May 17th, 2010 by Doug
Madhouse is named for the disciplines of marketing, advertising and design – our core business (together these days with digital, of course).
We were nevertheless quite tickled to find the following on Wikipedia the other day:
- The Bethlem Royal Hospital of London is a psychiatric hospital at Beckenham in the London Borough of Bromley. Although no longer in its original location and buildings, it is recognised as the world’s first and oldest institution to specialise in the mentally ill. It has been variously known as St. Mary Bethlehem, Bethlem Hospital, Bethlehem Hospital and Bedlam.The word bedlam, meaning uproar and confusion, is derived from its name. Although the hospital is now at the forefront of humane psychiatric treatment, for much of its history it was notorious for cruelty and inhumane treatment – the epitome of what the term “madhouse” connotes to the modern reader.
Cripes!
There’s more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bethlem_Royal_Hospital
A scene from a madhouse, yesterday – aka “The Rake in Bedlam” by Wm. Hogarth, 1735.
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