You're listening to American Shadows, a production of I Heart Radio and Grimm and Mild

from Erin Manky.

It was the way they moved that caused so much alarm.

They were mostly men, middle-aged, vagrant types, and many no control over their hands,

and many having trouble walking.

They stumbled, like Marionette dolls, and bending the knee up to raise a floppy foot before

planting it down on the ground again, then the next leg.

As more of them came, the doctors at an Oklahoma City hospital started making phone calls.

A strange scourge was affecting people across the country.

Doctors initially thought it might be a polio outbreak, but quickly realized they were

wrong.

They had been witnessing a lot of strange and scary things during prohibition.

It was a time of loopholes.

People could no longer get alcohol from stores or bars, but they could own it.

This led to a lot of bootlegging, sure, but also a lot of trips to the pharmacy.

You see, throughout history, many medicines had some kind of alcohol in them.

Even during prohibition, doctors were allowed to prescribe alcohol in good faith.

When he was New York City, Winston Churchill famously suffered a minor blow when hit by

a car.

The cure?

8 fluid ounces of liquor per day, according to his doctor.

These prescriptions were quick and easy income for those doling them out.

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