The Breath

Q Dear Miss Abigail: Sometimes I get self-conscious when talking to people because I have bad breath. It has lasted about three to four years now. I’m sixteen. Will I ever talk “carefree” again? Signed, Viv A Dear Viv: According to Mrs. A. Walker in this excerpt from her book Female Beauty, you might want to […]

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Crying and Health

I’ve read a lot about the benefits of laughing, but I think this is the first I’ve seen on crying. When I saw this paragraph, Al Gore and his groaning and sighing in the presidential debate [years ago] came to mind, so I thought it was appropriate to share. It was written by C. H. Fowler […]

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Miscellaneous Health Notes

This time I have pulled out a few notes from 1880 about health. I thought it was important to let you know about the dangers of cold water. Be careful out there! 1880: Miscellaneous Health Notes Pine Woods and Health. The pleasant odor emitted by fir-trees in a sunny atmosphere has long been thought serviceable […]

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The Business of Getting Well

All this talk about the downright rude behavior of our politicians debating the health care bill has me feeling ill! Makes me wish Bernarr MacFadden’s International Health Resort was still around. I found this little undated pamphlet in my pile of “flat things” while looking for a book jacket for something else. It has some […]

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1949: Correct Proportions

Someday I’ll do a comparison of all of the “average” or “ideal” weight charts, by age and height, in all of my books. I just stumbled across another one, a bit surprisingly in the Searchlight Homemaking Guide, revised in 1949 from an earlier 1937 edition published by Household Magazine. The chapter title, nestled among the […]

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1913: Ventilation

It’s been in the 70s this week in Washington, D.C., which has been lovely (though snow is predicted for Saturday). This has allowed me to turn off the heat and open the windows for the first time in months. I love sleeping with the window open, even if only for these flukey few days. All […]

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