Hard to believe there is no cure for the common cold. Crazier still, the closest thing we’ve got might be a “secret” tea concoction now available on the Starbucks menu. It’s called “Honey Citrus Mint Tea,” more commonly known as “medicine ball tea.”
Not sure what’s more unbelievable: that modern medicine can’t cure something so common; or that we keep falling for hyped fake cures.
It’s humorous, actually. Some of us might even remember more than a half-century ago when “The Beverly Hillbillies” made fun of this inadequacy and desperation. It was the December 29, 1965 episode in which Granny, the Clampett family’s backwoods “doctor,” shared her cure for the common cold. TV.com and dailykos.com provided some details.
Mr. Drysdale had visited his doctor and received the standard prescription for his cold. “I’m going to recommend that you eat sensibly, drink lots of fluids, get plenty of rest. And, in a week or ten days, you’ll be alright.”
Miss Jane had stopped by the Clampett mansion as Granny was administering the family’s semi-annual examinations. She happened to mention her boss was sick: “It’s just a cold, Granny, and that’s one thing you doctors haven’t conquered yet.”
“What do you mean,” Granny asked. “You mean to tell me that city doctors ain’t got no cure for a cold?”
Later we see Granny mixing her secret medicine, taking a swig of the key ingredient, moonshine.
Meanwhile, word of Granny’s wonder drug made its way to an enthusiastic pharmaceutical salesman who envisioned partnering with Granny to distribute “the first cold cure in modern history.”
“By the way, what are the directions?” the salesman asked.
“Take one spoonful of cold cure, eat sensible, get lots of rest, and drink plenty of water,” Granny explained.
“And in a week or ten days, your cold will be gone,” Uncle Jed added proudly.
“That’s all it takes,” Granny confirmed.
Will there ever be a cure for the common cold? We know this much, it’ll take time, whether it’s modern medicine, Starbuck’s or Granny’s.
You have to love the Beverly Hillbillies.