Before we got a vaccine against it in 1884, rabies was a particularly terrifying disease. Cases were few and far between, compared to, say, tuberculosis, but one might survive TB, which was not the case with rabies. And the illness leading to a rabies death was horrifically unpleasant. Maybe that’s why people turned to mad stones, which were said to be a sure-fire cure.
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Only a few healing professional had mad stones, which were said to be bezoars, or hairballs, containing limestone and healing minerals taken from the bodies of animals (although many were not). The use of a mad stone followed a long and arcane method known by but a few. Did they work? Supposedly, since everyone heard stories of people who survived rabies with these stones, including Abraham Lincoln’s son. The practitioners didn’t broadcast the stories of people who were not cured. And considering that dogs will bite people even when they aren’t infected with rabies, you can draw your own conclusions. Read about the miraculous mad stones at Atlas Obscura.
(Image source: Wellcome Collection)
Source: neatorama