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Episode 004 — The Doctors’ Plague (Part I)


Episode Details

In this episode, we talk about The Doctors’ Plague: Germs, Childbed Fever, and the Strange Story of Ignac Semmelweis by Sherwin B. Nuland while test-driving the highest of the high-proof grain alcohols — Spirytus Rektyfikowany. Na Zdrowie!

Book:

The Doctors’ Plague: Germs, Childbed Fever, and the Strange Story of Ignac Semmelweis

(Buy now at Bookshop.org! Support local bookstores; shop online with Bookshop.)

Author: Sherwin B. Nuland

Publisher/Date: WW Norton & Co., 2003

Audio edition:

The Doctors’ Plague: Germs, Childbed Fever, and the Strange Story of Ignac Semmelweis

(Buy now at Audiobooks.com!)

  • Publisher/Date: Tantor Audio (2020)
  • Narrator: Peter Lerman
  • Format: Unabridged
DoctorsPlagueDesk
It’s a tough job, but . . . .

Booze:           

  • Type: High-proof grain alcohol
    • Producer: Polmos
    • Label:  Spirytus Rektyfikowany Rectified Spirit
    • Vintage: N/A

Links & Other Source Material

Ignac Semmelweis, Semmelweis statues, etc.

  • Ignác Semmelweis  — Semmelweis University
  • Semmelweis Statue Was Also Unveiled in China
Google Doodle, March 20, 2020

Childbed Fever

  • Childbed Fever/Puerperal Fever
  • Postpartum Infection

High-proof grain alcohol

  • “The Highest Proof Spirits in the World You Can Actually Buy”
  • “Five Unexpected Uses for Everclear”
  • “The Dangers Of Drinking Everclear”

Hand Sanitzer

  • “Show Me the Science – When & How to Use Hand Sanitizer in Community Settings”
  • “Coronavirus Makes Polish Liquor Fly Off the Shelves as Hand Sanitizer”
  • “Vodka in Short Supply in Japan as Rubbing Alcohol Sells Out”
Liquor store shelves in the Chicago area . . . and worldwide.

The Great Discoveries Series

  • The complete(?) list of Great Discoveries titles on Goodreads.com
  • “The making of Wallace’s Everything and More: an interview with Erica Neely”

Music

  • “Going Around” — The Fuglees
  • Listen to The Fuglees on Spotify
  • Shop The Fuglees here:
    • Amazon
      • Go Apesh*t (2002)
      • Indiana (2004)
      • F-Bomb (2012)
    • iTunes

Find out more about The Fuglees here

While researching these episodes, I find many fascinating — yet completely unrelated — links and bits of information. Here are a few from this time around:

  • “Is It ‘Whet’ Or ‘Wet’ Your Appetite/Whistle?”
  • What to say when someone contradicts everything you say
  • From Quacks to Quaaludes: Three Centuries of Drug Advertising

Written by:
Bradley Weber
Published on:
August 16, 2020
Thoughts:
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Categories: History, Medical, Podcasts, Spirits

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