The Secret Life of Ordinary Objects - Part 5: The Alchemist's Cabinet: Soap, Aspirin, and the Strange Evolution of Health
The Secret Life of Ordinary Objects ← Series Home The Pursuit of Purity: How Industrial Ingenuity Transformed Sickness and Sanitation The history of the modern world is inextricably linked to rising standards of health and hygiene—a revolution that has conquered disease, extended lifespans, and fundamentally redefined cleanliness. For millennia, human attempts to combat illness, pain, and filth were characterized by guesswork, ritual, and a hit-or-miss approach to natural remedies. Ancient societies were often on the verge of discovery—the Romans knew the value of fresh water, the Sumerians knew a simple antacid worked—but lacked the scientific framework and industrial capacity to harness that knowledge universally. ...