More: When healing from injury, platelet-rich plasma treatments may not beat physical therapy The idea of using magnets as a therapy traces to German physician Franz Mesmer. In the late 18th ...

Franz Mesmer, who popularized “mesmerism,” was apparently fond of demonstrating his skills of hypnosis with a wand and a cape: all the better to sell his methods to a captivated audience.

Mesmer, Franz Anton, 1734–1815, deutscher Arzt. Franz Mesmer zählt zu den Vorläufern der modernen dynamischen Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie. In der Nähe von Konstanz geboren, studierte er 1752 ...