Ten Menstrual Cycle Myths

In Europe, only a few decades ago, it was believed that menstruating women could turn wine to vinegar and, if involved in the process of brewing beer, could ruin the product. In 1919, Professor B. Schick stunned the world of Viennese gynecology with his concept of menotoxin. He proposed that a woman’s menstrual flow contains a poison, which he labeled menotoxin. He believed the toxin was at the root to folklore that menstruating women caused wine to spoil and flowers to wilt.