It happened here. Bizarre doctors and strange medical procedures in N.J . history
by Charlse ·
New Jersey has had its share of odd, quirky doctors over the years. In the early 18th century, for example, it was not unusual for a physician to practice withouth any medical training whatsoever.
And while standards did improve over the years — in 1766 the first Medical Society of New Jersey was formed in New Brunswick — bizarre and cruel medical practices nonetheless persisted into the last century.
From the brutal treatment of patients to sham pseudo-science remedies, here’s a look at New Jersey’s strange history of medicine.
Psychologist. Eugenicist. And first to coin the term “moron” for clinical use.
From 1906 to 1918, Henry Goddard served as director of research at the Vineland Training School for Feeble-Minded Girls and Boys.
Goddard — a staunch proponent of eugenics, a now-defunct pseudo-science of improving the human race “through better breeding” — was obsessed with the study of intelligence and who had it and who didn’t.
He introduced a system to classify people by their intellectual ability using three categories: “moron,” “imbecile” and “idiot.” And it was Goddard’s view that morons should be ousted from society, sterilized or sent to an asylum.
A leading proponent of Spectro-Chrome Therapy and founder of the “Spectro-Chrome Institute,” Dinshah P. Ghadiali has been described as one of the biggest charlatans of all time.
During the 1930s, in Franklin Township, Gloucester County, Ghadiali began touting a device he had created called the Spectro-Chrome. In reality, the device was nothing more than an aluminum box with a 1,000-watt bulb, a fan and an opening fitted with a colored filter through which various colors of light would shine.
Ghadiali claimed the different colors of light from the device could cure any illness (and without any standard treatment of the day).
He claimed yellow, for example, could rebuild nerves and help digestive problems, among other things. Blue, he said, could relieve itching and irritation. Lemon would dissolve blood clots, and so on.
Hard mattresses, loose clothing, open bedroom windows, vigorous exercise and chastity — that was the recipe to stay fit and healthy, according to Sylvester Graham, New Jersey dietitian and, yes, father of the graham cracker.
Graham, minister of a Bound Brook Presbyterian church in the early 1800s, did not invent the graham cracker, but it was inspired by his preachings, which were rooted in the 19th-century temperance movement. For someone remembered for one of the tastiest treats in history, Graham hated pleasure. In fact, his motto was, “If it feels good, don’t do it,” according to Michael Nevins in his book, Meanderings in New Jersey’s Medical History.
Graham believed in maintaining a vegetarian diet along with coarsely ground, whole grain bread, as well as a lifestyle void of pleasure, particularly sexual stimulation.
The graham cracker (actually a biscuit at the time) was introduced in 1829 and was touted as a cure for a series of ailments, including indigestion, poor circulation, insanity and even lust and masturbation, to name few.
He also believed ketchup and mustard caused insanity.