4 ms·
Penicillin has gotta be on that list. Just randomly happened to culture on a Petri dish left out on vacation, happened to be the worlds first antibiotic
by jzymbaluk 3y ago
Penicillin has gotta be on that list. Just randomly happened to culture on a Petri dish left out on vacation, happened to be the worlds first antibiotic
- p-e-w 3y agoI can't imagine what it must have been like for people to hear about yet another "miracle drug" that cures most diseases – and then gradually realize that this one actually works.
- IG_Semmelweiss 3y agotake the word "disease" out... and you CAN imagine it : Viagra
- p-e-w 3y agoHa, true! I forgot that used to not be a thing, and people were trying everything from crushed beetles to insanely hot chili peppers to crazy dangerous poisons, and still nothing really worked.
- darkwater 3y agoThere is "antibiotics" already
- darkwater 3y agoI wonder why people downvote... GP said "Penicillin" as an addition to a list which had already "antibiotics" in it.
- MrYellowP 3y agoIt wasn't. "Stuff that kills bacteria" has been known for a long time, including times when nobody knew what bacteria were. Not every dirty wound was fatal, there's mixes of plants, applied to wounds, that do a good job. Penicillin was the first highly effective AND mass producible antibiotic, though.
- Cthulhu_ 3y agoWhile true, actually applying it in practice took a long time. Imagine the shock and horror when male doctors were told by midwives that washing hands and keeping things clean reduced infant mortality.