Time for another addition of Found Things! As always, most of these images and captions are taken directly from my Instagram, so my apologies if you already follow me and some of these are repeats.
Elaborate sketches of urology examinations and tumor removal from a medical book about all kinds of things that get shoved up dicks.
Photographs of a transorbital lobotomy from a 1950’s issue of American Journal of Psychiatry. The lobotomy was pioneered (but not invented by, as is often incorrectly stated) Dr. Freeman, who took photographs of his patients before, during, and after surgery. There was at least one recorded case where the patient died because of the photographing process, because when Dr. Freeman let go to take the camera, the tools slid into the patient’s brain, killing them immediately.
Brain MRI scans from a New York psychiatric hospital.
Check it out, the first Pussy Pump™
While we’re on the subject, there are so many accidentally phallic occurrences in nature, but this one is by far the best one I’ve found. Formed by dripping water in a basement.
These toothbrushes have been an on-running joke at Hudson River State Hospital for many years after they were made famous by Christopher Payne’s photograph. Since then, the toothbrushes have been removed, scattered, and stolen, so for a while they appeared to be gone completely. But some of us knew where a bunch were hidden, and we’d hang them up, take photos, and hide them again, which is such a dorky prank that I couldn’t help but love it. Unfortunately, the toothbrush case and all the sinks in that bathroom were demolished by scrappers over the winter.
This poor woman was admitted to a psychiatric hospital three times in one decade, but she did have good taste in eyewear.
A poem printed in a collection of patient poetry I found on the floor of an asylum. When I die, I would like to have “A Crabbit Old Woman” inscribed on my tombstone.
Letterpress remnants in Hudson River State Hospital.
Hospital annuals are one of the lesser-known treasures of asylum exploring. Besides concrete, dated stats of patients and procedures, they have often previously unseen and/or unpublished photos of the asylum. This is important if you’re doing before/after photography like I often do. And sometimes they just have fun lil’ tidbits, like one for Hudson which stated that, despite not having the proper hair sterilization products they needed to make horsehair mattresses and furniture, they were still making them regardless. Gross.
Why does Satan have such sexy, sassy legs and a ballerina’s arch?
Plate prints from a 1904 medical book deep in the bowels of a Massachusetts asylum basement library. The exterior of the book was decayed beyond saving, so I extracted a bunch of plate prints, which are currently stashed away in bags in my freezer to kill any renegade mold.
Westborough State Hospital stamped panties. That’s a sentence I’ve never written before, and probably never will again.
Cocaine addiction books have the best titles. But why does that guy on the phone look like he’s jerking off? Also, if anyone calls 1-800-Cocaine, please report back to me on your findings.
Look closely at the book titles for the gist of the joke, which is partially ruined by having to point out, but it was widely missed the first time I made it.
Long discarded tissue samples from Rockland Psychiatric Center. Supposedly there used to be a bunch more of these at the location, but as with most asylums, the room was ransacked and destroyed, so now some jars are broken and the samples are just sitting there on the ground like nbd. BARF.
A wee abandoned river conservatory shack, with everything still inside, including a medical cabinet full of skulls and bones and nightmares in jars.
Psychology book insert ad for Psychopathia Sexualis. It was controversially popular in psychiatry for a few years in the late 1800s, and I’ve seen referenced on actual patient files a few times. Sometimes it was referring to an irrefutably terrible crime like pedophilia, but often the patient was just gay in the wrong era. It eventually fell out of favor, on account of many of the theories on sexual deviance being straight up wrong, bigoted, and the cause of much unnecessary suffering.
I got toxic shock syndrome just looking at this rusty tampon dispenser.
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