Home| StoriesInside our collectionsSeriesshow credit information for image 'Woodblock: Ambrosia altera'Woodblock: Ambrosia altera, Benjamin Gilbert. Source: Wellcome Collection. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).In picturesExposing the secrets of the human bodyScientists, artists, and philosophers have long studied our anatomy to try to discover what it means to be human.In picturesDeadly stinks and life-saving aromas in plague-stricken LondonIn the plague-ravaged London of 1665, could perfume really save your life?In picturesFantasies of the futureHow accurately can we imagine the future? These past prognostications suggest that we cannot escape the pull of our own time and its biases.In picturesBackstroke to the futureNow one of the most popular forms of exercise, the health-giving properties of swimming have not always been recognised. Dive into a gallery that charts the course from water as site of danger to a space of health.In picturesPutti of scienceChubby little winged boys known as putti frequently adorn scientific illustrations. Sometimes portrayed as reverent and sometimes cheeky, they guide our pursuit of knowledge.In picturesA medical history of smoking, from cure to killerToday smoking is seen publicly as a deadly vice, privately perhaps as more of a guilty pleasure. Follow tobacco’s journey over the centuries from medical remedy to killer carcinogen.In picturesIn pursuit of purityMany cultures associate physical cleanliness with spiritual purity, while disease and dirt are signs of moral pollution.ArticleFantastic beasts and unnatural historyFind out how a 17th-century compendium of the natural world came to present fantastical beasts –like dragons – as real, living creatures.In picturesThe healing sunFrom ancient sun gods to artificial light, our relationship to our star has morphed over the centuries, but the sun's power to affect our health is more noticeable than ever.In picturesWhen civilisation made people sickSickness from nervous exhaustion is not a new thing. Over a hundred years ago, neurasthenia afflicted society’s ‘brain-workers’.In picturesSex and syphilisBefore antibiotics, syphilis unleashed centuries of misery, countered by desperate but largely useless remedies. With the spread of syphilis on the rise, it’s worth remembering what our forebears suffered.InterviewSniffing glue and Scientology in the DrugScope archiveAcademics on hallucinogenics, kids sniffing glue, and Scientologists recruiting drug users keen to kick the habit. Delve into Wellcome’s recently acquired DrugScope archive.In picturesBloodletting at the barber-surgeon’sScratchy throat? Burning fever? Broken heart? It all comes down to the same issue: too much blood.ArticleMedieval doodlesFish, lute players and defaced demons: marginal doodles in some of Europe’s first printed books provide a tantalising glimpse into the late-medieval mind.In picturesMoles’ feet, dried frogs and other folk medicinesEarly-20th-century folklorist Edward Lovett made it his mission to discover the nation’s beliefs and superstitions, collecting amulets from cottage cupboards up and down the country.In picturesHow Brits went soft on toilet paperTwentieth-century studies reveal a whole host of anxieties about the terrors of soft toilet paper.In picturesFinding the ‘men’ in mental healthExplore how ideas about masculinity have influenced the way men talk about and experience their mental health, from the 1800s to today.In picturesElectric marvels in the age of enlightenmentHow our understanding of electricity has grown, from novelty to the pulse of modern life – and the inner fire that powers the human machine.In picturesThe serious side of historical gamesSome games carry a weighty message, from the earliest form of snakes and ladders that led to either heaven or hell, to chess pieces representing the dangerous manoeuvres of unsafe sex in the 80s.In picturesThe birth of ante-natal classesIs childbirth an athletic feat? Kathleen Vaughan certainly thought so, developing the first modern exercise class for women in pregnancy.Previous (page 5)Page 6 of 8Next (page 7)