Raise your hand if you or someone you know has had their tonsils removed. If your hand is sky-high, there’s a pretty good chance that you (or that person you know) are from the US and were born before 1980. Of course, maybe that’s not the case, but tonsillectomies certainly fit in the category of 20th-century fads, along with Tamagotchis and the Atkins diet. While the procedure is still widely performed today (and for very good reasons), the frequency of tonsillectomies has dropped drastically from mid-20th century rates. In this episode, we explore why tonsillectomies became so popular, when they fell out of favor, and what about tonsils makes them worthy of removal. Tune in to be horrified by ancient tonsil removal techniques, shocked at how long it takes new knowledge to change policies, and appreciative of just how cool tonsils actually are.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Ep 51 The Path of Most (Antibiotic) Resistance
Ep 50 Antibiotics: We owe it all to chemistry!
COVID-19 Ch 11: Modeling
Ep 49 Eastern Equine Encephalitis: Triple EEEk!
COVID-19 Chapter 10: Schools
COVID-19 Chapter 9: Economics
Ep 48 Botulism: Why are you the way you are?
COVID-19 Chapter 8: Disparities
COVID-19 Chapter 7: Spillover
Ep 47 Schistosomiasis: A Snail's Pace
COVID-19 Chapter 6: Mental Health
COVID-19 Chapter 5: Vaccines
COVID-19 Chapter 4: Epidemiology
COVID-19 Chapter 3: Control
COVID-19 Chapter 2: Disease
COVID-19 Chapter 1: Virology
Ep 46 Lactose Intolerance: Never trust a fart
Ep 45 Hepatitis C: Hepatiti?
Ep 44 Pertussis: Whoop Here It Is
Ep 43 M-m-m-my Coronaviruses
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free