I just love to write about horrible things
Former doctor Adam Kay on why his obsession with the ridiculous will educate children... and make them laugh
ACCORDING to author Adam Kay, the olden days were pretty fun… if you liked wearing chainmail or chopping people’s heads off.
There was only one problem – doctors didn’t have a clue about us and how our bodies worked.
The former doctor has diagnosed a distinct lack of knowledge when it comes to medics of the past, which is why the ancient Egyptians thought the brain was a useless piece of stuffing that might as well be chucked in the bin, and teachers forced their pupils to smoke cigarettes!
But there was good news according to Adam, who’s packed his findings into a new book, Kay’s Marvellous Medicines: A Gross and Gruesome History of the Human Body.
“People used to get paid for farting,” he says, although he adds: “Unfortunately, that’s no longer a thing, sorry!”
The book is a follow up to Kay’s Anatomy, and Adam says it answers burning questions…such as why did patients used to gargle with wee?
He says: “We’ve never relied on doctors, nurses and scientists more than in the last 18 months, working ridiculously hard to keep the rest of us on the road, and producing vaccines from thin air.
“But it hasn’t always been like this. In the olden days doctors didn’t have the slightest clue. Instead of blood transfusions, they’d tell you to drink dog poo.”
Adam says he adores writing books for kids.
“Firstly, because I get to share my obsession with the ridiculous and disgusting things doctors used to do in the past (turns out putting a dead mouse in your mouth didn’t work to cure toothache). Secondly, because I’m secretly getting them to understand all about the human body and pass their exams.
“But, most importantly, because I clearly have the sense of humour of a 10-year-old.”