MAGICAL page 45
.The 'Premier 'Rental 'Retirement Community
fe.
24111 Civic Center Drive • Southfield, Michigan 48034
(810) 352-0208
DONALD E. GALE, D.D.S.
353-2200
DENTURE
CENTER
HARVARD ROW MALL
21774 WEST 11 MILE RD.
SOUTHFIELD, MI 48076
EXTRACTIONS
DENTURES & PARTIALS
RELINES & REPAIRS
QUALITY DENTURES AT AFFORDABLE PRICES
30 YEARS' EXPERIENCE
0
•
/
Barry Bean, D.P.M.
Your First Step To Better Health'
Dr. Bean is proud to announce
his newest location at Harvard Row.
Harvard Row Mall
21774 W.11 We Road
810-355-4888
19350 W. 7 Me Road
Between Southfield
& Evergreen
313-534-4244
cr)
Tower 14 - HAP Baking
21700 Northwestern Hwy.
Suite 180
810-557-4300
PATIENT TRANSPORTATION
AVAILABLE
w
cc)
LLJ
CC
LLI
LLJ
• TREADMILLS Electric/Manual
• STAIR CLIMBERS
• HEALTH BIKES
Manual/Dual Action/Electric
• ROWING MACHINES
• MISC. GYM EQUIPMENT
(ALL ITEMS DISCOUNTED)
LARRY ARONOFF
40
ACTON RENTAL & SALES
(313) 891-6500 (810) 540-5550
he believed aliens were trying to
steal his energy.
Ultimately, Dr. Reich managed
to sell thousands of "orgone ac-
cumulators" to followers, but gov-
ernment officials weren't buying
it. Dr. Reich was charged with
fraud, then jailed for contempt of
court. He died in prison.
Though it continues to the pre-
sent, medical quackery was in its
heyday until 1938, when the U.S.
government began regulating de-
vices and potions purporting to
offer miraculous cures. One of the
most prominent cases leading up
to the government's decision in-
volved steel magnate and sports-
man Eben MacBurney Byers.
Byers was the former head of
Westinghouse Electric & Manu-
facturing. In 1927 he stumbled
on Radithor, which he found
uniquely invigorating.
By 1931, Mr. Byers' teeth had
fallen out, he had holes in his
skull and his bones were deterio-
rating. He died the next year. The
cause, of course, was radium poi-
soning, brought about by Mr. By-
ers' daily ingestion of Radithor.
Michigan has had its share of
quacks. Like Missouri, where the
famed Kansas City College of
Medicine and Surgery was locat-
ed, Michigan in the 1890s was
home to an' institution called
Saint Luke's Hospital, though
there are no records of a single pa-
tient. For $5, "physicians" at the
hospital could receive a "heavy
Royal Linen Paper Diploma,"
while the "Genuine Sheepskin,
Document" ran $10.
Throughout the 1920s, women
in both Detroit and Grand Rapids
could take advantage of
the fabulous Tricho Sys-
tem. It was developed by
"internationally famous X-
Ray expert" Dr. Albert
Geyser (unlike most of the cre-
ators of the wonder cures,
he actually was a physi-
cian). A man "with a
splendid record for dis-
tinguished public ser-
vice," Dr. Geyser was
determined to help
women rid them-
selves of unwanted
body hair. "And in this,"
one of his ads readS, "he was
brilliantly successful."
But Dr. Geyser was much
more than a man simply inter-
ested in physical beauty. He was
someone who, by developing the
"Tricho System," had "performed
services for mankind."
The only problem was that the
Tricho System entailed repeated
use of X-rays. As a result, many
of Dr. Geyser's patients were left
with horrible skin ailments or dis-
figurements. Some died.
And in 1959, the Better Busi-
ness Bureau of Grand Rapids re-
ported a preponderance of
salesmen offering water soften-
ers. These gems were supposed
to help prevent polio.
Even the infamous William
J.A. Bailey, creator of Radithor,
has a Michigan connection. His
first venture — his career was so
very rich — was the Carnegie
Engineering Corp. This wonder-
ful institution purported to sell
cars produced at a factory in
Kalamazoo. But when investi-
gators visited, they found only an
empty sawmill.
Mr. Bailey went on to create a
cough medicine called "Dax" and
a "Radiendocrinator" for consti-
pation, flatulence and sexual
prowess — before coming up with
Radithor.
Though a huckster, Mr. Bai-
ley at least believed in the val-
ue of his own product. He took
regular doses of Radithor before
his life ended in 1949. The cause
of death was cancer.
oes the mere thought of a
dentist's drill make you
tremble? Does the sight of
that novocaine-filled sy-
ringe make you physically ill?
Hop on board for our next stop.
The Macaulay Museum of Den-
tal History is for you!
Located at the Medical Uni-
versity of South Carolina in
Charleston,
this museum comprises the
collection of Dr. Neill Macaulay,
who served with the Dental
Corps during World War II.
"A devoted student of the his-
tory of dentistry," according to a
museum brochure, Dr. Macaulay
served as secretary, historian and
treasurer of the South Carolina
Dental Association, was a mem-
ber of the Board of Dental
Examiners, and was the author
of the History of the
South Carolina
Dental Associ-
ation.
Wow. That's
a lot to sink
, your teeth into.
D
So exactly what dental trea-
sures did Mr. Macaulay man-
age to amass? Take a bite out of
this.
* There are numerous dental
chairs, including one which ear-
ly settlers brought with them
aboard covered wagons.
* An early dental tool designed
by Paul Revere.
* The state's first dental X-ray
machine, purchased in 1912. It
looks like two large light bulbs
affixed to a huge wrench.
* A dentist's chest once owned
by Dr. Thomas Green Clemson
Fahnestock, who brought nitrous
oxide anaesthesia to the South.
* An "electro-surgical unit"
that could cure any and all oral
ailments (just in case you didn't
get enough at Bob McCoy's
place).
Think about those early pa-
tients while you're visiting. Feel
their pain. For decades, dental
tools were used on patient after
patient — with no sterilization.
Or how about those pre-Novo-
caine days? (Anybody see the
movie Marathon Man?)
he fun just doesn't stop!
If dental chairs and drills
aren't your cup of tea, how
about amputation kits and
bloodletting tools?
Next on our stop: Chicago's
Museum of Surgical Science,
which is positively filled with,
well, interesting items from the
medical past.
There are bronze surgical in-
struments and a collection of gall
and bladder stones. Civil War
buffs will want to check out an
amputation knife (still speckled
with blood), and how about a vis-
it to the iron lung?
The tobacco industry certain-
ly would love "Dr. Schiffman's
Cigarettes," guaranteed to help
with bronchial problems, while
T
Fill in the Coupon and Mail it NOW.
THE IONA CO.
847 Commercial Exchange Bldg.
Los Angeles, California
Send me your book "The Short Road to Health "
Name
Address
State
City
This is not a real ad. From the American Medical Association's Historical Health
Fraud & Alternative Medicine Collection.