Sir Isaac #Newton’s #Prescription for #Plague? #Toad #Vomit Lozenges

Issued by Smithsonian Magazine

Handwritten notes detailing the British polymath’s unsavory treatment are now up for auction

If someone told you that Sir Isaac Newton—the great mind responsible for the discovery of calculus and fundamental laws of physics—had also developed a remedy for the bubonic plague, you’d be forgiven for assuming it might be worth a shot. You would, however, be in for an unwelcome surprise.

In 1665, when Newton was a student at the University of Cambridge’s Trinity College, the school temporarily shuttered due to the Great Plague of London. This outbreak of bubonic plague lasted until 1666 and killed an estimated 100,000 people—roughly a quarter of the city’s population, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/sir-isaac-newtons-plague-prescription-toad-vomit-lozenges-180975039/?utm_source=smithsoniandaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20200605-daily-responsive&spMailingID=42669337&spUserID=ODA0MzE5MzYxODU5S0&spJobID=1780455132&spReportId=MTc4MDQ1NTEzMgS2