Here's a Twitter post based on the transcript:
🩸 THREAD: The deadly history of bloodletting
George Washington died in 1799 after losing 40% of his blood to "medical treatment." For 2,000+ years, doctors believed draining blood cured everything from headaches to plague.
King Charles II was bled from multiple veins while fed powdered human skulls. Lord Byron called his doctors "a set of butchers" as they drained 2.5 liters of his blood.
Why did this persist so long?
* Placebo effect made patients feel "treated"
* Some modest benefits (similar to blood donation today)
* No understanding of germs until 1900s
The practice finally died when germ theory replaced "humoral theory" - the belief that illness came from imbalanced bodily fluids.
Today bloodletting only treats specific blood disorders. A reminder that medical "common sense" can be dangerously wrong for centuries. 🧵