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.