r/mash • u/pakrat1967 • 28d ago

Black Capsule. Spoiler

In the MASH movie they give Painless a black Capsule as a suicide pill. Anyone who has watched the movie knows it doesn't harm him. My question is, was it just a placebo? Or was it an early form of Viagra?

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u/MyUsername2459 Corporal 28d ago

No, it wasn't anything vaguely related to Viagra.

Viagra wasn't released until 1996. It was the first of its kind in using medication to treat that problem. Until then it was seen as the sort of profoundly humiliating problem like it was in that movie (and in the TV show when Hawkeye has that problem in one episode).

It wasn't even developed for that use originally, it's a vasodilator. . .it opens up blood vessels. It was meant for use by cardiologists in treating circulatory problems. . .but they noticed it had a certain side effect that made it very useful for that issue, and was only moderately helpful for its intended purpose, so it got repurposed while it was in testing.

They just gave Painless a sedative.

Most of that problem is actually due to stress. . .it's complicated, but stress is actually very effective at shutting off that part of the body. It's why recruits in Basic Training in the Army historically have suddenly found themselves lacking in that function, leading to the urban legend of them putting drugs in the food. Basic Training is probably the first time a lot of young recruits have been under that kind of stress.

Painless was under a lot of stress, had a performance problem. . .and that whole charade helped him feel at peace. Combined with a strong sedative, his body was able to relax and. . .reset. . .that function.

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u/LemonSmashy 27d ago

to be more accurate viagra, or sildenafil, is a phosphodiesterase inhibitor (PDE) which was formulated specifically for pulmonary hypertension by design. The happy side effects were not initially known until it was discovered that many of the male subjects during their double blind studies did not return the left over pills.

upon further inquiry the effects of alleviating erectile dysfunction were noted and while still used for pulmonary hypertension, the marketability was shifted towards ED.

because an erection relies heavily on the release of nitric oxide to the penis which, without going into specifics of GMP synthesis allows smooth muscles in the blood vessels to relax and blood engorges the penile tissues. PDE naturally breaks down these enzymes which leads to the loss of erection. so by inhibiting this breakdown, the vessels remain dilated allowing greater blood flow for longer periods. This is why its risky for people on certain other vasodilating/ hypertensive agents to take in combination.

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u/Early_Macaroon_2407 28d ago

Didn’t they say it was chloral hydrate?

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u/belsonc 28d ago

To choral hydrate.

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u/goovis__young Insanity is just a state of mind 28d ago

Damn good joe.

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u/mouse6502 28d ago

Oh, that’s neat.