Bad Science Read online

  Alas, such drugs as those for keeping your husband at home are no longer available through mail order, but isn’t that what Victoria’s Secret catalogs are for now?

  “The more important fundamental laws and facts of physical science have all been discovered, and these are now so firmly established that the possibility of their ever being supplanted in consequence of new discoveries is exceedingly remote.”

  Albert. A. Michelson, physicist, 1894

  Legal Poison

  Life before the discovery of antibiotics such as penicillin was difficult, as even minor infections could spread and become deadly. When sulfa drugs were developed and found to be useful in disrupting the reproduction of bacteria, they were hailed as something of a miracle. Available in tablet and powder form, they clearly saved lives that otherwise would have been lost.

  In 1937, salesmen at the Massengill Company suggested developing a liquid form of sulfanilamide, as customers in their territories had requested something that tasted good, and therefore might be easier to administer to patients, such as young children, who were reluctant to swallow pills. The task fell upon the company’s chief chemist, Harold Watkins. What Watkins needed to do was find a way to dissolve the drug in a raspberry-flavored syrup. Trial and error finally revealed that sulfanilamide dissolved quite nicely in diethylene glycol, and created a liquid that looked, smelled, and most importantly, tasted good.

  Unfortunately, there was still one glaring error—safety. No one at Massengill thought to test the new Elixir of Sulfanilamide to see if it was actually safe to ingest! The substance Watkins had chosen as a solvent—diethylene glycol—is now better known as the main ingredient in your car’s anti-freeze, and it is nothing short of a poison. Although at the time, there were published reports indicating diethylene glycol’s toxic effects on the human body, e.g., causing kidney failure, no one at Massengill bothered to look them up.

  No less than 240 gallons of the deadly Elixir of Sulfanilamide was distributed across the country in 633 separate shipments in early September of 1937. People were delighted by the sweet raspberry taste. Then they started dying.

  On October 11, physicians in Tulsa, Oklahoma, reported to the American Medical Association that nine patients (eight of whom were children) who had been prescribed the Elixir had died. Massengill was contacted and the diethylene glycol was discovered to be the culprit. Not until the 14th of October did a physician inform the Food and Drug Administration, which remarkably under the law, was powerless to prohibit the sale of toxic substances.

  Massengill officials informed the FDA that the situation was under control, as they had sent out over a thousand telegrams asking that salesmen, doctors, and pharmacists please return the Elixir. However, they didn’t bother to mention that the medicine was poisonous! The FDA then twisted a few arms, and Massengill finally sent out telegrams with a more urgent message: “Imperative you take up immediately all elixir sulfanilamide dispensed. Product may be dangerous to life. Return all stocks, our expense.”

  As the Elixir had already spread like an unchecked infection across the country, into many rural locations, this task was easier said than done. Traveling salesmen were hard to track down, drugstores did not keep detailed records of prescriptions, and doctors actually lied for fear of prosecution. One doctor claimed he had prescribed the drug to five people, but all of them were fine. Upon further investigation, however, the FDA inspector discovered that, in reality, all five people had died!

  One distraught physician, a Dr. Calhoun, who had been practicing medicine for over 25 years, lamented that six of his patients had died, one of whom was his best friend. In a poignant letter, he wrote that the realization that the medicine he trusted and had prescribed had killed these innocent people, “has given me such days and nights of mental and spiritual agony as I did not believe a human being could undergo and survive. I have known hours when death for me would be a welcome relief from this agony.”

  Slowly but surely, the lethal drug was rounded up, but not before causing a staggering loss of life. At least 358 people were found to be poisoned by the tasty raspberry concoction, and 107 of them died. Additionally, one more death can also be attributed to this tragic case—chemist Harold Watkins committed suicide when he learned of his terrible mistake.

  Too bad the company’s owner, Dr. Samuel Massengill, didn’t feel similar remorse. In a statement worthy of any modern-day corporate official trying to cover his company’s ass, Massengill declared, “My chemists and I deeply regret the fatal results, but there was no error in the manufacture of the product. We have been supplying a legitimate professional demand and not once could have foreseen the unlooked-for results. I do not feel that there was any responsibility on our part.”

  “No error!?”

  “Not once could have foreseen the unlooked-for results!?”

  “I do not feel that there was any responsibility on our part!?”

  Unbelievable, but the story could have been much worse. As the FDA had no legal right to seize the product just because it happened to be poisonous, they only managed to save the public from further deaths by recalling the Elixir of Sulfanilamide because it was mislabeled! As the term “elixir’ is defined as a solution of alcohol and this product used diethylene glycol, the FDA was able to act upon this technicality.

  At least these unfortunate people did not die in vain—the uproar over the case finally led to the more stringent Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938, which finally gave the FDA the power to protect the public from such lethal products. Of course, it can be effectively argued today that many food additives and pharmaceuticals are still toxic, and politics and money are often cited as the means for companies to retain profits at the expense of the public health.

  This case and the current state of affairs bring to mind two old sayings:

  “Buyer beware,” and “Pick your poison.”

  It is also brings to mind that Massengill is best known today for their disposable douches.

  Defective Testing

  In 1954, the German company, Grünenthal, secured a patent on a new “wonder drug,” which acted as a sedative and was found to be very effective in reducing the awful symptoms of morning sickness. Tens of thousands of pregnant women around the world started taking the drug. While it was marketed under many different brands, the name was commonly known as thalidomide—a name that will now live in infamy as one of the worst medical tragedies in history.

  Even after doctors started reporting an apparent link between the use of thalidomide and birth defects, greedy manufacturers stepped up their advertising campaigns for this “harmless” drug. Finally in 1961, countries began banning thalidomide, but it would be another full year before the entire world realized that this drug was the cause of the babies being born with seriously shortened, malformed limbs.

  Unfortunately, the damage was already done, as an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 children worldwide had been born with major thalidomide-related defects and problems. In addition to the limb deformities, the drug also caused abnormalities in the eyes, ears, lips, mouth, heart, genitals, kidneys, digestive tract, and nervous system.

  Lawsuits were filed against Grünenthal, but in their defense .they claimed the drug had been thoroughly tested on “approximately 10 strains of rats, 15 strains of mice, 11 breeds of rabbits, 2 breeds of dogs, 3 strains of hamsters, 8 species of primates, and in other such varied species as cats, armadillos, guinea pigs, swine and ferrets,” and adverse effects had “been induced only occasionally.”

  Even though it had been proven that animal testing can never fully predict reactions in humans, the courts found in favor of Grünenthal, and they got off scot-free. Even more remarkable, thalidomide is still in use, although for conditions other than morning sickness.

  Today, when people complain that their prescriptions are too expensive, pharmaceutical companies counter by complaining that it’s because they are required to put potential new drugs through a long and expensive series of te
sts and trials. Perhaps everything does cost too much, but no mere financial concerns can ever top the cost of medical mistakes such as thalidomide.

  A thalidomide baby with shortened

  arms and an extra digit on the foot.

  Nobel Prize for Death and Destruction

  Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane was first synthesized in 1874, but it would be sixty-five years before it was discovered that it could

  be used as an effective pesticide. The chemical was used extensively during World War II to combat mosquitoes and other disease-carrying insects. In 1948, chemist Paul Hermann Müller was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine “for his discovery of the high efficiency” of this chemical “as a contact poison against several arthropods.”

  This miracle chemical, which was to better the lives of mankind, was also known as DDT.

  1947 ad in Time magazine.

  Perhaps the Nobel Prize committee should have studied the long- term effects of introducing massive quantities of DDT into the ecosystem. Perhaps driving down the street spraying DDT directly onto lawns and onto the children playing on them wasn’t such a good idea. Perhaps using 1.35 billion pounds of DDT in the United States alone, wasn’t the best thing for fish, birds, animals, and humans.

  In 1962, Rachel Carson wrote the groundbreaking book, Silent Spring, about the dangers of pesticides such as DDT. The book launched official investigations and raised awareness about what we were doing to the environment. Evidence mounted that DDT could be the cause of birth defects and cancers in people, as well as decimating certain animal species such as the bald eagle. Most uses of the pesticide were finally banned in 1972 in the United States, although it is still used in 11 countries, and some scientists still argue for its use in this country.

  DDT is being sprayed on children playing on

  a beach in Long Island in 1945.

  The human and environmental toll exacted by DDT can never be fully measured. However, one thing is certain—you can be sure that around the world, equally dangerous chemicals are being introduced into our soil, water, air, and food supply, all in the name of science, progress, and profit.

  You Are What You Eat?

  It has often been said you are what you eat, which does have some scientific basis. For example, if you eat an unhealthy diet full of fat, sugar, additives, and artificial ingredients (which constitute the four basic food groups according to most Americans), you are likely to be an unhealthy person. However, people often took this saying a bit too literally.

  Several ancient cultures thought that by eating the heart of your enemy you would gain his strength and courage. (Of course, if your enemy is dead at your feet with his heart ripped out, you are naturally going to feel emboldened.) Unfortunately, a similar practice was not so ancient—during World War II, Japanese soldiers killed and ate five captured American pilots on Chichi-jima (150 miles north of Iwo Jima), and there were many other reports of Japanese cannibalism throughout the war. Livers were particularly sought-after.

  When humans weren’t eating other humans, they were eating other animal’s body parts to try to acquire certain attributes. For example, it was believed that since foxes could run for long distances, eating their lungs would help cure lung disease. Bears were very furry, so eating bear fat could cure baldness. It was also believed that if you munched on a lion’s heart it would make you, well, lion-hearted.

  Then there are the rhinoceros horns and tiger penises. Unfortunately, even today there is the belief that for those men who are “erectile-challenged,” consuming the ground up horn of a rhinoceros will help you get your own horn up. The same goes for eating a bowl of tiger penis soup, which can sell for as much as $350 on the black market in Southeast Asia! Unfortunately, this ridiculous practice has helped drive these poor creatures onto the endangered species list. But hey, what’s the extinction of a few magnificent animal species compared to some stupid old Asian guy trying to get an erection?

  Fortunately, where extinction awareness campaigns have failed, a little pharmaceutical wonder pill might succeed—sildenafil citrate, a.k.a., the “Little Blue Pill,” a.k.a. Viagra®. This magic bullet erectile dysfunction pill just might keep real bullets from taking down more rhinos and tigers, as even at about $30 per pill, it’s a lot cheaper than a steaming bowl of tiger penis soup!

  Of course, god forbid someone actually takes responsibility for his own health, the safety of other species, and the welfare of the planet, by eating a clean vegetarian diet and getting regular exercise!

  Pardon that last line, I know I’m just talking nonsense now. What I should have told the readers in the spirit of “You are what you eat,” was by all means, grab a bag of greasy chips and go plant yourself as a couch potato!

  One Bad Apple

  Perhaps no other scientist in history ever enjoyed the demigod status bestowed upon Sir Isaac Newton. This feeling of reverence is clearly demonstrated in Alexander Pope's rhapsodic lines:

  “Nature and Nature's laws lay hid in night:

  God said, Let Newton be! and all was light.”

  While Newton’s contribution to science was staggering, there were a few dark, little corners in his life where that light apparently didn't penetrate.

  Newton is often considered to be one of the first of the modern scientists, yet John Maynard Keynes believed that Newton was actually “the last of the magicians”—associating him with a line of mystical brotherhoods dating back to the days of ancient Babylonia. Keynes took this radically opposite view after studying some of Newton’s papers he purchased in an auction in 1936. The papers were a small part of a vast body of works Newton had written on alchemy.

  Although many alchemists became the legitimate ancestors of chemistry (albeit, often by accident), much of alchemy was shrouded in secrecy to protect what its adherents believed to be the mystical answers to the riddles of the universe. Some of those riddles involved the planets, but they weren't studied for any astronomical reasons. It was believed that each of the heavenly bodies was connected to one of the seven special metals and that transmutations (like turning lead into gold) were most easily accomplished under the beneficent influence of the appropriate planet. The planets and their metals were as follows:

  Sun – Gold

  Moon – Silver

  Mercury – Quicksilver

  Venus – Copper

  Mars – Iron

  Jupiter – Tin

  Saturn – Lead

  An enormous amount of nonsense resulted from these supposed relationships, as well as an enormous amount of time wasted by otherwise keen minds such as Newton’s. While the goal of alchemy was noble enough—the creation of the Philosopher's Stone which could cure all ills and transmute base metals to gold and silver (although Newton declared that the true seeker wasn't concerned with that aspect)—the pseudo-science became so immersed in magic, astrology, and its own over-inflated self-image, that it is difficult to comprehend how the same man who discovered gravity and calculus could have become so obsessed by it.

  It is estimated that Newton spent twenty-five years in the study of alchemy, often going many days without food or sleep while conducting experiments. At the time of his death, his library contained hundreds of volumes on the subject and he, himself, wrote over half a million words concerning his research. As to the results of these years of intensive study, Keynes concluded that they were, “Interesting, but not useful, wholly magical and wholly devoid of scientific value.”

  Fortunately, this bad apple of Newton’s career is overshadowed by his many accomplishments, but more than one scientist has no doubt lamented the fact that such a brilliant mind devoted so much time to the fruitless pursuit of alchemy.

  Dephlogistocation

  While the science of chemistry does owe a debt to alchemy for starting it on its path, the many misconceptions of alchemy are also responsible for blocking that path with some major obstacles. Take phlogiston, for example, that mysterious substance that was thought to be within all
combustible substances and metals that corroded.

  The ancient concept of the four elements—earth, air, water, and fire—was altered in 1667 by the German alchemist Johann Joachim Becher. He removed fire and air from the list and substituted three different forms of earth, one of which, terra pinguis, was supposedly an essential part of the composition of combustible materials, and was released when these materials were burned. In 1703, a professor Georg Ernst Stahl altered Becher’s theory and renamed terra pinguis phlogiston, from the Greek word for fire.

  To “prove” the existence of phlogiston, many good experiments were conducted with bad interpretations. For example, when wood was burned, the total weight of the ash was much less than the original weight of the log, so it was concluded that the weight difference was the result of the phlogiston in the wood being released into the air during combustion. Also, when burning wood was closed in a sealed container, the fire went out, supposedly due to the “fact” that air could only hold so much released phlogiston. When air was full of phlogiston, it was “phlogisticated air” and when a substance was burned, it was “dephlogisticated.”

  Confused yet?

  With all this multi-phlogistication research being conducted, many budding chemists spent years, and even entire careers, wasting time studying the mysterious and elusive substance. The theory should have been completely dephlogisticated after chemist Antoine Lavoisier demonstrated in 1770 that oxygen was the element involved in all combustion. Remarkably, however, the phlogiston theory was still embraced by some scientists until the early 1800s—most notably by Joseph Priestley, the man credited with the discovery of oxygen!