{
  "$type": "site.standard.document",
  "bskyPostRef": {
    "cid": "bafyreigsde2hepwzbgui6ygzai3g3bx4xir4lev2qqsbexshafzcwefj24",
    "uri": "at://did:plc:i243uudlyj6njfil6ddywa7k/app.bsky.feed.post/3mixju22bdsl2"
  },
  "path": "/2026/04/07/the-doctor-who-proved-handwashing-saves-lives-was-locked-in-an-asylum-for-it.html",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-07T22:15:45.000Z",
  "site": "https://boingboing.net",
  "tags": [
    "Post",
    "cognitive bias",
    "germ theory",
    "handwashing",
    "History",
    "Ignaz Semmelweis",
    "medicine",
    "Science",
    "Read the rest",
    "The doctor who proved handwashing saves lives was locked in an asylum for it",
    "Boing Boing"
  ],
  "textContent": "In 1847, a doctor at Vienna General Hospital cut the maternity ward death rate from 18% to 2% by requiring handwashing in chlorinated lime solution. The medical establishment repaid him with years of ridicule and eventually committed him to an asylum. — Read the rest \n\nThe post The doctor who proved handwashing saves lives was locked in an asylum for it appeared first on Boing Boing.",
  "title": "The doctor who proved handwashing saves lives was locked in an asylum for it"
}