In Episode 9 of Under The Knife, Dr Lindsey Fitzharris discusses the history of the barber’s pole, and how it relates to a bloody practice from our medical past. Learn how the barber’s pole got its red & white stripes!
In Episode 10 of Under The Knife, Dr Lindsey Fitzharris hits the road to visit the grave of the infamous American gangster, Al Capone. Learn about Capone’s torturous descent into madness caused by advance stage syphilis, and his eventual death and burial that left his grave exposed to vandals.
In Episode 11, Dr Lindsey Fitzharris explores the origins of the modern funeral industry beginning with the American Civil War and the unusual embalming & burial of President Abraham Lincoln.
In Episode 12, Dr Lindsey Fitzharris explores the grim reality facing medical students in earlier centuries when they first entered the dissection room, or “dead house,” as they called it.
In Episode 13, Dr Lindsey Fitzharris discusses the history behind reusable condoms, and the terrible diseases that made them necessary in earlier centuries.
In Episode 14, Dr Lindsey Fitzharris discusses how the executions of thousands of people fed the anatomy schools in the 18th and 19th centuries. Warning: heads will roll!
In Episode 15, Dr Lindsey Fitzharris explores the horrible reality behind dental practices from the past, including how dentures used to be made from the teeth of executed criminals, exhumed bodies, and sometimes even slaves.
In Episode 16, Dr Lindsey Fitzharris talks about phrenology, a popular pseudoscience that emerged in the early 19th century that put forth the idea that a person’s personality could be understood by examining the bumps on his or her skull.
With just ONE WEEK left until the launch of my debut book, it’s my great pleasure to unveil the trailer for THE BUTCHERING ART. A great deal of love, thought, and care has gone into its production. As someone who relishes the visual elements of the past, I wanted to see how the sights and sounds of grimy, grisly Victorian surgery would translate onto screen.