Sid 🇵🇸

I learned recently the caduceus (left) and the rod of Asclepius are different symbols with different meanings. The staff with one snake was historically used by healers, and the caduceus, as a symbol of Mercury (notably not a doctor) was associated with merchants

Basically the USA got it wrong. But it is appropriate we got a symbol for commerce and a symbol for healing mixed up

Sep 20, 2023 at 5:29pmWeb
Show threadSylvhemSep 20, 2023
@InternetEh I may be wrong, but I thought Hermes’ caduceus was also supposed to be able to cure serpents’ bites and send people to sleep? Hence why it is a symbol of medics in lot of places (and not just the USA).
Show threadBard  Sep 20, 2023
@InternetEh That makes a lot more sense. If I'm not mistaken the Caduceus is a symbol of Hermes right? Much more logical for him to be associated with merchants than doctors.
Show threadSid 🇵🇸Sep 20, 2023
@Bard yeah Hermes/Mercury
Show thread[email protected] movedSep 20, 2023
@InternetEh btw, the rod of #Esculapio reminds me of the story of Moses erecting a snake on a stick in the dessert to fend off the poisonous bites of the desert snakes 🐍
Show threadSid 🇵🇸Sep 20, 2023
@neurologo yeah my dad was a doctor, and he told me this was the origin story of the symbol, but he was wrong
Show threadmhdSep 21, 2023

@InternetEh Note that Hermes was also associated with alchemy (and magic, the "hermetic" tradition). So this clearly is a hidden message of Big Pharma controlling everything, selling us snake oil !

/s , but I'm sure if I google hard enough, I'll actually find someone having written this on a geocities page or their modern equivalent.

Show threadWolfgang ViechtbauerSep 21, 2023
@mhd @InternetEh You don't need to google all that hard: https://lithub.com/a-brief-history-of-american-pharma-from-snake-oil-to-big-money/
A Brief History of American Pharma: From Snake Oil to Big Money

For more than a century, the most common symbol for all things medical in the United States has been the caduceus, the familiar winged rod with two snakes twined around it. It was adopted by the US…

Literary Hub
Show threadThomas A. Fine Sep 21, 2023
@InternetEh I thank years of playing nethack, and researching its backstory, for already knowing this.
Show threadBeat Bolli Sep 21, 2023
@InternetEh. The Alt text is wrong. right ▶️ left.
Show threadGiuseppe MazzapicaSep 21, 2023
@InternetEh In Italy "historically" they got the sign correctly. But since the internet era, people search "pharmacy sign" online, find the caduceus and use that. USA western culture dominance at play.
Show threadNeratas Frosthorn StormwingSep 21, 2023
@InternetEh Even Hermes/Mercury is likely a bit fed up with this confusion. He IS at least about getting people places safely, and as quickly as is safe, but medicine isn't really his domain.
Show threadStuSep 21, 2023

@InternetEh 40 years ago a PA told me the caduceus was not symbolic but historical.

When subcutaneous tapeworms were endemic, people came up with a procedure to extract them from under the skin by making a small incision, getting the worm to bite onto a stick, then slowly withdraw the worm by twirling the stick over a few days without splitting the worm in two. Successful practitioners would then tack the stick onto the lintel over their doorways as a symbol that 'yes I can do this'.

Now, I can't guarantee that someone before me didn't make that story up but I know I didn't 🐍

Show threadSid 🇵🇸Sep 21, 2023
@conspiracywithslaves it can be both
Show threadAviva GarySep 21, 2023
@InternetEh I mean... 🤑
Show threadThat Paul SmithSep 25, 2023
@InternetEh @RalphBassfeld of course. America, where bravado trumps accuracy.
Show threadPhiendSep 28, 2023
@InternetEh yup
Show thread🍃BluRae🍂🍄Sep 28, 2023
@InternetEh I was once part of an online coven type thing where the high priestess wanted us to create "caduceuses" (caduceii?) and then walked us step by step in creating a Rod of Asclepius, calling it a Caduceus the ENTIRE TIME.
Show threadgmokeSep 28, 2023
@InternetEh Mercury (also known as Hermes) was also the patron god of thieves, having stolen cattle from Apollo when still a baby.
Show threadThe Tech Lord ⊕ `Lex PendragonSep 29, 2023

The US gets it wrong, (thanks to the Medical Corps,) and starts using the symbol of commerce instead of the symbol of medicine. If you ask me, that is a magical working to create the 'pay to stay alive' model the US currently uses, while the developed world prefers the 'Let's just heal everyone' model.

This reminds me of when we painted our new house that we were moving our kids into, painted symbols on the wall before we painted the walls, and painted a lot of symbols for "Growth." A few years on, we have a mold problem.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caduceus_as_a_symbol_of_medicine

Caduceus as a symbol of medicine - Wikipedia