The new TIME cover is really quite something

[jmowreader]

48. If you knew what leeches cost, you wouldn't say that

Turns out there are several conditions where leeches are really good therapy.

Here's the problem: You've heard the term "blood-sucking leech." That is exactly what leeches do, and for conditions where you need blood removed from the patient (such as a reattached limb - until the venous system reestablishes itself, blood will be pumped into the tissues where you don't want it, it'll clot...and the clots will break free and screw you up) they're good therapy. The name is "hirudotherapy."

Have you ever seen the Far Side cartoon about Equine Medicine? The one where the book had this long list of horse diseases, and the treatment for all of them was "shoot"? That was kinda like people medicine in the 1800s, but then it was "bloodletting." And leeches are bloodletting tools. When it became apparent that "cut a hole in the patient and let him drain" didn't cure everything, leeches fell out of favor.

This is what fucks the GOP regarding leeches: the damn things are $24 apiece. As in one, which isn't enough for anyone.