Isaac Newton was still a student when an epidemic broke out in London in 1665, and he became obsessed with the disease.
Auctioneers and fine art appraisers BonhamsNewton claimed in his notes that his treatment “drove out the infection and drew out the poison.”
Newton claimed that the “best” way to cure the plague was to hang a toad “by the feet in a chimney for three days,” collect its vomit “with divers insects in it, and put it in a saucer with yellow wax,” and then mix “the crushed toad with [its] excrements” to make lozenges that could be “worn on the affected part” and “drive out the contagion.”
As absurd as Newton’s suggestion was, there have been as many supposed remedies as his in pandemic eras. Yet the discovery is of historical significance. According to the auction house’s book expert Darren Sutherland, “Newton’s current notes are the only significant writings on this topic that we have been able to trace from the world’s greatest scientific mind.”
Sourse: www.allthatsinteresting.com
