Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2021/01/16/the-first-hypodermic-needle.html
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I think the doctor I used to see in Little Italy used one of these…
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My grandmother was a nurse. I have her reusable syringe, ca. 1900, a lot like this one:
I really should get around to putting those needles in bleach. 
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Don’t get that the wrong way round and then inject yourself.
Oh, wait, Donald says you can! 
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Ah, that reminds me of the old seven percent solution.
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An almost identical syringe to the one I have is used by the cocaine-addicted doctor (played by Clive Owen) in the TV series The Knick, set in 1900.
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After complimenting a nurse who gave me such a painless flu shot, I mentioned how much I had dreaded injections as a kid. She explained that modern one-time-use needles are so much finer gauge, since they obviously don’t need to hold up to the rigors of being autoclaved and used repeatedly. But she also said that the old multi-use needles became dulled with repeated usage. That hadn’t occurred to me before.
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I developed a fear of dental work as a kid, because the dentist used a dull pipe of a syringe. The closest thing I’ve ever seen to it was what the vet used on cattle. I’ve had some serious dental procedures done in the last few years, with astonishingly little pain, thanks to better Novocaine shots.
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Leave the syringe. Take the cannoli.
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I still feel needle shock from 45 years ago. I much preferred the dentist who gave me snootsful of nitrous oxide.
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Another improvement is the sharpness of the tip. Which is possible also because it only needs to be used once. Note how the tip is ground in 3 planes. It forms a V tip instead of an ellipse tip. Super sharp, but not durable.
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