19-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Friday, July 24, 1914: Nothing doing.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Grandma-
I hope that you aren’t doing “nothing” because you’re still in pain from the hay-loading accident two days ago.
If you’re stiff and sore, maybe Sloan’s Liniment would help. It kills all pain in man or beast.
That’s strong stuff!
Sounds like a miracle drug…wonder if it’s still available?? 😉
And it “cures” rheumatism – wow!
That Dr. Sloan is a wonderful guy. He’s here to help you. 🙂
The placebo effect is alive and well in the 21st century. I read just the other day about a double-blind study of acetaminophen, a.k.a., Tylenol. It found that while it is effective for headaches and some other things, it is not effective for chronic back pain. Nevertheless, patients reported significant relief from the pills, whether real or fake. So Dr. Sloan was a little bit right about his products’ pain-relieving quality, but certainly not about the “cure” part.
I’d love to know the ingredients of that pain reliever!
Diana xo
Diana,I did a search and found that the active ingredient in Sloan’s and other “liniments” is capsaicin. It said this:
How interesting! Thanks for looking that up Jim.
Diana xo
You’re welcome, Diana. You know, it occurs to me that how this works is similar to many other medicinal practices before the time of antibiotics. The more the medicine hurt or tasted bad or burned, the more it was thought to help. In other words, it was a distraction from the ailment. Example: cod liver oil. Ugh. 🙂
ha! that’s a good point even in today’s world, take Buckley’s for instance!
I wonder if that remedy is still available today. It would probably be as good psychologically as some of our other so-called “cures.” 🙂
Isn’t it interesting how we are all treating your grandmother as if she were alive today — a young woman. I wonder how it would be if one knew her life would be reviewed with such care after she’s gone. You are doing her such an honor.
I hope Grandma was relaxing and made a longer entry soon after.