"Half of the modern drugs could well be thrown out of the window, except that the birds might eat them"
About this Quote
That’s the subtext: the problem isn’t only inefficacy, it’s the arrogance of a system that keeps prescribing and consuming as if action itself is proof of value. Fischer’s line weaponizes a simple image (tossing bottles out a window) to puncture the prestige of “modern” science, suggesting that progress can be cosmetic - new labels, new compounds, same old wishful thinking.
Contextually, it reads like early-20th-century medical skepticism, when therapeutics often lagged behind diagnosis and many treatments were blunt instruments. Before the era of rigorous randomized trials and tight regulation, medicine had plenty of room for fashionable remedies, aggressive marketing, and professional self-assurance masquerading as evidence.
The wit matters because it does what a straight critique can’t: it bypasses technical debate and goes straight for moral embarrassment. If your miracle cure is bird-poison, maybe “doing something” isn’t the same as helping.
Quote Details
| Topic | Witty One-Liners |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite | Cite this Quote |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Fischer, Martin Henry. (n.d.). Half of the modern drugs could well be thrown out of the window, except that the birds might eat them. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/half-of-the-modern-drugs-could-well-be-thrown-out-127485/
Chicago Style
Fischer, Martin Henry. "Half of the modern drugs could well be thrown out of the window, except that the birds might eat them." FixQuotes. Accessed February 2, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/half-of-the-modern-drugs-could-well-be-thrown-out-127485/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Half of the modern drugs could well be thrown out of the window, except that the birds might eat them." FixQuotes, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/half-of-the-modern-drugs-could-well-be-thrown-out-127485/. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.




