Ep.21 - Head To Toe - Armpit
Join us as we explore the history of medicine, from head to toe! This time: the armpit.
To sweat or not to sweat? Was sweating good or bad? Was it a treatment or a symptom? Was it something to be encouraged or prevented? The answer to all these questions is a resounding ‘Yes’.
In this episode we explore the strange history of sweating sickness, what arsenic can do to your armpits and the creation of a market for underarm shaving.
We also explore the history of deodorant – and its cynical marketing to women to improve their attractiveness and to men in the 1920s as a way to avoid unemployment and poverty.
Credits
Researcher and presenter: Laura Burgess has been a volunteer with RCPE Heritage since 2021 after completing her MA in History from UNC Charlotte.
Editor and producer: Sarah E Hayward completed her PhD in Museums and Heritage Studies at Kingston University London in 2023. She has been a volunteer with RCPE Heritage since 2021. She has a passion for archival research and she loves to explore creative ways to assemble and share the hidden stories she uncovers.
Researcher and presenter: Olivia Howarth is a volunteer with RCPE Heritage, a recently qualified archivist, heritage enthusiast and self-proclaimed lifetime nerd with an interest in medical history.
Historical clip: Frank Rowntree compilation recordings. Part 4, Track 16. Wellcome Collection. Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
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