Rheumatism sufferers sought relief inside a whale

A rheumatism sufferer sits inside the carcass of a whale in Eden. Photo courtesy of the National Library of Australia

Climbing inside the carcass of a whale was once thought to bring relief to rheumatism sufferers, an Australian National Maritime Museum exhibit shows.

Staying inside the whale for about 30 hours was believed to bring relief from aches and pains for up to 12 months, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

It was thought to have started in the whaling town of Eden on Australia's southern coast.

The practice is documented as part of the museum's special whales season.

'Tempting morsel of flesh'

A rheumatic patient would be lowered inside the carcass of a recently-slaughtered whale "leaving just his or her head poking out," the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

One claim for the origins of the practice, which dates back to the late 19th Century, is that a drunk man plunged into the carcass of a whale and emerged hours later apparently free of his rheumatism.

A story on the incident was published by the Pall Mall Gazette (later absorbed by the Evening Standard) entitled "a new cure for rheumatism" on 7 March 1896.

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