A popular image among social media users purports to show the work of a late 19th century shrink. We have verified the accuracy of such publications.
A photograph is regularly published on social networks that allegedly shows a man with an iron pot on his head placing his head on an anvil, while another man hits the pot with a hammer. Often this image is accompanied by a caption such as “Treating a headache in 1895” or “At a psychologist’s appointment, 1895.” It is shared by many large public pages on VKontakte, including "5 interesting facts" (4.4 million subscribers at the time of writing this analysis), "Masterpieces of Advertising" (2.5 million subscribers), World of History (2 million subscribers) and "This is interesting!" (1.4 million subscribers). The picture is also published by users Twitter, "Odnoklassniki", Facebook* and other social networks.
The image became popular not only in Runet, but also in other segments of the World Wide Web. However, the most common caption for it in English was slightly different - the picture was signed as “Headache treatments in the 1890s known as vibration therapy.” Viral posts from various social networks attracted the attention of our colleagues from American fact-checking projects, including Snopes, PolitiFact And Lead Stories.
Foreign fact checkers agree that the procedure depicted has nothing to do with “vibration therapy.” A method with this name actually existed at the end of the 19th century, but its essence did not involve putting a pot or pan on the patient’s head and hitting it with a hammer. Thus, physician Joseph Granville in 1883 described using a brush that was moved over the scalp (by hand or using a special device).
The conclusions of our colleagues were supported by numerous medical historians. For example, Snopes contacted Stephen Kasper, a professor at Clarkson University and author of a book about the history of neuroscience in the UK. Casper stated, that already at the end of the 19th century, doctors knew about the negative impact of loud sounds on the health of the human brain, so the picture cannot in any way illustrate a real medical procedure. In conversation with Lead Stories researcher noted: “I believe this image is a joke, probably created from superimposed images. <…> It very well depicts what we think medicine was like in the “bad old days.” It says more about what we want to believe than about what ever happened.”
His colleagues also agree with Kasper. For example, David Jones from Harvard University reported Snopes: "I have never heard of a treatment (legal or quack) that included the methods shown." His supported and Melissa Grave, director of the Medical Historical Library at Yale University.
Like our colleagues, we were unable to find the original source of this picture. At the same time, it can be established quite accurately that it became popular in Russian-language social networks relatively recently. The earliest posts using this image appeared in "VKontakte" and on Facebook*at the beginning of 2018. Around the same time, the picture began to be posted on various forums. We were unable to find it in academic publications or on the websites of thematic museums.
*Russian authorities think Meta Platforms Inc., which owns the social network Facebook, is an extremist organization; its activities on Russian territory are prohibited.
Not true
- Snopes. An 1895 Headache Treatment Called ‘Vibration Therapy’?
- PolitiFact. Vibration therapy is real, but does not look like this photo
- LeadStories. Fact Check: Photo Does Not Show "Vibration Therapy" Treatment In 1890s
- Is it true that a popular photograph shows a 19th century anesthesiologist?
- Is it true that the photo shows a 19th century wig seller?
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