Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1914-04-17
POISONED NEEDLE A MYTH
There is no Drug Known to Scientists
That Can be Administered Hypo-
dermically.

There is no Drug Known to Scientists
That Can be Administered Hypo-
dermically.
Popular beliefs on scientific subjects
run in waves. Many Of our
readers remember the interest in hyp-
notism which followed the publication
of '"Trilby" Svengali with his "hyp-
motto eye," at once became a real and
possible parsonage in the public imag-
ination. The newspapers were full Of
stories Of girls and women who had
suddenly been fixed and paralyzed by
the hypnotic gaze of some mysterious
stranger with piercing black eyes and
who had been compelled by his will to
perform fantastic acts which they were
powerless to prevent. Fiction writer's
took up the idea, and stories centering
around hypnotic influence became COM
mon. 1t was used as a plea in crimi-
nal cases, various culprits alleging that
they had been hypnotized and compell-
ed against their will to perform unlaw-
full acts. All this occurred in spite OF
the fact, frequently stated and known
by every scientific man, that the limi-
tations Of hypnotism are definite and
we'll recognized, that no person can be
hypnotize6 unknowingly or against his
will, and that few persons are so sus-
ceptible as to be capable Of being COM
PEELED to perform acts beyond their
own volition and knowledge.
Another popular fiction which later
on took the place of hypnotism was
that Of instantaneous anesthesia. Sto-
ries appeared in the newspapers Of
women who had been accosted by
strangers, and under some pretext had
permitted a cloth or a handkerchief to
be pressed momentarily over their
mouth and nose. Immediate uncon-
sciousness was said to have followed,
in period Of insensibility
and irresponsibility, varying from few
to hours or even days. Chlor-
oform sprayed into an open window by
means Of an atomizer, anesthetics tied
to a rag on the end Of pole and
thrown into a bedroom, instant un-
consciousness following the admins
tration Of drugs unknown to physicians
or pharmacists, were some Of the vari-
ations Of this idea. In the minds OF
physicians and nurses who see every
day the administration Of anesthetics,
such stories only excite mirth. Any
one who knows the difficulty and labor
of procuring unconsciousness through
the use Of anesthetics, even under the
most favorable conditions and with
every possible means Of restraining
anG controlling the patient, knows how
absurd such stories are.
A latter day variation Of these popu-
lar beliefs may be found in the "pois-
oned- needle" stories which have been
going the rounds Of the press recently.
A woman goes to a moving picture
theatre, enters a crowded elevator, a
street car or elevated train, or is caught
in the press Of a crowd. Suddenly she
sees, close beside her, our old friend
the mysterious stranger" with the
piercing black eyes and the compelling
manner At the same time she feels
sting and knows that she has been
stabbed with poisoned nedle. She i'm
becomes unconscious, dazed
or irresponsible for a greater or less
period Of time, during which she ex-
periences a number Of marvellous ad-
ventures or hairbreadth escapes.
1t is not possible to say that no wo-
man was ever without her knowledge
given drug hypodermically which
produced unconsciousness 1t can,
however, be said very positively that
there is no drug known to scientific
men which could be administered in
the manner or which would produce
the effect described in recent newspa
per reports.
One Of the laws of hysteria is that
when any peculiar phenomenon is re-
ported, similar instances Immediately
appear throughout the country. We
may now expect a spring crop Of mag
azine stories and popular novels based
on the poisoned needle as motive. Sci
entifically, the thing is as ridiculous
and impossible as hypnotism Of an un-
willing subject or instantaneous anaes-
thesia. Popular beliefs travel in waves
and hysteria and excited imaginations
help them along. The history Of pop
ular delusions, from Salem witchcraft
to present day vagaries, is full Of such
nstances.-Journal American Medical