(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) Pain sucks. And unfortunately, we have a limited number of ways of dealing with it. Willow, myrtle, and a few other plants are naturally occurring sources of salicylates like aspirin, … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) Alcohol: fun diversion, highly sophisticated art form, disgusting vice, or sensible health precaution? It’s a trick question. The answer is, all of the above. … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) Our general theme for this month is drugs, but I’m going to start off with a category whose most common members are rarely thought of as drugs at all: stimulants. … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) During the periodic waves of plague that struck London in the early modern period, people noted that the best nurses for the afflicted were those who had survived the plague … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) I presume that everyone reading these essays is familiar with the basics of germ theory: that many diseases are caused by microscopic organisms such as bacteria or viruses. And probably … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) Plagues are one of the more terrifying disasters human society can face. Something like a hurricane or a volcanic eruption is more destructive on a physical level, but an epidemic … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) What a cheerful title for the first essay of the month! I’m starting with the simple topic of disease — not its causes; not its treatment; its existence — because … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) Under normal conditions, human beings really only have two options for how to get someplace: go via land, or via water. But we’ve always stared at birds in the sky … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) Because I love tall ships, when I thought about water travel, my thoughts immediately leapt to sailing. But that’s fairly advanced technology, in the grand scheme of things; our initial … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) Ever since our pre-pre-pre-pre-prehistoric ancestors left the primordial sea to slither around on dry land, the vast majority of our transportation has been been earth-bound. Naturally, in talking about different … Continue reading
