Browsing all posts in February, 2010.
The Byrth of Mankynde
In 1450, a man named Johann Laidemann left part of his estate to the little town of Frankfurt-am-Main, to be used for the attendance to the wives of poor men, while in labor. The town doctor was responsible for supervising and training the municipal midwives, who had to pass an examination (which was often given, [...]
The Great Texas Science Panic
Texas teachers are terrified. In the fall, the new Texas school board recommendations require that science concepts be taught at an earlier age. Kindergartners are going to learn about thermodynamics and chemistry, not just dinosaurs (which they usually get wrong, anyway). Through mandated, hands-on experiments. High schoolers are going to study in-depth concepts of science. [...]
I Think My Kids are Abnormal
In the vast amount of junk mail I get daily, there are two catalogs that stand out. One of them, my kids immediately steal, paw through and drool over. I literally get a Victoria’s Secret catalog every week. It sits on the kitchen table, with its lovely photos of nearly naked, half-starved young women. Untouched. [...]
The Virgin’s Disease
In 1554, a continental physician named Johannes Lange published a letter (then the standard method of conveying medical information) in which he detailed the symptoms of a young woman named Anna. Of “marriageable age,” Anna was too ill to be courted by the numerous young men who were interested. Her father sought advice on her [...]
Helpful Test-Taking Strategies for Parents
Not kidding. THIS was the title of the article in the Chronicle yesterday morning (You can read the whole article on the MomHouston blog). I was wondering when they were going to institute a parental competency exam. I can certainly think of a few women who should not, ever, have had kids. But that doesn’t [...]
The Dishwasher Does Not Require a Secret Handshake
It’s not a top secret project. It does not require a clearance. Anyone can use it. You just pull the little handle and it opens, miraculously. It’s not that complicated of a machine. While I’m sure the average Joe on the street wouldn’t be able to actually build one, I’m equally sure that at least [...]
Valentine’s Notes
Not being an excessively mushy person, we often do very little for Valentine’s Day around here. Besides, it’s one of those holidays I really don’t know what to make of–part ancient Roman fertility festival, part Christian syncretism, part Hallmark holiday–it’s sort of cheesy. I mean, not EVERY relationship is going great around Valentine’s Day. Just [...]
Graverobbers R Us (but if we can’t find the right corpses…)
Medicine has a long (several thousand year) history of graverobbing. You see, for most of the history of medicine, examining actual bodies has been considered, well, sacrilege. And that didn’t even come from the monotheistic tradition (although the Torah made the rules about dealing with the dead very clear)–it dates all the way back as [...]
Saturday Night Rules
Saturday night is date night. Not just for hubby and I, but for a large percentage of the world. Date night is a habit we got into long ago, when our lives were hectic and the kids were small. It was often just mom-isn’t-going-to-cook night, if we couldn’t get a sitter. We would put the [...]
What Time?
An article from the Washington Post entitled, “The Test of Time: A busy working mother tries to find out where all her time is going” created a firestorm last week. (Thanks to Undomestic Diva for pointing it out, because, not being a Washington Post regular, I would have missed it.) Mommy bloggers went nuts over [...]
