Beatrix Potter and How Disease Shaped Her Life

I’ve always been curious about why famous writers became writers, and why they wrote what they wrote. Clearly, our life experiences shape what we write, and we as writers are always admonished to “write what you know”. As a doctor, I am fascinated by illness and...

Beauty Kills

Beauty Kills Imagine you are Spanish royalty in the 1600s. Spain is at the height of its international prowess and is a fabulously rich country. Untold wealth has been transferred from Central and South America in the form of gold and silver. Spain is, indeed, a...

Mad Hatter

The Mad Hatter We all remember the Mad Hatter, the character in Alice in Wonderland. Alice meets the Hatter having tea with the March hare and the Dormouse. He acts erratically, asking nonsense riddles, reciting ridiculous poetry, switching places at the table, biting...

Cup or Cone?

Do you like your ice cream in a cone or a cup? If you were living in England in the 1880’s, your answer could be life-altering. Why? Ice cream was a popular summertime treat in England in the 1800s and was usually sold in a  “penny lick”, a short thick glass cup....

Medical Misnomers

English is a funny language, an amalgam of many other languages, and always in evolution. Daily, we use words that make no sense, without even noticing it. Most of these misnomers made sense originally, and the words have hung on, even after our knowledge, or the...