Going for the Jocular is a historical and illustrated collection of humor related to honest and dishonest medicinal practices, the human life cycle, and the impending dance with death.
The age of scientific medicine has brought many lasting improvements in the quality and extension of life, but fortunately for humor, some elements of arrogance, greed and indifference remain in more than a few physicians. And some patients still cling to the unreal expectations of good health on demand and a cure for old age.
Before medicine's remarkable advances, some physicians relied on theory, pseudoscience, and plain quackery leading to humorous results of "curing" the gullible public. These charlatans still spawn today as often clever and amusing superquacks.
Along with medicine comes its frequent companion, aging. Whether older people grow sweet or sour, they may still amuse. And as we age and contemplate our final exit, medicine and death typically would shroud us in sadness and solemnity, but as depicted here, at least small doses of the lighter touch may prove to be rewarding and bring a smile.
The untoward situations, fadisms, and mishaps to be found in medicine, aging, and dying, have always been sources for caricature, satire, and wit. In one form or another, humor will probably remain as long as the human condition itself.
