Over the course of time, human beings have developed some wonderful medical advances and answers to some of science’s greatest mysteries. The medical practices that have been discovered and put into place have helped save hundreds of thousands of lives, but what about the theories that have proved unhelpful and downright crazy? Read on for some of the most off-the-wall and bizarre things that doctors and scientists have dreamed up.

Bizarre Medical Practice #1: Urine Therapy

You may be wishing you misread that title, but you haven’t. Urine therapy really did involve pee, and usually your own. This practice has been popular in multiple eras throughout time, including the Renaissance and in different cultures around the world like Rome, China, India and France. Urine supposedly aids in whitening teeth, protecting the skin, getting rid of acne, strep throat (can you imagine gargling with pee instead of a salt rinse?), and healing broken bones. I’m really not sure how that last one is supposed to work. Sometimes doctors have suggested that urine be ingested, and others have thought that a paste put directly onto the skin would help. This is one bizarre medical practice that actually hasn’t been debunked, as some cultures around the world really do believe that drinking your own pee can be good for you.

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