The Hacker News discussion about Lewis and Clark's expedition and modern health debates reveals several interconnected themes:
Historical Medical Practices and Their Dangers
A significant portion of the discussion revolves around the "thunder-clappers" mentioned in connection with the Lewis and Clark expedition, highlighting the primitive and often dangerous medical practices of the era. The active ingredient, a mercury salt, is a point of concern for its toxicity and environmental impact.
- "600 giant pills that the men called 'thunder-clappers,'" kylecazar
- "Besides the mercury compound, the Lewis and Clark contained a natural laxitive called Ipomoea purga (jalap) which was native to Mexico." djmips
- "'The main active ingredient in “thunder-clappers” was a mercury salt.'" chasil
- "This doesn't seem particularly safe or good for the environment. I doubt if the product is sold now." chasil
- "Travelling thousands of miles overland, in constant fear of ambush from a fearsome plains tribe war party, alternating between intense constipation and explosive diarrhea - bet they didn't put all that on the brochure when they were signing folks up to paddle the canoes." anon7725
- "I just got back from backwoods camping, each site has a wooden chest/thunderbox/toilet out in the open woods near the site. I'm not sure if the thunder is the heavy wooden lid closing or the noises that come from it. Some are out of sight of the campsite but ours was only 75ft away, fortunately the lid blocked your view if it was in use." jvm___
Analogies Between Historical and Modern Misguided Medical or Public Health Approaches
The discussion draws parallels between the questionable medical practices of the past, particularly Dr. Benjamin Rush's style of "heroic medicine," and what some perceive as equally misguided approaches in modern public health discourse, particularly concerning vaccines and germ theory.
- "I just got back from backwoods camping, each site has a wooden chest/thunderbox/toilet out in the open woods near the site. I'm not sure if the thunder is the heavy wooden lid closing or the noises that come from it. Some are out of sight of the campsite but ours was only 75ft away, fortunately the lid blocked your view if it was in use." jvm___
- "> THESE PILLS WERE the pride and joy of Dr. Benjamin Rush, one of the Founding Fathers and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Later, a descendent of Dr Rush would go down in infamy for a foolhardy escapade to the Titanic in a carbon-fiber submersible called Titan." anonu
- "> Dr. Rush’s style of “heroic medicine” had caused his star to fall quite a bit by this time — especially after the Philadelphia yellow fever epidemic of 1793, when his patients died at a noticeably higher rate than untreated sufferers. Seems familiar..." anonu
- "The vaccine wasn't even close to 99% effective nor is any medication 100% safe, and neither was this vaccine. It had severe side effects in a lot of people. This kind of messaging is a large part of the problem, because it's trivially verify-able to be a lie, muddying the waters of wherever it should be used." ffsm8
- "The head of our health and services department is not so far off Dr Rush's opinions on how human health works. 250 years after Dr Rush and somehow the head doctor in our country believes in the miasma theory of disease, only marginally more modern (still ancient Greek)." cco
The Enduring Nature of Human Behavior and Humor
A recurring theme is the observation that despite vast technological and societal changes, fundamental human behaviors and senses of humor remain consistent across centuries. The very name "thunder-clappers" for a laxative prompts amusement and reflection on this continuity.
- "I love little reminders that people haven't changed that much over the centuries" kylecazar
- "Hunter-gatherer tribes probably had some natural laxative they called some version of "thunder-clapper" and giggled as they said it." suzzer99
- "I bet. Barbing"
- "I bet. suzzer99"
- "I bet they got drunk / high on loads of things too on the regular. Cthulhu_"
- "I don't think that is the thunder the "thunder clappers" was named after. cheema33"
- "I'm dying laughing. Imagine Lewis and Clark, thinking they're forging this epic, heroic legacy for the ages... and their most permanent, scientifically-proven trail is literally toxic poop. History has a WILD sense of humor." judge123
Linguistic Quirks and Cultural Nuances
The discussion touches upon linguistic oddities, such as the Esperanto translation of "it's all Greek to me," and how language can reveal subtle cultural commentary.
- "Esperanto's translation being "it's all Volapük to me" is exactly the kind of linguistic shade I was hoping to find in that article." maxbond
Web Design and User Experience (Tangential)
While not directly related to the historical or medical themes, a side discussion emerges regarding website design, the aesthetics of older web pages, and the usability of modern websites, particularly in light of mobile viewing and reader modes.
- "I love these 90s-2000s website aesthetic. Simple HTML, less CSS, extremely good readability, very little telemetry and data collection (in general). I wish we could go back to that era. It felt like every website was a beautiful discovery journey than just the same old bland minimalist, flat design bs every site has today with "aCcEcPt cOoKiEs" banners with dark patterns throughout. /endrant" neya
- "Haha this page uses google adsense and the CSS is so bad that the page source has apologies in the comments. I wouldn't doubt if they didn't add the GDPR banner simply because nobody cares." sublinear
- "The iOS reader view is spectacular. Easy to read source code makes for a better experience for both humans and machines :)" nextzck
- "The reader view is broken. Despite my other comment this is really bad web design. So bad that I couldn't share this article with normal people who won't put up with this. I really wanted to since the story is so interesting." sublinear
The Reliability and Interpretation of Historical Narratives
There's a questioning of how much of the "epic, heroic legacy" narrative surrounding Lewis and Clark is a product of historical framing rather than contemporary self-perception, and how easily less successful outcomes might have erased their historical significance.
- "I do wonder if they went in there thinking they're "forging this epic, heroic legacy for the ages", or if that was hindsight / US historians drumming up the story for the history books." Cthulhu_
- "If they shat themselves to death halfway, would they have been remembered as much? Cthulhu_"