Mr KnoKem0ff

The Daily Show, January 14, 2016

Hydrotherapy II.  I talked about modern hydrotherapy techniques and equipment in my previous post - agitated warm water to soothe both the muscles and the nerves.  But as mentioned, various hydrotherapeutic techniques have been employed in the past century-plus, and not all of them were as effective - or as humane.  Pictured here are five ice baths in the basement of Grafton State Hospital; these were a standard treatment from the late 19th century through the 1960s.  Patients would be immersed in icy water, and held in place by canvas restraint blankets that only allowed the head to poke through - and out of the freezing water.  It was thought that this would treat insanity somehow; it turns out that it was little more than a horrific calming process that used hypothermia to cause temporary disorientation.  It is rare to find one of these tubs intact, let alone five - most asylums, upon being decommissioned if not before, removed them out of shame.

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