A large circular tub used in the early days of mesmerism. It was developed around 1780 by a friend of Franz Anton mesmer. Inside the baquet were some bottles partially submerged in water. The tub was covered with a lid through which holes had been punched. Iron rods ran from the interior of the tub through the holes to the perimeter; here patients who wished to receive a dose of the \u201cmagnetic fluid\u201d generated by the baquet could grasp them. When in operation, a group of patients would sit around the tub while a piano played. Patients sitting adjacent to the baquet frequently experienced symptoms that included convulsions, uncontrolled laughter, and vomiting. These were attributed to the initial action of the fluid on the body and considered a sign that the healing process had begun.<\/p>\n
In 1784 the Royal Society of Medicine determined to examine the phenomenon of mesmerism and the occurrences around the baquet; the commission, headed by visiting American Benjamin Franklin, denied the existence of any magic fluid.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A large circular tub used in the early days of mesmerism. It was developed around 1780 by a friend of Franz Anton mesmer. Inside the baquet were some bottles partially submerged in water. The tub was covered with a lid through which holes had been punched. Iron rods ran from the interior of the tub […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-210464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-b"],"yoast_head":"\n