract which is an approved food additive. Hernan Cortez was the first European to learn about this colourant when he became...

Physician’s oath to humanity

20 Mar 2017

Hippocrates is often regarded as the father of modern medicine in spite of his mistaken belief that illness and health were determined by the ups and downs of the four “humours,” namely black bile,...

The Death of Smallpox

20 Mar 2017

Edward Jenner, an English country doctor is usually credited with introducing the idea of vaccination because of his landmark publication in 1798 in which he described inoculating 23 people with...

Before ether was a potent painkiller, it was a hit with revellers

20 Mar 2017

The marble and granite statue in the Boston Common depicts a physician in medieval clothing holding a cloth next to the face of a man who seems to have passed out. An inscription on the base of the...

What did Aristotle recommend aloe juice for?

20 Mar 2017

Cleansing the body...internally. You know what Aristotle said to Alexander the Great in 325 B.C.? 'Come here Alex, I have something to show you'. And he showed him a plant. It was the Socotrine...

Orpiment

20 Mar 2017

Mention the word arsenic and our thoughts immediately turn to poison. But there other interesting connections as well. Arsenic rarely is found in nature in its elemental state, it is found as part...

Beer Foam and Artificial Hips

20 Mar 2017

Forty eight years ago there was an epidemic of heart failure in Quebec City. The clue was that the thirty men affected were all beer drinkers. In a round about way, the culprit was the introduction...

Thomas Donaldson and Cryonics

20 Mar 2017

Most people would like to keep their heads. But don't count Thomas Donaldson among them. This mathematician and computer consultant wanted his cut off.  And he wanted it to be done while he was...

Masturbation Myths

20 Mar 2017

Valentine’s Day is here and everyone is talking about love! But for many people in our modern society, a fulfilling love life also involves an active and healthy sex life. Although we have come a...

Pages

Back to top