Posted on June 2, 2020 at 12:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

One of our favorite podcasts is Sawbones, in which a doctor and her husband take on misguided medicine from the past and share how scientists figured out the proper causes and cures (or treatments).

A great candidate for a future episode would be Isaac Newton’s 17th-century prescription for plague.

The Guardian reports that some notes Newton took on a book about plague will be auctioned off this week — and they include his thought that a lozenge comprised of powdered toad and toad vomit would be an effective cure.

Newton’s papers are expected to go for $80,000 to $120,000 at an auction; bidding goes through June 10.

If your stomach can handle it, read more about the papers in the Guardian.

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Categories: Today in Books

Tagged As: History, The Guardian

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