February 8, 2026
Curiosity’s bad taste test
The Contagious Taste of Cancer
Surgeon licks tumor goo; internet gags, debates fear vs contagion
TLDR: Seventeenth‑century surgeon Samuel Smith tasted fluid from a removed tumor and later died, believing the sensation doomed him. The comments oscillate between gag reflex and debate—some invoke contagious cancers and HPV, others call it a “fatal meme” and insist infections wouldn’t survive stomach acid—making history feel eerily current.
Internet history class got weird: a 17th‑century London surgeon, Samuel Smith, literally tasted tumor goo after a mastectomy and soon wasted away, swearing that the taste never left his tongue. Historians say this fed an old “poison model” of cancer and fears that sensory shock could cause disease. The comments? A full‑body shiver. airstrike called it “nightmare fuel jumpscare,” while others joked “of course someone would do this,” picturing the original “do not lick the science” guy.
Then the thread split. One camp flirted with contagious cancer talk—mberning cites Tasmanian devils’ bite‑spread tumors and dog cancers; lebuffon points at HPV (a virus that can cause certain cancers) and asks how many viruses are lurking. The skeptics fired back: _qua notes infections can mimic tumors but “none… survive a trip through stomach acid.” delichon drops the quote of the day: Smith “was infected by a fatal meme,” meaning the idea—and fear—did the damage. Cue memes about curiosity killed the cat, and new PSA: don’t taste mystery fluids. Beneath the jokes, readers wrestled with how old medical beliefs blur into modern myths, and how today’s debates (viruses, transmission, fear) still echo the past. Gross, gripping, and wildly educational. History class, hold nose.
Key Points
- •In the 17th century, palliative care was common for cancer, but practitioners experimented with surgery, corrosive remedies, and diets.
- •Surgeon Samuel Smith tasted fluid from a cancerous breast after a mastectomy and experienced severe, persistent symptoms leading to death.
- •Smith’s case was recorded in a 1670 treatise and cited widely; he attributed his decline to the taste itself, not ingestion causing cancer.
- •Scholars Alanna Skuse and Marjo Kaartinen interpret Smith’s case within the early modern 'poison model' of cancer.
- •Early modern beliefs held that intense sensory experiences could induce illness; examples include plague-related fear and avoiding the sight of cancer sores, with documented cases like Salzburg in 1784.