The Brave Reporter Who Got Herself Committed to Expose Asylum Horror

Tue, 10 Mar 2026 11:06:46 +0000

What Happened: A Dangerous Deception

Elizabeth Jane Cochran, writing under the pen name Nellie Bly, embarked on one of journalism’s most dangerous undercover investigations in September 1887. Working for the New York World newspaper, the young reporter stayed awake all night to appear disturbed, then convinced doctors at a boarding house that she was insane by accusing other residents of being “crazy.”

Once committed to the Women’s Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell’s Island (now Roosevelt Island), Bly documented a system of systematic torture masquerading as medical care. Patients were forced to sit motionless on wooden benches for 12 hours or more without speaking. They were subjected to ice-cold baths in water reused by multiple patients, fed spoiled beef and moldy bread, and given undrinkable water that made them sick.

The 4,000-Year Medical Scam That Labeled Women 'Hysterical'

Sun, 08 Mar 2026 10:12:01 +0000

What Happened: The Rise and Fall of Medical Misogyny

The word ‘hysteria’ comes from the ancient Greek ‘hystéra,’ meaning uterus. For millennia, medical authorities blamed women’s reproductive organs for virtually every complaint they brought to doctors - from wanting to read books to experiencing anxiety to simply disagreeing with their husbands.

Ancient Egyptian and Greek physicians genuinely believed the uterus could detach itself and wander through a woman’s body, causing havoc wherever it went. Their ‘cure’? Placing sweet-smelling substances near the vagina to lure the wayward organ back home, or foul odors near the nose to repel it downward.

Women's Rights on Snackable Yarn

The Brave Reporter Who Got Herself Committed to Expose Asylum Horror

What Happened: A Dangerous Deception

The 4,000-Year Medical Scam That Labeled Women 'Hysterical'

What Happened: The Rise and Fall of Medical Misogyny