Vaccine

<p><span>For centuries, smallpox seemed unbeatable. People had tried nearly everything to knock it out—from herbal remedies to tossing back 12 bottles of beer a day (yep, that was a real recommendation from a 17th century doctor), to intentionally infecting themselves with smallpox and hoping they didn’t get sick, all to no avail.</span></p> <p><span>And then, in the 18th century, an English doctor heard a rumor about a possible solution. It wasn’t a cure, but if it worked, it would stop smallpox before it started. So one spring day, with the help of a milkmaid, an eight-year-old boy, and a cow named Blossom, the English doctor decided to run an experiment. Thanks to that ethically questionable but ultimately world-altering experiment (and Blossom the cow) we got the word </span><em><span>vaccine</span></em><span>.</span></p> <p><span>Want to stay up to speed with all things <em>Science Diction</em>? <a href="http://eepurl.com/dysvyn" target="_blank">Sign up for our newsletter.</a></span></p> <div class="embedded-image" style="max-width: 800px;"><img class="mcePuppyImage" src="https://media.wnyc.org/i/512/366/l/80/2020/03/cowpock.jpg" alt=""> <div class="image-metadata"> <div class="image-caption">"The cow-pock - or - the wonderful effects of the new inoculation" by James Gillray in 1802, featured at the beginning of this episode.</div> <div class="image-credit">(Library of Congress)</div> </div> </div> <h2><span>Footnotes And Further Reading: </span></h2> <p><span>Special thanks to <a href="https://vcresearch.berkeley.edu/faculty/elena-conis"><span>Elena Conis</span></a><span>, </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Angel-Death-Smallpox-G-Williams/dp/0230274714"><span>Gareth Williams</span></a><span>, and the </span><a href="https://jennermuseum.com/"><span>Edward Jenner Museum</span></a><span>.</span></span></p> <p><span><span><a href="https://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/the-origin-of-the-word-vaccine/">Read</a><span> an article by Howard Markel on this same topic. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><s