My apprentice, Ellynor Redpath, is full of ideas. Most of the time, her brilliant notions involve skills well beyond my own (I can barely manage a straight stitch), but this one? This one was dangerously right up my alley: playing with caustic materials. Seriously, what’s the worst that could happen when you deliberately handle a substance that dissolves flesh? Exactly. What Had Happened Was… The Diaper Rabbit Hole Ellynor and I were deep in discussion about one of her latest research projects when, as often happens, we tumbled down a very specific rabbit hole. We went from discussing baby garments in Elizabethan England straight into the vital, if somewhat less…
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The Heart Wants What it Wants
I’ve spent the last several years researching oral hygiene. It’s been a challenging but rewarding area of study. I am by no means done with it. My passion for the project, however, has waned. I find myself looking at other topics and wondering what wonderful rabbit holes they will lead me down. I’ve doggedly remained on a path that I no longer find rewarding. Why? Because the work is unfinished? Because I feel I should? My research has become lackluster and subpar. I refuse to put out work that is not my best, and so I’ve made the decision to take a break from oral hygiene. My research doesn’t set…
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Oral Hygiene in the Trotula
The Trotula: A Medieval Compendium of Women’s Medicine, is a twelfth century work on women’s health containing three books. In this work, there are quite a few instructions on how to take care of the teeth. This post discusses two of them. The edition of the book I used is dated 2001 from the University of Pennsylvania Press. Recipe 182 “[182]For black and badly colored teeth, take walnut shells well cleaned of the interior rind, which is green, and we rub the teeth three times a day, and when they have been well rubbed, we wash the mouth with warm wine, and with salt mixed in if desired.” The main…