Quite Interesting, but apparently only to me
I'm searching YouTube clips of QI in attempt to demonstrate that a fact really was read out on the show that would surely be of interest here:
- Now, I already knew that until the 20th century the proprietry cure for syphilis contained huge quanitites of mercury. It wasn't clear whether it worked or not, but certainly what was true was that the cure certainly sounds as if it would rot a patiant's brain as fast as the disease.
- However, what it also claimed, which I didn't know, was that it was proved in the 20th century that there was also a more natural cure for syphilis, though also a very dangerous one- if a syphilis sufferer contracted malaria, then if- if!- they survived the malaria, then they would no longer be ill with syphilis. The best available theory is that no other common condition keeps sufferers in a state of such consistantly high fever as malaria, and the syphilis bacteria- which, like most STI orgnisms, are actually quite fragile in thier tolarance of changes in temperature (hence why it can't be spread by skin contact or by air or contaminated food or water, only by sexual fluids or direct blood contact) are literally boiled away, perishing in the heat.
Of course, it's not a cure that most doctors would ever reccomend, but it could explain conveniently some facts in the PotC canon...
... if someone can tell me that this is true. Has anyone else seen or heard anything about this?