The Toughest

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@Kandae11 (53601)
March 23, 2018 11:12am CST
Do you think the people of long ago - say three or four centuries ago - were stronger both mentally and physically than the people of today? They endured so much hardship and survived. Just think of the plight of settlers in a new land where there is no doctor's office or other medical facility - a bullet must be removed without any numbing agent - no anesthetic around in those days. It was not until the late 1850's that chloroform was popularised for use - and that was not always available. So, one would have a tooth pulled with a pliers or string - no novocaine available . Or one could face amputation of a limb with only strong doses of whiskey administered to dim the pain somewhat. Are you tough enough for that? I am just happy to be living in the 21st century.
31 people like this
30 responses
@vandana7 (98526)
• India
23 Mar 18
I saw the armor of an ancient king who used to go on war somewhere around 16th century. A modern man would simply buckle under its weight.
7 people like this
@vandana7 (98526)
• India
23 Mar 18
@Kandae11 Imagine.....and no water bottles and pain killers in there, no communication equipment either...I am also glad we are in this era. :)
6 people like this
@Kandae11 (53601)
23 Mar 18
I've wondered about that too. And imagine that weight on the poor horse he is riding.
6 people like this
@Kandae11 (53601)
23 Mar 18
@vandana7 Can you imagine how tough it was for women too ? - I am really glad I wasn't born in those times.
5 people like this
@JustBhem (70601)
• Davao, Philippines
23 Mar 18
I think people of old are the strongest because they don't need to rely on some work out a machine to gain strength. They use simple tools to work out.
5 people like this
@ptrikha_2 (45331)
• India
24 Mar 18
@Kandae11 yes that made them fitter too.
2 people like this
@JustBhem (70601)
• Davao, Philippines
23 Mar 18
@Kandae11 Yes, unlike these days. Men work in the gym so that they have something to post on their social media. Lol
3 people like this
@Kandae11 (53601)
23 Mar 18
Just the fact that they had to work extra hard for everything would strengthen them I suppose..
3 people like this
@1hopefulman (45125)
• Canada
23 Mar 18
I'm not very tough there days and my pain tolerance is very low but I rarely take any medications as they don't work on me. So, I often have to endure and scream the pain away. Life is life!
3 people like this
@1hopefulman (45125)
• Canada
23 Mar 18
@Kandae11 I have had 2 teeth pulled without medication and one nerve which was part of a tooth and the anesthetic did not work. I think they heard that scream on Mars.
2 people like this
@Kandae11 (53601)
23 Mar 18
@1hopefulman How awful for you! - some doctors tend to skimp on the anesthetic.
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@Kandae11 (53601)
23 Mar 18
I think nerve pain would be the most difficult to find a medication that works - at least one without many side effects.
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@allknowing (130088)
• India
23 Mar 18
Not many lived beyond say thirty?
3 people like this
@allknowing (130088)
• India
24 Mar 18
@Kandae11 On an average the longevity today is pretty high.
2 people like this
@Kandae11 (53601)
24 Mar 18
@allknowing As it should be.
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@Kandae11 (53601)
24 Mar 18
That is very long under those circumstances. What excuse do we have today, when we see people dying in their twenties and thirties.?
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@amadeo (111956)
• United States
23 Mar 18
@ yes I think so.If you look back of all the hunky men back them.The gladiators surely was one of them.
4 people like this
@Kandae11 (53601)
23 Mar 18
Gladiators for sure.
2 people like this
@amadeo (111956)
• United States
23 Mar 18
@Kandae11 yes some of them were hunky
3 people like this
@Kandae11 (53601)
23 Mar 18
@amadeo Did you see the movie "Gladiator" starring Russel Crowe?
1 person likes this
@kobesbuddy (73903)
• East Tawas, Michigan
23 Mar 18
People now are spoiled with so much automation, quick, easy ways of doing things, fast delivery of almost anything we want. Physical labor was the only way to get things done, back then! Emotionally, physically, and mentally, people were definitely a lot stronger, back then.
3 people like this
@ptrikha_2 (45331)
• India
24 Mar 18
Some people now walk a lot less.i know people who do not walk even 1 km and 5ake out a car or bike for 1 or 2 km and always!
2 people like this
@kobesbuddy (73903)
• East Tawas, Michigan
23 Mar 18
@Kandae11 The weak minded didn't live very long.
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@Kandae11 (53601)
23 Mar 18
I agree with you - back then they had to do a lot of thinking.
2 people like this
@snowy22315 (168439)
• United States
24 Mar 18
They were because they had to be. We humans are capable of far more than we imagine. Talkin about tough..my great grandmother was out plowing the fields when she was 9 months pregnant..She went in the house gave birth to her twin children and then back out to th fields..can you even imagine?? I could barely get through the birth of one in the hospital..
2 people like this
@ptrikha_2 (45331)
• India
29 Mar 18
@Kandae11 yes the women were also much tougher!
@Kandae11 (53601)
24 Mar 18
What! - that's tougher than tough! - after giving birth to twins she is back in the field plowing?.
1 person likes this
• Preston, England
23 Mar 18
I'm a wuss when it comes to physical endurance - my survival chances in the Yukon or other wildernesses would be very low
3 people like this
@Kandae11 (53601)
23 Mar 18
Mine too.
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@LadyDuck (455017)
• Switzerland
24 Mar 18
Yes, I think they were stronger. If you think which kind of hard work they did every day, our modern men would die in a month.
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (455017)
• Switzerland
24 Mar 18
@Kandae11 There are some who are still very strong, but it's no more so common.
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (137251)
• United States
26 Mar 18
No, I don't believe men several hundred years ago were tougher, either mentally or physically, than we are now... I believe they had a decidedly different mind-set than we use today. If you gave a modern man time to build up his strength as our ancestors did, grueling work, diet low in fat, more vegetation with some meats, the man would build up the same endurance our ancestors displayed. (Remember, humans have been gaining in height for the last few hundred years as our diets became better and some rough medicines became known and sparingly used.) Not so modern man did have some analgesics such as opium powder, willow bark (aspirin) and, in ancient India, the soma plant, All were used as pain relievers and when concentrated, opium powder and soma juice were used as anesthetics for crude surgery. Laudanum was used to deaden pain when pulling teeth and to relieve general pain (in a milder concentration). You are right, whiskey was used when someone was undergoing crude surgery, too. The patient was given whiskey until he passed out. Then the "doctor" worked on him and hoped the patient woke up again.
2 people like this
@ptrikha_2 (45331)
• India
29 Mar 18
Oh your knowledge of Soma is exemplary! Even I was not much aware about that!
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (137251)
• United States
30 Mar 18
@Kandae11 The Native Americans used many different plants as pain relievers, but one thing I forgot to mention is that in the not-so-distant-past our ancestors didn't necessarily NEED pain relievers and anesthetics like we do, either. Before Big Pharma and the United States Government colluded in forcing people here to give up the one mineral that actually cured most things before they really caused much pain or needed surgery, our ancestors didn't need as much pain reliever as we use now, nor all the other medications Big Pharma forces us to use, either! That is why doctors, Big Pharma and the U.S. Government use Americans as their instant bank accounts! By forcing us to use the medicines made by Pharmaceutical companies instead of colloidal silver to cure what ails us, it guarantees them a steady supply of money!
1 person likes this
@Kandae11 (53601)
26 Mar 18
Mind-set in any century is the backbone of endurance. I am aware of other primitive pain relievers (which worked quite well) that were available in the past. However these pain relievers were not always available depending on the where, when and how. So I am referring to those numerous times when the patient had to "grin and bear it" or die. Yes, we have advanced tremendously where our eating habits are concerned - the discovery of vitamins, minerals etc. - but we have also made backward steps - imagine consuming certain sodas which have the capability of removing rust, hair dye and killing slugs. - I could go on and on. No wonder doctors and pharmaceutical companies are so rich.
2 people like this
@DianneN (246452)
• United States
23 Mar 18
Give me modern science any day! I'm a big chicken, although I did manage to suffer through anesthesia that didn't take effect once.
2 people like this
@DianneN (246452)
• United States
23 Mar 18
@Kandae11 I will PM you.
2 people like this
@Kandae11 (53601)
23 Mar 18
@DianneN Okay.
2 people like this
@Kandae11 (53601)
23 Mar 18
What do you mean by it didn't take effect?
2 people like this
@just4him (303392)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
23 Mar 18
Yes, you needed to be tough to endure that kind of pain back then. I'm glad for modern medicines as well. Farm production is also easier with all the machines that came with the industrial age. No more doing it by hand.
2 people like this
@just4him (303392)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
24 Mar 18
@Kandae11 Yes, there is.
2 people like this
@Kandae11 (53601)
24 Mar 18
And every day there is more progress in all fields.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (323711)
• Rockingham, Australia
23 Mar 18
Certainly people had to be very tough in those days. I'm glad we've progressed past whisky for pain.
3 people like this
@Kandae11 (53601)
24 Mar 18
A few westerns I watched last evening reminded me of the whiskey bit.
2 people like this
@Shiva49 (26164)
• Singapore
24 Mar 18
I don't think we can take their pain. We are ice cream babies compared to them - melt under the sun! Every generation has to go through a baptism of fire to survive. We can be under rude shock if have to give up the comforts that we take for granted - siva
2 people like this
@ptrikha_2 (45331)
• India
29 Mar 18
Yes I concur @Shiva49
1 person likes this
@Kandae11 (53601)
26 Mar 18
I agree with you 100 percent.
2 people like this
@AKRao24 (27427)
• India
23 Mar 18
Yes, definitely I believe, then there was a competition for struggle for existence and there was survival of fittest. in absence of modern inventions and discoveries humnan being only had physical strength to defend himself from all odds! Thanks for the thought provoking discussion dear @Kandae11!
2 people like this
@Kandae11 (53601)
23 Mar 18
That too - there was also the struggle over territory - which meant that there was always some sort of wound to treat. As you say - survival of the fittest.
2 people like this
@AKRao24 (27427)
• India
23 Mar 18
@Kandae11 , Yes that was the main reason to have strong physical strength then in absence of modern weapons like we have today! Thanks!
2 people like this
@MALUSE (69428)
• Germany
23 Mar 18
They weren't as healthy as we're now and didn't live so long. I feel no nostalgia for those bygone days.
2 people like this
@ptrikha_2 (45331)
• India
24 Mar 18
Back then physical strength and digestive system of people was better but they were more prone to diseases than we are, due to lack of medicines.
1 person likes this
@Kandae11 (53601)
24 Mar 18
Neither do I. But I do think they lived long when one considers the conditions under which they lived. With all the advances we have in this present time most people should live to a ripe old age - yet people are dying in their twenties from illnesses.
1 person likes this
@ridingbet (66861)
• Philippines
24 Mar 18
before, the only diseases, according to my mother, were tuberculosis and asthma. cancer was a rarity. now, there are the HFMD, HIV, AIDS, and all types of cancer.
2 people like this
@Kandae11 (53601)
24 Mar 18
Plagues were common in some centuries too.
2 people like this
@andriaperry (116876)
• Anniston, Alabama
23 Mar 18
If I had to be I think I could be. Yes the people on the old days were stronger, nowadays everyone is a wimp.
2 people like this
@ptrikha_2 (45331)
• India
29 Mar 18
But one factor that puts us at a disadvantage is the increasing pollution whether land or water.
@Kandae11 (53601)
23 Mar 18
They did whatever had to be done to survive.
1 person likes this
@anikoonline (3254)
• Hungary
23 Mar 18
Don't forget that the life expectancy was 20-30 years that time. It's quite different than now when the life expectancy is 60 years (world avarage).
2 people like this
@Kandae11 (53601)
23 Mar 18
Yes, because of the rigors of life back then - only the fittest would live to a decent age.
2 people like this
• Hungary
23 Mar 18
@Kandae11 Sure!
2 people like this
@elico6666 (177)
• Kfar Saba, Israel
24 Mar 18
for sure then they have to do everything by hand no machines to help
2 people like this
@Kandae11 (53601)
24 Mar 18
Hard labor - that's what they had.
1 person likes this