Vignettes at Large - Hektoen International

A tale of two cities

May 25, 2023

Avi Ohry Tel Aviv, Israel Henry Dunant. Via Wikimedia. I wish that when I visited the Abbey of St. Gall in Switzerland years ago, I had also seen the German island of Reichenau and the Swiss village of Heiden 104 km to the south. Both are on Lake Constance, which the Germans call Bodensee […]

Jaws and galeophobia

March 2, 2023

Howard Fischer Uppsala, Sweden “Ignorance is the parent of fear.” – Herman Melville, Moby Dick An underwater tunnel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. “Aquaria” photo by Mohd Fazlin Mohd Effendy Ooi on Flickr. CC BY 2.0. The 1975 thriller film, Jaws, takes place in a New England summer resort town. People flock to the beach, […]

Fixed schedules and no kissing: Child rearing according to Drs. Holt and Watson

February 3, 2023

Howard Fischer Uppsala, Sweden Photo by Arwan Sutanto on Unsplash “Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do.” – Benjamin Spock, MD Child rearing “experts” first appeared at the end of the nineteenth century. L. Emmett Holt, MD (1855–1924), graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1880. He decided […]

On orchids and testes

January 31, 2023

Howard Fischer Uppsala, Sweden Orchis anthropophora (L.) All. (originally labeled Aceras anthropophorum (L.) R.Br.). From Album des Orchidées d’Europe by Henry Correvon, 1923. Swiss Orchid Foundation at the Herbarium Jany Renz. Botanical Institute, University of Basel, Switzerland. “You like orchids?…Nasty things. Their flesh is too much like the flesh of men, their perfume the […]

Of lice and men

January 5, 2023

Howard Fischer Uppsala, Sweden Head louse clinging onto strands of human hair. Scanning electron micrograph by Kevin Mackenzie. Wellcome Collection. CC BY 4.0. “By consistently tormenting them / with reminders of the lice in their children’s hair, the / School Physician first brought their hatred down on him / But by this familiarity they […]

Doctors’ husbands

December 29, 2022

Howard Fischer Uppsala, Sweden Photo by Ketut Subiyanto on Pexels. “Enjoy when you can, and endure when you must.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe The stereotypical image of the “medical couple” is changing: it is no longer the doctor-husband and his nonphysician-wife. This change is permanent and will accelerate, since 60% of American […]

Paruresis: “Shy bladder” syndrome

December 20, 2022

Howard Fischer Uppsala, Sweden “Keep calm and carry on.” – British motivational poster, 1939 Sensor operated urinals, which offer very little privacy. Photo by Julo (Steve Mann) on Wikimedia. CC BY-SA 3.0. Paruresis is the fear of being unable to urinate without privacy. It is more than simple shyness or embarrassment, but is […]

Drapetomania: A “disease” that never was

October 6, 2022

Howard Fischer Uppsala, Sweden Two unidentified escaped slaves wearing ragged clothes. Photo by McPherson & Oliver, between 1861 and 1865. Liljenquist Family Collection, Library of Congress. No known restrictions on publication. “Slavery is next to hell.” – Harriet Tubman “And before I’d be a slave, I’ll be buried in my grave…” – Oh, Freedom, […]

Medical marijuana, caregivers, and jail time

September 6, 2022

Remi Alli United States IStock.com/sx70 Did you know that under current laws in the United States, if you deliver medical marijuana, there is a chance you could land in jail? In some states, a caregiver can be found guilty of illegal possession of marijuana even if it has been approved for medical use. State […]

Chinese footbinding: A millennium of mutilation

August 25, 2022

Howard Fischer Uppsala, Sweden A high caste woman with her feet unwrapped. From Women Of All Nations (London & New York: Underwood & Underwood, 1911), 532. Via Wikimedia. Public domain. “Foot binding is the most incendiary and least controversial subject in modern Chinese history.”1 – Dorothy Ko, professor of History and Women’s Studies, Barnard […]