A downstate Maine real estate broker shared this with me.

     "A friend of mine told me a story about how when he was a kid he was in the hospital and near dying.  His Italian/African grandmother came to the hospital and told a family member to go buy her a large onion and a new pair of white cotton socks.  She sliced the onion open then put a slice on the bottom of each of his feet & put the white cotton socks on him.  In the morning when he awoke they removed the socks.  The slices of onion were black and his fever was gone.  The following story that someone sent to me might have some truth in it. We are going to try this winter.        

     "In 1919 when the flu killed 40 million people there was this Doctor that visited the many  farmers to see if he could help them combat the flu. Many of the farmers and their family had contracted it and  many died.  The doctor came upon this one farmer and to his surprise,  everyone was very healthy. When the doctor asked what  the farmer was doing that was different the wife replied  that she had placed an unpeeled onion in a dish in the rooms  of the home, (probably only two rooms back then). The doctor couldn't believe it and asked if he could have one of  the onions and place it under the microscope.  She gave  him one and when he did this, he did find the flu virus in  the onion.  It obviously absorbed the bacteria, therefore, keeping the family healthy."

 
     "Now, I heard this story from my hairdresser in AZ.    She said that several years ago many of her employees were  coming down with the flu and so were many of her  customers.  The next year she placed several bowls with onions around in her shop.  To her surprise, none of  her staff got sick.  It must work..  (And no, she is not in the onion business.)  

The moral of the story is, buy some onions and place them  in bowls around your home.  If you work at a desk, place one or two in your office or under your desk or even  on top somewhere.

     "Now there is a P. S... to this for I sent it to a friend in Oregon who regularly contributes material to me on health issues.  She replied with this most interesting experience about onions: 
Weldon, thanks for the reminder.  I don't know about the farmers story...but, I do know that I contacted pneumonia and needless to say I was very ill...I came across an article that said to cut both ends off an onion put one end on a fork and then place the forked end into an empty jar....placing the jar next to the sick patient at night. It said the onion would be black in the morning from the germs...sure enough it happened just like that...the onion was a mess and I began to feel better.  Another thing I read in the article was that onions and garlic placed around the room saved many from the black plague years ago. They have powerful antibacterial, antiseptic properties." So, have any onions or stories to share about them?