Hand Sanitizer

Episode 420

19th July 2022

Around the early 1900s, it was discovered that a high percent of ethanol was useful for killing germs, and worked great if there was no available soap and water. Dr. Sydnee and Justin go through viral internet stories and odd patents to explain how we eventually landed on the hand sanitizer we know and love today. Hey, if you can, though, wash your hands.

Episode notes

Around the early 1900s, it was discovered that a high percent of ethanol was useful for killing germs, and worked great if there was no available soap and water. Dr. Sydnee and Justin go through viral internet stories and odd patents to explain how we eventually landed on the hand sanitizer we know and love today. Hey, if you can, though, wash your hands.

Music: “Medicines” by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/

In this episode...

About the show

Dr. Sydnee McElroy and her husband Justin welcome you to Sawbones: A Marital Tour of Misguided Medicine. Every Friday, they dig through the annals of medical history to uncover all the odd, weird, wrong, dumb and just gross ways we’ve tried to fix people over the years. Educational? You bet! Fun? We hope!

Send topic suggestions to sawbones@maximumfun.org and follow @Sawbones on Twitter.

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