....Back in the good ole days...

Hall of Fame pitcher Pud Galvin (364-310, 2.86 ERA, 646 complete games) was injected with monkey steroids in 1889. It was made from cutting the testicles of animals (in this case, a monkey) and mixing the contents with glycerine.) Not only was this not an issue back then, it warranted praise...

 “If there still be doubting Thomases who concede no virtue of the elixir, they are respectfully referred to Galvin’s record in yesterday’s Boston-Pittsburgh game. It is the best proof yet furnished of the value of the discovery."  The Washington Post, 1889 

Even looks a bit like Gould...

Was reading some Bill James stuff ( Father of of Sabermetrics and The Bill James Abstract series, and to me, the Stephen J. Gould of Sport) and came across an article  from Slate back in 2010 which begins:   

"First of all, I have absolutely no doubt that, had steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs existed during Babe Ruth's career, Babe Ruth would not only have used them, he would have used more of them than Barry Bonds."

The entire piece can be found here: http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2010/09/life_liberty_and_breaking_the_rules.single.html

The piece isn't about drugs per se, but rather about the American tradition of subversiveness and rule breaking ( including criminality) as a common thread throughout the fabric of our nation's history and even an important ingredient in securing some of our greatest freedoms. Highly recommended. 

Anything by James is a pleasure to read, and the fact that he's a data driven man of science makes him all the more persuasive and compelling.  

And for more fresh perspectives on our "Drug Culture"...

...a Graphic Designer colleague turned me on (pun intended) to these Parody ads for The College for Creative Studies.