from
Hans Kratzer, Regensburg
The goiter that forms as a result of iodine deficiency has not disappeared, but it is no longer as extreme as it used to be when it was one of the most common diseases in Bavaria. Marie Therese (1849-1919), the last Bavarian queen, also suffered from a thick neck, which is why she was popularly called the “crouched Resl”. But no one was allowed to say that publicly. Many years ago, an old woman from Munich said that while the queen was still alive, she had to write a school essay containing the following sentence: “The queen with her swan neck surrounded by her daughters.” But the student thought: “But she has a goiter!”, and so she left out the required sentence. As a punishment, she received a four, that was the worst grade that was awarded at the time.