Sunday, January 1, 2012

Eugenics Part 2




My dearest Readers,
Happy New Year!  2012 makes me realize how far we as a civilization have come.  Um...for the most part anyway.  Heh. This month, I'll be delving into Part 2 of Eugenics.  And what better way to delve into our 1919 book  than with a diagram that asks WHAT WILL HER FUTURE BE? 

Good question for all of us girls. 

The diagram shows two paths.  At the top we have a bright little girl who represents thousands of girls back in the day.  Happy, loving and cheerful....BUT....if not properly "trained" this bright little girl may follow the course picture to the left.  At 15, "in the company of boys of questionable character; at twenty, modesty and self-respect lost due to said company; at 26, immoral and an outcast from home and society; and at forty, (love this!), prematurely old, with life wrecked, poverty and wretchedness her lot."

Okay, okay, so maybe I should ease off on all the sexist stances in this book and see where we could find something more engagingly positive.  *Paging through*  Diseases Peculiar to Men.  Hm.  THAT sounds engagingly positive.  Let's dig in. 

MEN SHOULD KNOW -- "There are certain derangements and diseases peculiar to the male sex."  (Us women already knew this.  Smirk.)

SPERMATORRHOEA (That doesn't sound good...It sounds like sperm is leaking out of one's ass) -- "Exceedingly disastrous in its effects upon the mind and most destructive on the body.  Seminal emissions occur during sleep."  (Ah.  Referring to what we know today as being Wet Dreams)

A VERY RARE DISEASE -- "Spermatorrhoea itself is a VERY RARE disease, although it is undoubtedly a very serious one when it occurs,"

WHAT BRINGS IT ABOUT? -- "Self-abuse."  (Ha)  "For Medical treatment of Spermatorrhoea, see Medical Department of this book."

*Paging through quickly to find medical Department of this book*

PRESCRIPTIONS -- (Holy monkeys!  There are actually listed self-drugging prescriptions in this book.  Cooooooool)  Hm.  Can't find the Medical Treatment for Spermateorrhoea.  Dang it.  But there is a Prescription for Diarrhea.  Same thing, right?  Just leaking from a different hole.  Prescription is as follows: 

No. 16
Diarrhea Remedy

Tincture Rhubarb, 1 ounce.
Tincture Jamaica Ginger, 1/2 ounce.
Tincture Catechu, 1/2/ ounce.
Lime-water, 1 ounce.
Paragoric, 1 ounce.

Dose: One teaspoonful every time the bowels move.


Oh, now wait.  I just found a prescription for Impotence, sexual debility, gleet and self abuse.  Awesome.
 

No. 28
Impotence, sexual debility, gleet and self-abuse

Tincture Gelsemii, 1 1/2 drachms.
Tincture Belladonna, 2 drachms. (Omgosh, I looked it up and its Deadly Night Shade....NICE)
Brom. Potassi, 4 drachms.
Aqua Destill. q. s. 2 ounces.

Dose: Teaspoonful three times a day.  See that bowels are not constipated.


I don't know what half this shit is, do you?  And people were chugging this stuff?  No wonder they didn't live long.  And oh!  I looooove this one.  It's for earaches.  Mix 1 ounce olive oil and 20 drops of LAUDANUM.  Nothing like opium to knock you out for a few days.  But of course your freakin ear ache will go away!  Everything will when you're doped up.  Duh.

Okay, time to move away from the drug section before I get arrested.

Let's go back to the section known as THE SOCIAL EVIL.  That looks good.

"It is computed that 30,000 males are daily infected with venereal diseases in the United States."  (I agree venereal disease must have been spawning left and right.  But 30,000 a day?  Every last man would have been diseased by the end of one year...Was it upped to create paranoia?  Note to self: there is no source quoted for this statistic.  Hmmmmm).  Now wait.  Here's more of a real stat.  "In the public institutions of New York City about 10,000 cases of venereal disease are treated annually."  Youch.  Those are the ones that stepped forward, mind you.  Of course these were the days when condoms were still being REUSED.

And on that note....HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!  LOL.
In honor of the New Year and that I have a new book out that is kicking off a new series, I will be giving away one signed copy of FOREVER AND A DAY to one lucky commenter who posts their favorite "drink." (legal or not).  Be sure to post your email address with your comment.  Winner will be chosen by January 15th and contacted directly via email. 

Much love and until next month,
Delilah Marvelle





    







17 comments:

antoinette said...

"It sounds like sperm is leaking out of one's ass)....LMAO i almost fell over delilah !!! .... my favorite drink, more like drinks for me lol , gin , jack ,rum , vodka,but sour puss i think is my favorite :)
antoinette.scrocco@live.com

cherthib said...

All I can say is WOW!!!! LOL. My favorite drink is a MMMMMMMMMMMMMMargarita!!!
ctibby73@yahoo.com

Theresa Friel Newbury said...

Loved the blog, Delilah. Strangely informative, lol. I already have the book, it's a wonderful read!! Winner is in for a treat!

Anonymous said...

Hi Delilah happy new year. I think it is a disease in which male are involuntarily spread their sperms or got an orgasm. aretha_zhen@yahoo.com

Unknown said...

HAHA!!! I love this post. My favorite drink is a mojito!!

heatherlire @ gmail.com

Anaiz said...

Spermatorrhoea is the funniest word I've read in a while. Your blog rocks Delilah, it's impossible not to learn something new. Going to miss reading your blog the next few months :(

Happy 2012!

nizmart@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

I am surprised more people didn't die with the "medicines" they took in years past! Night Shade ... Yikes!
My favorite drink is chocolate milk. Pretty boring I know but oh, so calming for me.
Happy New Year!
Phoenix
PhoenixCarvelli(at)gmail(dot)com

Emptrix said...

". . .It sounds like sperm is leaking out of one's ass."

Delilah, you make my tummy hurt from laughing. Astually, Spermatorrhoea simply means the flow of sperm, or more precisely, sperm flowing (on it own is implied in the verb and noun forms (cases). Really nothing to do with the anus. "Diarrhea", the word itself, also has nothing to do with the anus. It must means that something is "flowing through". Every now and then, the Classics degree in ancient Latin and Greek is actually useful. The Anciet Greeks also celebrated the "membrum virilis" in the Herm statues placed on roads and other outdoor locations. A block of stone with the head of the god Hermes carved or engraved, and adorned with a stone penis, sticking out for all to admive. One of my favorite bad boys of history, the rake or stud of his day, Alkibiates, was forced to flee to Sparta (where he did very naughty things with the very willing wife of the Spartan leader)after being tried for desecrating the Herms in Attica (Athens)while on a bender with some other bad boys. The so called "desecration" consisted of forcibly removing all the male members on the Herms.

Right now my favorite adult beverage is a Black Russian, Grey Goose and Kahula. Followed closely by the classic "sidecar"

Yvonne Todd said...

Nice post... I knew I needed to know those odd tidbits!
OK - I'll play Fav drink... depends on my mood, and the time of day...
Breakfast - a really spicy bloody Mary with pickled beans and stuffed olives... also a good choice with rare meat...
Most often - Gin and tonic with a whole lot o lime!
Happy New Year!

Anonymous said...

Your posts are always fun.. and I always learn something new ^_^
I don't react well with alcohol so I have to do with smoothies... love the berries ones.
Thanks for the post and Happy New Year!!!

tngkm@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

I posted in FB about the Wet Dreams but as far as drinks always love a good extra dirty martini but over the New Years I was low on alcohol but had some OJ and vanilla Vodka and 7up. It was good!! Not quite a fuzzy naval but more like a 50/50 bar!!
Linda Meza
linmeza@hotmail.com

Betty Hamilton said...

Involuntary discharge of semen without orgasm.

bettysunflower@hotmail.com

Betty Hamilton said...

Oh, and favorite drink... Mudslide!!! I am partial to sweet drinks!! Sort of balances out the Alpha Males that I really like. ;o)

AquarianDancer said...

Favorite Drink: Since I don't drink alcohol, those are out (although a White Russian has always sounded good). However, I love Stewart's Sodas (Orange Cream and Key Lime). Egg Nog is also a favorite.

The Cardboard Crafter said...

Awesome post. Love your blog (and your books). Favorite drink? Does a 5-Hour Energy Shot count? ;)

The Cardboard Crafter said...

art.from.trash at gmail.com

Delilah Marvelle said...

Hello, hello to all who posted and thank you for posting your favorite drinks!!! I decided to pick THREE names for a signed copy of FOREVER AND A DAY given there were so many who posted!

I dropped all of your beautiful names into a box and had my hubbie draw out 3 names...and the 3 winners are... THE CARDBOARD CRAFTER, Anaiz, and Heather Lire. I'll be emailing you all shortly. Congrats and thank you all for posting. For those of you that didn't win, I have a new section on my website called post and win. You can post your most recent romance read for a chance to read a signed book. This will be a continual contest I'll be hosting and I pick a winner every 3months. Thank you again all and congrats to all three winners!