The Ginger Jake poisonings

[CatWoman]

A mysterious epidemic of paralysis was sweeping through 1920s America that had the medical community baffled. The cause was first identified not by physicians, but by blues singers.

During the prohibition, alcohol was banned but people got buzzed the best way they could. One way was through a highly alcoholic liquid called Jamaica Ginger or ‘Jake’ that got round the ban by being sold as a medicine.

Eventually the feds caught on and even such poorly disguised medicines were blacklisted but Jamaica Ginger stayed popular, and alcoholic, due to the producers including an organophosphate additive called tricresyl phosphate that helped fool the government’s tests.

What they didn’t know was that tricresyl phosphate is a slow-acting neurotoxin that affected the neurons that control movement.

The toxin starts by causing lower leg muscular pain and tingling, followed by muscle weakness in the arms and legs. The effect on the legs caused a distinctive form of muscle paralysis that required affected people to lift the leg high during walking to allow the foot to clear the ground.

This epidemic of paralysis first made the pages of the New England Journal of Medicine in June 1930, but the cause remained a mystery.

https://mindhacks.com/2011/06/30/the-ginger-jake-poisonings/

[leftieNanner]

1. I have heard

that Jamaica Ginger is a good cure for Covid 19.

Pass it on.

[secondwind]

2. LOL

[CatWoman]

4. the reason i posted this story is because I find it telling the Americans have

been poisoning themselves for a very long time.

I couldn't get past people intentionally taking animal medicine and other type "cures".

Now I see it's not a new thing.

[leftieNanner]

5. It's both surprising and not surprising

Seems like we're always looking for an easy way out.

[Snarkoleptic]

3. I've heard of "Jake Foot" begin caused by sketchy prohibition-era moonshine

so I wondered if if was more related to Ginger Jake.

If Wikipedia is to be believed, this is partly true.

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

In 1930, large numbers of Jake users began to find they were unable to use their hands and feet.[8] Some victims could walk, but they had no control over the muscles which would normally have enabled them to point their toes upward. Therefore, they would raise their feet high with the toes flopping downward, which would touch the pavement first followed by their heels. The toe first, heel second pattern made a distinctive "tap-click, tap-click" sound as they walked. This very peculiar gait became known as the jake walk and the jake dance and those afflicted were said[9] to have jake leg, jake foot, or jake paralysis. Additionally, the calves of the legs would soften and hang down and the muscles between the thumbs and fingers would atrophy.

[House of Roberts]

6. The episode of The Untouchables that deals with Ginger Jake aired today on Heroes and Icons channel.

It is named 'Jake Dance'.

[Tom Kitten]

7. I'm watching that episode now.

Earlier they played an episode with Ed Asher, who passed today. Kinda odd coincidences I guess...

[House of Roberts]

8. Yes, he guest starred with Barbara Stanwyck in that episode,

who was a pretty big star in her pre- Big Valley days. I've seen that one a couple of times since that channel started these Sunday mini-marathons.

The two old series I like the best are The Untouchables, and Perry Mason, because I really like the old cars from when they were new, or, kept up to look new for the period. I DVR them and try to watch them chronologically, but The Untouchables skips around because the script ideas didn't happen chronologically.