Bloodletting Mania
From ancient Greece through the 1800s, bloodletting was the medical community’s default move. Coughing blood? Let more out. Feeling weak? That’s just your body being too full of blood! Using knives, glass cups, or dozens of leeches, doctors would drain patients of pints at a time—sometimes several sessions in a single day.
One of the most famous casualties was George Washington. After complaining of a sore throat, he was bled repeatedly until nearly five pints were removed. He died soon after—not from the illness, but likely from hypovolemic shock. Despite the obvious failures, bloodletting held strong for centuries, a grim testament to how powerful tradition can be—even when it bleeds common sense dry.
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