We were watching "Babylon Berlin", a rather excellent German Netflix show about pre-war (no, not Babylon) Berlin, when one character (minor spoiler alert!) performed CPR on another. Wait a minute, we said to ourselves. This is supposed to take place in 1929. CPR was not invented yet, right?

Right.

What we known today as CPR, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (chest pumping, pinching nose, breathing into mouth, repeat, repeat), was not invented until the 1950s by Peter Safar (Austrian-born with some Jewish heritage) and James Elam (American goy). Safar and Elam proved that this method was much more effective than others, and soon it became the standard around the world. But this is a good quarter century after "Babylon Berlin" took place.

So what should the character have done instead? Well, there were multiple methods practiced. One option involved repeatedly raising arms above the head, while applying pressure to the chest. Another had the person lying on stomach and putting pressure on the elbows. Earlier methods including warming the body, puffing tobacco up the anus (we are not making this up!), tickling the throat (WE ARE NOT MAKING THIS UP!), and, of course, bloodletting.

Do your homework, "Babylon Berlin"!