Old Time Folk Remedies For What Ails Ya

Now that cold and flu season is upon us, and lots of folks are sick, (myself included), I thought it'd be fun to find and post some old folk remedies. These are from a page called Old Tyme Remedies and are in no way a substitution for going to the doctor. They're here simply for your entertainment. Some of them are just, well...odd. Enjoy!

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Arthritis
Drink a misture of honey, vinegar, and whiskey.
Make a tea from either the seeds or leaves of alfalfa.


Asthma
Spray salty water up your nose.
Smoke or sniff rabbit tobacco.
Swallow a handful of spider webs rolled into a ball.

Bee or wasp sting
Rub wet snuff over the sting. My parents used this on me.


Bleeding
Place a spider web across the wound
A weak solution of cider vinegar applied to cuts and wounds should stop bleeding.
Apply a poultice of spirit turpentine and brown sugar to the wound.
Use a mixture of soot from the chimney and lard.
Use pine resin.


Burns
Put hot coals on the burned place and pour water over them. The steam will draw the fire out.
Powder hot coals and put this warm powder on the burn.
The scapings of a raw potato will draw the fire.
Put axel grease on the burned area.
Use lard and flour.


Colds
Drink whiskey and honey mixed.
Make a tea from powdered ginger, or ground up ginger roots. Do not boil the tea, but add the powdered root to a cup of hot water and drink. Add honey and whiskey, if desired.
Boil pine needles to make a strong tea.
Take as much powdered quinine as will stay on the blade of a knife, add to water, and drink.
Eat onions roasted in ashes
Drink tea made from wintergreen fern.
Also my most unfavorite- the dreaded tar jacket. My daddy would boil tar on
the old wood stove and soak an old sheet in it and place it on my chest.


Constipation
Gather the roots of mayapple, cut out the joints, and dry the middle of the root. Place in a cloth and beat to a powder. Add a few drops of castor oil and roll into pills. They keep very well. You can also put a pinch of powder in food, or put in some syrup.


Cough
Mix one teaspoon of whiskey with a pinch of sugar, heat over a fire, and drink.
Eat a mixture of honey and vinegar.
Put some ground ginger from the store in a saucer and add a little sugar. Put it on the tongue just before bedtime. It burns the throat and most of the time will stop coughs.
Take some rock candy with tea.
Take a teacup of roots and stems of red horsemint, boil in a pint of water for two or three minutes, strain, and drink.
Dissolve four sticks of horehound candy in a pint of whiskey and take a couple of spoonfuls a day.
Boil one cup of wild cherry bark in a pint of water. add some syrup and cook until it gets thick.


Cramps
To cure cramps in the feet, turn your shoes upside down before going to bed.


Croup
squeeze the juice out of a rosted onion and drink.
Add a little vinegar, limon, or onion to honey and eat.
Put a drop of turpentine in a spoonful of sugar and eat.
Drink a thick syrup made of onion juice and honey.
Boil an onion, some turpentine, and some lard together. Pour the juice on a cloth and put it on the chest.


Diarrhea
Take a tea of red oak bark.
Drink some blackberry juice.


Earache
Pour drops of juice from the buddie blooms (sweet shrub) into ear.
Dissolve table salt in lukewarm and pour this into ear. This dissolves the wax which is causing the pain.
Put either wet ashes wrapped in a cloth, or hot ashes in a sack on ear and hold there.
Save the liquid that boils out of the ends of hickory and persimmon wood when burned, and pour this liquid into ear.
Pour castor oil, or sweet oil into ear.
Break apart a Betty bug at the neck, and squeeze one or two drops of blood into ear.
Warm a spoonful of urine and put a few drops in ear.
Put a few ashes in an old rag. Dampen it with hot water and sleep with your head on it.


Fever
Snakeroot tea will bring it down
Boil two roots of wild ginger in a cup of water. strain, and drink.
Boil a cup of pennyroyal leaves in a pint of water and drink.


Fever
My granny used to go in the woods and gather feverfew and make a tea out of it to give my mother and aunts when they had fever.


Flu
Gather some boneset, put the leaves in a sack, and put it in the sun to dry. Make sure it has air or it will mold. Then cook the leaves in some water, strain, and drink.
Chew rabbit tobacco.


Gall Bladder Trouble
Take a spoonful of pure corn whiskey and Black Draught


Headaches
Bind wilted beet leaves on the forehead.
Tie a flour sack around your head.
Put several ginseng roots in a piece of broun papeer and tie to your head.
Put turpentine and beef tallow in a bandage and tie it tightly around your head.
Smear brow with crushed onions.
Rub camphor and whiskey on head.


Hiccups
Take a teaspoon of peanut butter.
Put half a teacup of dried apples in a teacup of water in a pot. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Strain out the remains of the apples, and drink the juice while hot.


Pain Killer
Roast some poke roots by the fire. Scrape them clean with a knife and grind up. Make a poultice out of the powder and apply to the bottom of the foot. It will draw pain out of anywhere in the body.


Toothache
Put drops of vanilla straight from the bottle on the tooth.
Use burned alum.
Hold whiskey or turpentine on the tooth.
Put a few ashes in an old rag and dampen it with hot water. Sleep with your head on it.

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The Awesome Power Of Magnetism - Folklore Facts And Possibilities

Magnetic forces are among the most potent power sources in the known universe. And just like the force of (1)gravity, magnetic forces are ever-present, constantly at work, and they have a dramatic impact on our daily lives. In fact, were it not for magnetism and all of its inherent forces, our species would not (could not) exist on this planet.

We owe our existence to magnetism

At the center of our small solar system resides a massive nuclear power plant. We call it the Sun. It is a rather puny, mediocre star – as stars go. Still, its constant, countless nuclear explosions create unimaginable forces, one of which is referred to as the 'solar winds.' By the time these radiation-laden solar winds reach Earth, they are still hundreds of thousands of degrees, and traveling at about 1,000,000 miles per hour. Yes – that's one MILLION miles per hour. That equates to about 16,666 miles per minute, or 278 miles per second. Were it not for the Earth's natural magnetism, and massive magnetic field, the solar winds would course unimpeded over the planet's surface. Remove the Earth's magnetism and our beautiful blue planet would instantly become an uninhabitable place teeming with intense radiation, unbelievable winds, and temperatures capable of melting or disintegrating almost everything.

Magnetism was one of the first controllable power sources that man became aware of. Then, only naturally occurring magnets were present in the form of (2)lodestone. And while it is clear that humans became aware of magnetism thousands of years ago, it was not until much more recently that the powers were implemented for the benefit of the species. Save for folklore-based applications, the first known practical use of magnetism was in the making of the compass – an invention of the Chinese in the 12th century AD.

An early application of magnetism

The Chinese used lodestones as early as the 4th century AD in a divination ritual called "Geomancy." Geomancy, which is believed to be of Arabic origin, is about 'reading' various natural markings on the ground, or by having someone throw dirt in the air, and then reading the 'signs' created by the pattern of the dirt after it falls to the ground. There are absolute ties between Geomancy and various religious belief structures. By using lodestones in the practice of Geomancy, the Chinese were able to create exciting, unique readable patterns that were unmatched by any other civilization of the era. Part of the allure of this practice in China was the fact that the dirt could move 'on its own,' even after it had hit the ground. Subtle shifts in gentle winds, or small vibrations on the ground were enough to cause the stationery dirt to move – right in front of the eyes of believers.

Prehistoric navigation with magnetism

There is bacterium that is composed of single pieces of magnetite that form a string inside of its microscopic-sized body. It is actually a "living magnet" as the majority of its bulk is comprised of the magnetite pieces. The creation of minerals inside of living organisms is not uncommon. The teeth and bones of humans, for example, are minerals formed by, and inside of, living tissues. These have only recently been discovered, and it took an electron microscope set at 100,000x to see the miniscule magnetite chains. Many animals, including humans, have similar magnetic components. It is widely believed that because some animals are clearly using magnetism for their navigation, such as the notorious homing pigeons, that magnetic tissues and minerals exist for the host's navigational purposes. Recently, some researchers have started to think it's there for much more than just helping us find north. It is quite possible that magnetism, for example, guides the directional growth and strength of bones in humans. In humans, by the way, these tiny living magnetic systems are in our brains – and maybe in other places as well.

Oddly, humans still don't really know how magnetism works – anymore than we know how gravity works. We have equations to express both, and rules to follow regarding both – but we really don't know how they work. It was not until the mid-20th century that man actually started to get a solid understanding of the rules of magnetism, and ways to implement it. In 1950, the average American household had fewer than five magnets employed. By the end of the century, the average household employed hundreds of magnets. They are everywhere in our culture today – controlling and powering and amazing.

Magnetism and marriage

It was once believed, and not that long ago, that if you placed a piece of lodestone under the pillow of your spouse while they slept, in the morning, they would voluntarily tell all about their illicit, extra-marital affairs. They say all folklore has a basis in fact – one's mind boggles at contemplating how this one got started…

Magnetism and medicine

Late 1700's, a Frenchman named Franz Anton (3)Mesmer announced that he had discovered "animal magnetism." But not the way we use it colloquially – meaning when one person attracts another. Franz Anton Mesmer believed the magnetism of the earth flowed around and through people. If it flowed correctly, you were healthy. If it didn't, you got sick. He treated people by rubbing them with magnets. He held "séances," during which the participants sat around a vat of sulfuric acid (H2 SO4) holding lengths of iron. It was said they were "Mesmerized." As a result of this man's activities, an entire branch of charlatan-driven 'medicine' arose. Magnets were said to be able to cure anything, though their track record in that arena was utterly disastrous.

Even today we are flooded with magical and mystical cures based on magnetism. Unfortunately, they do not bear up well under scientific inspection, or even close scrutiny. But there are some amazing applications of magnetism in modern medicine. The most commonly known implementation of magnetism is surely MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), which allows physicians to see incredibly clear, quasi-3D images of the inner workings of the human body – and without radiation.

The uses and applications of magnetism are constantly growing, and constantly yielding some amazing products and tools. The hard drive in your computer uses magnetism to write and read your files. Magnetism is responsible for the electric motors that run everything from your car's windshield wipers to your office escalator. Magnetism is used to manufacture traffic light signal changers, such as the industry pioneering Signal Sorcerer – legally used worldwide on vehicles to trigger traffic signals. Magnetism keeps your kitchen cabinets closed, and tells your icemaker when to refill. Magnetic locks are famous for being secure, and magnetic sensors called "inductive loops" sense everything from baskets of goods in automated packing systems, to traffic waiting at intersections.

Magnetic magic

There are places in the world where small hills have large magnetite deposits in them – towards the top. This means that when iron is placed at the bottom of the hills or inclines, it will 'defy' gravity and move upward! One such hill in Mexico is said to be able to pull a small car up the hill in direct defiance of the Big G. Needless to say, great legends have arisen over time about these inclines.

The most famous magnetic magic of all is the Aurora Borealis – aka the Northern Lights. Under specific conditions, at the ends of the earth's magnetic field, one can observe the solar winds passing overhead in a brilliant display of color and light. These openings in the earth's magnetic field can also be deadly. Records have shown that people, and perhaps even small villages have been sucked up into space by these amazingly beautiful, unbelievably powerful natural phenomenon.

Magnetism and transportation

Magnetism plays such a huge part in the world of transportation that it's hard to know which things to mention. Magnets are used throughout vehicles nowadays. Of course they run all the electric motors that control windshield wipers, fans, etc. They also are used to control sensors in transmissions, gearboxes, shifters, fuel systems, and more. Motorcycles, mopeds, and smaller vehicles have benefited greatly from the newest applications of magnets. One giant leap for automotive technology has been the invention of magnetic oil filtration systems such as the universal fit Engine Sentry. These little spheres drop into your disposable oil filter, and using the immutable forces of magnetics, provide a wealth of benefits – starting with 2-5 TIMES the engine life. It's simple, really. The abrasive particles of steel that wear engines down, rob them of power, and are way too small for conventional oil filters to seine out, are effectively plucked from the re-circulating oil. And let us not forget about all those tiny specialty magnets that are at the hearts of all the computer technology inside of our modern vehicles. No doubt, magnetism has made an indelible and eminently worthwhile mark on automotive technology.

The future of magnetism in the world

The sky's the limit - really! It has been proffered that if a perpetual motion machine is possible, it will run on magnetism. And there is some extremely promising research which implements magnetism to drive starships. It's an incredible concept that seems to only require some creative engineering. Magnets are awesome sources of power that have unbelievably long lives. If you go to your local hardware store and buy a small ceramic magnet, it will likely retain its power for something like 10,000 years. AND if you break it in half, each half is just as powerful as the other – though the poles will instantly reverse on both pieces.

Magnetism is interesting and amazing. It drives and improves our lives in ways most people never even know. It saves lives, keeps our foods cold, or cooks them, protects our fragile planet, and someday, may be the source of power that drives vast fleets of interstellar vehicles through space – on trade and discovery missions to other worlds. Beam me up, Scotty!

(1) Early man actually engaged the force of gravity in a number of ways. One way he engaged it was to drive large animals over cliffs to kill them, instead of risking injury in a direct confrontation. Also, a rock or log rolled down a hill, courtesy of gravity, makes and excellent defensive weapon.

(2) Also spelled "loadstone." Herein referring to: oxide Fe3 O4 – the mineral form of iron known as "magnetite."

(3) Franz Mesmer's actions did have one good effect. Because of his readings about the works of Mesmer, a physician named James Braid pioneered hypnosis in 1842. This is largely why some people still interchange (incorrectly) the words "hypnosis" and "Mesmerize."

Signal Sorcerer is a registered trademark of Iron Horseman Technologies™, Tucson Arizona.
Engine Sentry is a registered trademark of Iron Horseman Technologies™, Tucson Arizona.

Eric Scribener is a 30-year veteran freelance writer and photographer currently on assignment for http://www.dotcomtucson.com/ - putting Tucson Arizona in the palm of your hand.