James Lind cured scurvy using a controlled experiment that has been described as the first clinical trial.

One of the most famous clinical trials was James Lind's demonstration in 1747 that citrus fruits cure scurvy.

Ship captains assumed wrongly that Lind's suggestions didn't work because those juices failed to cure scurvy.

The Norway spruce is the source of spruce beer, which was once used to prevent and even cure scurvy.

Sometimes the leaves are eaten to cure scurvy, and in some countries the rhizomes are used medicinally.

Most famously, he urged the use of fresh fruit and vegetables to cure scurvy.

The plant acquired its common name from the observation that it cured scurvy, and it was taken on board ships in dried bundles or distilled extracts.

By conducting the first ever clinical trial, he developed the theory that citrus fruits cured scurvy.

The Indians made tonics; Southerners cured scurvy with them, built festivals around them and foraged them so thoroughly they nearly disappeared.

But now imagine he did that even though it was already known you could cure scurvy by giving the sailors limes.