Of Potions, Poisons, Polygonum, and Pre‐emptive Polymorphism

Plagues, poisons and potions: plague-spreading conspiracies in the western Alps c. 1530–1640

(p. 258). That this could take on the functions of the soul was recognized (and welcomed). Francois Azouvi examines the work of Pierre Cabanais. Drawing from his predecessors, Cabanais distinguished physical man from moral or interior man, whose nature resides in the brain. Since the brain acts upon the other organs, then the physical/moral relationship is essentially physical (p. 272). This ne...

Leatherworkers and Love Potions

Minor burn management: potions and lotions.

The first aid for burns is to run cold water over the burn for 20 minutes. This is effective for up to three hours after the injury. Assess the affected body surface area using the rule of nines. Consult a burn unit if more than 5% of the total body surface area is burnt in a child or if more than 10% in an adult. Extensive or deep burns and burns to special areas, such as the hands, should be ...

Energy drinks: potions of illusion.

Energy drinks are widely consumed by adolescents as these claim to improve performance, endurance and alertness. Recent reports have shown that there are no real health benefits of these drinks. On the contrary, certain adverse effects due to energy drinks have come to the forefront, casting a big question-mark on their safety and utility. This review discusses the present status of energy drin...

Blind faith in pills and potions.

Scientists, in their professional capacity, are trained to be firm when it comes to differentiating between facts and beliefs. The scientific community accepts only carefully collected and reproducible results. Of course, there is often speculation about what these results mean, but such extrapolations must be based on facts and analysed in the context of a hypothesis. That is the virtually uni...