Around the turn of the century, there was some doubt in the public’s mind as to whether rabies actually existed. In the cartoon below, a boy invites a bite from a dog in order to visit Louis Pasteur, who was working on discovering the method of transmission and developing a vaccine in France:
Below: A call for a rabid dog to be put on exhibition at a dog show, a gig paying $100 (over $3000 in 2024). The New Jersey Kennel and Field Trial Club apparently held the view that rabies was a disease fabricated in order to sell newspapers.
Source: Peshall, C.J. (1886, March 25). Canine lore. Forest and Stream, p. 169
Up next, the idea that a person infected with rabies could resolve to defeat it:
And another cockamamie idea:
Lastly, a science based article debunking the myth that placing a gallstone on a bite wound from a rabid animal was curative:
