Allies Planned To Slip Hitler Female Sex Hormones
The British plotted to lace Hitler’s food with estrogen so as to turn him “feminine” or into a mustached transsexual or something. Because that would bring about peace. Lesson being, if it hadn’t ended when it did, World War II would have grown continually stranger and stranger. The Telegraph writes:
Some tried bombs to neutralize the Führer, others tried bullets. Now it has come to light that British spies looked at derailing the man behind the German war machine by giving him female sex hormones.
Agents planned to smuggle doses of oestrogen into his food to make him less aggressive and more like his docile younger sister Paula, who worked as a secretary.
Spies working for the British were close enough to Hitler to have access to his food, said Professor Brian Ford, who discovered the plot. He explained that oestrogen was chosen because it was tasteless and would have a slow and subtle…
The Love Hormone In Nasal Spray Can Help Overcome Shyness
Wow, just a little toot of Oxytocin and you’re in… From the Telegraph:
Scientists have discovered that the hormone oxytocin could help wallflowers overcome awkwardness in social situations
The chemical dubbed “the hormone of love” is known to increase empathy and bonding – especially parents and their children. But now researchers have found it improves the social skills of the shy – but has little effect on those who are naturally confident.
The finding could have implications for those with severe social deficiencies, often apparent in conditions like autism. Researchers at Israel’s Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment and Columbia University were examining whether the hormone, which occurs naturally in the body could make us more understanding of others.
They conducted a test of 27 healthy adult men, giving them the hormone or a placebo via a nasal spray and then asking them to perform an ‘empathic accuracy task’ – which measures their…
When The ‘Trust Hormone’ Is Out Of Balance
Spacefilling model of oxytocin
By Alix Spiegel for NPR:
This is a story about a fickle little hormone that plays a large role in our lives.
The name of the hormone is oxytocin, and until recently it was mostly dismissed by scientists. They knew it played a role in inducing labor and facilitating breast-feeding, but otherwise didn’t give it much attention.
But over the past 10 years, oxytocin has come up in the world, and several researchers have begun making big claims about it. Now dubbed “the trust hormone,” oxytocin, researchers say, affects everything from our day-to-day life to how we feel about our government.
The narrative of oxytocin — the trust hormone — is being rewritten.
Trusting Everyone
To understand the role that oxytocin plays in your own life, consider the experience of a small 9-year-old girl named Isabelle. (NPR is not using the full family name in this story for privacy reasons.)
Isabelle lives with her…
