Link: Civil War Dolls X-rayed
Posted by Clicksy | Posted in Links | Posted on 28-10-2010
Tagged Under : civil war, confederate, dolls, malaria, medicine, morphone, paper mache, quinine, union, x-ray, x-rayed
RICHMOND, Va. –
Two Civil War-era dolls thought to have been used to smuggle medicine past Union blockades were X-rayed Wednesday, disclosing hollowed papier-mache heads that once could have contained quinine or morphine for wounded or malaria-stricken Confederate troops.
The 150-year-old dolls, dubbed Nina and Lucy Ann, were likely packed with the drugs and shipped from Europe in the hope that Union troops would not inspect toys when looking for contraband, a museum official said.
Nina and Lucy Ann were taken to VCU Medical Center from their home next door, The Museum of the Confederacy, to see if the contours inside their craniums and upper bodies were roomy enough to carry the medicines.
The conclusion: yes.
The next step could be forensic testing for any traces of the drugs.
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