Exhibition reveals cures were worse than the ailments

If you think today’s health service is bad, try curing eye ailments with powdered human dung; piles and convulsions with earthworms; and ulcers with mashed millipedes.

He may be one of the founders of modern chemistry, but it seems Robert Boyle was a bit of a hypochondriac, even issuing a book prescribing some of his very own cures for common ailments of the time.

The book, along with some other science related gems, went on display yesterday as part of the Particles of the Past exhibition in the National Library in Dublin.

Although best known for Boyle’s Law and being the first modern chemist, he also collected some rather unusual homespun remedies published after his death in 1691.

They include using “human dung” of “good colour and consistence”, and crushed into powder form, to be blown into the eyes to clear them.

If piles are your problem, Boyle felt that dried and powdered earthworms were the way to go. After being cleaned in white wine, they could be mixed into an ointment which could be applied to the affected area. Apparently, earthworms are also good for managing convulsions.

The same equally bizarre method applied to using millipedes for “ulcers in the breast and elsewhere”.

Drawn from across the National Library’s eight million-strong collection, the items featured in Particles of the Past provide an insight into Ireland’s scientific landscape over several centuries and reflect what was happening in the scientific world at the time.

The exhibition also contains instructions for making ice cream in a bucket, a handwritten journal recording Captain Cook’s voyage around the world in 1772, and the science behind mid-19th century photography in Ireland.

Other quirky treats include illustrations for a robot, space suit and ‘thought detection’ machine created in the 1930s and a poster for a 19th century quack doctor’s miracle cures.

Co-curator of the exhibition Aoife O’Connor said a lot of the material chosen may look a little far fetched now, but would have been regarded as popular science at the time. “Some of the cures in the book of 17th century home remedies are just amazing. Covering everything from sore throats to piles, they are not for the faint hearted.”

* Particles of the Past is now open to the public at the National Library in Dublin and continues until the end of 2012. Admission is free.