Old movies and thermometers

@Victoria1951 Indeed - camphor was meant to prevent the pharmaceutical alcohol from being used for beverages..

I definitely recall that "hospital smell" when the trolley carrying the the thermometers was wheeled in!

At home, mom wiped the thermometer with some cotton and plain alcohol ("90", I believe it is 180-proof) after each use in my bottom. I don't recall we had camphor alcohol.

I am watching Cat People. Natasha Kinski and John Heard.

The scene: (He’s the zoo curator) . He sees her in the zoo after hours. She runs. But he catches her. He notices something. Places his hand on her forehead, remarks, “ You’re burning up!”

They go to his office, offers her some aspirin. She refuses , but has a wet cloth on her forehead, then removes it., He lays his hand on her Forehead again. , says something about “feeling cooler doesn’t always mean the temperature is gone…we’ll get a thermometer…”

I don’t image had that scene played out, that any thermometer shown would have been oral, given he and his staff also medically attend the animals as needed.

Well we can speculate…

In Omosis Jones, a kids movie starring Bill Murray, there's a scene inside his brain that shows an array of thermometers sticking out of what appear to be cartoon anuses. A cartoon character pulls one out, reads it, and sticks it back in.