Medical historian Richard Barnett joins WIRED to answer the internet’s burning questions about medical history. What is cupping and why is it so popular? Who was Typhoid Mary? What is the Iron Lung and how does it work? Answers to these questions and many more await on History of Medicine Support.
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#History #LouisPasteur #AlexanderFleming
00:00 – History of Medicine Support
00:20 – 300% mortality rate? Just scream, it’ll be fine
02:02 – The science of cupping
02:56 – Don’t raw dog your milk, folks
05:09 – Nothing like a cold radioactive tonic on a summer’s day
06:23 – Blowing smoke up someone’s backside can be a lifesaver
07:07 – The most controversial Nobel Prize winner
09:36 – Larva-ing your best life
10:37 – The Iron Lung
11:59 – Chill, just lose a few pints of blood
12:49 – Who was Typhoid Mary?
14:10 – Trepanning, absolutely mind-boggling
15:09 – Those who can, do
15:53 – The first plastic surgery? ~600 BC
16:53 – Germ Theory 🤝 sterilization
18:32 – Short back and septoplasty please barber
19:18 – Alexander Fleming broke the mould
21:26 – Mad Hatter’s toxic trait? Hg
22:05 – Vaccines and the measles resurgence
24:01 – Why is it called X-ray?
24:50 – Couching, cataracts and cocaine
26:30 – Nature’s bloodletting
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@historylife4436
May 26, 2026 at 6:38 pm
Science is the enemy now in America, yay for us😭
@tazimusics
May 26, 2026 at 6:40 pm
I, too, have contributed to the comments.
@tazimusics
May 26, 2026 at 6:42 pm
I understand that British people pronounce things differently specifically to pronounce them differently , but “Paytent”? Really? Cmon now.
@zlr9022
May 26, 2026 at 6:45 pm
For anyone interested in learning more on Radithor and Eben Byers, Kyle Hill has a great video on the whole thing. I highly recommend it and Kyles channel as a whole
@mikesanborn4541
May 26, 2026 at 6:57 pm
This was excellent! I really hope you have Mr. Barnett back
@shark613
May 26, 2026 at 7:14 pm
18:45 Well, my father’s barber was the one who circumcise me back in 2005. No anaesthetics , just with a red hot scissors.
@AntonioTylerDraws
May 26, 2026 at 7:27 pm
10:49 there’s a couple of documentaries and videos out here about the last users of iron lungs. One of the more tragic things is, because there are limited parts, and when someone dies their iron lung is usually stripped for parts for the remaining survivors
@Lieutenant_Lascivious
May 26, 2026 at 7:29 pm
Leeches that are lab grown, and sterile, like the maggots, are used in medicine in the modern day to pump blood, stimulate oxygen flow, and prevent clogging in surgically reattached limbs (especially fingers and toes) as they heal after initial surgery. I think it’s only fair to mention it.
@travisinthetrunk
May 26, 2026 at 7:30 pm
I was trepanned after I got into an auto accident. I still have a small hole in my skull.
@DeniSe-Zt
May 26, 2026 at 7:30 pm
I love it when someone loves their job and whoever made the timestamps on this video lol ..
@historylife4436
May 26, 2026 at 7:32 pm
Only idiots don’t take vaccines. Don’t be an idiot get vaccinated!
@KathrynC-k2c
May 26, 2026 at 7:33 pm
This guy is great- I could listen to him all day. You should bring him back for a pt. 2 sometime
@BlueBird8925
May 26, 2026 at 7:35 pm
Fascinating speaker and topic!
@JakeThomasCreative
May 26, 2026 at 7:35 pm
This guest is one of the most competent presenters you’ve ever had in this series! I really enjoyed it, very informative.
@tenakeefe6293
May 26, 2026 at 7:40 pm
Informative and enjoyable !!
@FerDeArgentina
May 26, 2026 at 7:41 pm
Exceptionally good.
@virtueisrelative
May 26, 2026 at 7:45 pm
’tissssue’ <3
@PapaLove09
May 26, 2026 at 7:46 pm
We need more of Richard. I can listen to him to hours!
@Langolyer2010
May 26, 2026 at 8:01 pm
WE NEED TO GO BACK TO THE ISLAND
@darthplagueis13
May 26, 2026 at 8:05 pm
For the last one, I feel like he didn’t fully answer the question, because the answer is: It actually also does something and is in fact still used to this day.
It’s not so much about removing the blood, the amount is so small that it barely does anything, but it’s all about the saliva of the leeches.
This saliva contains a really quite remarkable cocktail of different proteins, which have a number of useful effects, most prominently they’re a powerful anti-coagulant, but they’ve also got a natural anaesthetic effect and are somewhat anti-inflammatory as well.
Now, not every medical problem is going to be solved by sticking a leech to it, obviously, but they really are rather useful little critters.
@JW_Steed
May 26, 2026 at 8:11 pm
I’m going to need a part two, three, four and five, please. thank you.
@ColinGrym
May 26, 2026 at 8:23 pm
This was so much more interesting than I initially expected it to be. I love the quality of experts that Wired finds.
@sambojangles10
May 26, 2026 at 8:29 pm
23:54 PLEASE PLEASE get on your high horse, and ride it all over! We need someone with this expertise to spread the verifiable TRUTH!
@PianoGirl091
May 26, 2026 at 8:35 pm
I don’t agree that pain won’t kill you. If the pain is so bad that you go into shock, you’ll absolutely die.
@annehersey9895
May 26, 2026 at 9:25 pm
I’m in my 70’s and still unable to have an MRI without taking Xanax first because the machine takes me back to the newsreels of children my age with polio stuck in an Iron Lung. Luckily I was the first generation to receive the Polio vaccine but those images have stayed with me since.