Today’s Mail Brought… Chiropractic for Tonsillitis
Ever wonder how to treat tonsillitis without antibiotics? According to one 1930s pamphlet, all you need is a spinal adjustment in your “kidney place.” This week’s trip to the mailbox delivered one of the most gloriously absurd artifacts to ever enter the Cabinet.
I love doing the Cabinet.
I love collecting for the Cabinet because it exposes me to new ideas, new ways of thinking, and new methods of being the most ridiculous species on the planet.
I get something new for the Cabinet almost every day—and today was no different. I rushed to the mailbox with bated breath, in anticipation of something fantastic. Something show-stopping. Something so ridiculous it would bring people to a halt.
And lo and behold—it was there.
A pamphlet from around 1930 titled “Chiropractic for Tonsillitis.”
Yes, you read that right.
Apparently, chiropractic is the cure-all for every disease known to man. Every malady. Every problem. All solved by adjusting your lumbar spine—and tonsillitis is no different.
Dr. H. E. Welch, chiropractor, wastes no time explaining the root cause:
Tonsillitis happens when your tonsils get overworked because your skin, liver, bowels, and kidneys are slacking off and dumping toxins on them.
Naturally, those toxins overflow into the tonsils, producing a nice purulent exudate, fever, chills, and general misery. But don’t worry—your chiropractor has the fix.
Now, he won’t say he cures you. No no.
You cure yourself.
He merely guides you toward your cure.
How?
By adjusting you in your “kidney area.”
And voilà—the pressure comes off your tonsils, and you are whole again.
Frankly, I don’t know why this isn’t more mainstream.
Seems way better than filling your body with dangerous substances… like penicillin. You know—those “chemical mold juices” the establishment swears by.
So there you have it. My education for the day, courtesy of Dr. Welch’s educatory pamphlet.
If you find yourself with a sore throat, a 104-degree fever, and swollen tonsils, forget antibiotics.
Just load up and go to your chiropractor.
He’ll fix you.
Or he’ll guide you into fixing yourself.
🗃️ Want to see the full write-up and gallery in the Cabinet of Curiosities?
Visit the official entry for Chiropractic for Tonsillitis to explore images, excerpts, and historical context.
⚠️ Disclaimer
Before anyone gets too riled up: I have nothing against chiropractors. In fact, I refer patients to chiropractors regularly—especially those who approach their work with skill, common sense, and a healthy respect for evidence-based care.
This post is aimed squarely at the fringe—the wild, unscientific, and frankly absurd claims made by certain practitioners in decades past (and, sadly, sometimes still today).
We’re not mocking chiropractic.
We’re mocking pamphlets that promise to “fix” pus-filled tonsils with a spinal adjustment.
Because if we can’t laugh at that… we’re doing history wrong.