Saturday, December 11, 2010
It's a gas, gas, gas...
A pair of quick history lessons, gentle readers.
166 years ago yesterday, a Hartford dentist named Horace Wells went to a show hosted by Gardner Colton, a stage performer who followed the lead of Humphry Davy and other Romantic-era natural philosophers by engaging in public demonstrations of various "airs." Wells, noticing that people under the influence of nitrous oxide did not seem to show pain upon being injured, started to ponder the medical applications of the substance.
166 years ago today, Wells recruited his partner John Riggs to assist in an experiment. While Wells inhaled large doses of nitrous oxide--supplied by Colton--Riggs removed one of Wells' molars, without any serious discomfort. With that single surgery, the modern discipline of anesthesia was born.
107 years later, a man was born who would later follow in Wells' footsteps to become a master gas-passer. What's more, this anesthesiologist par excellence would proceed to get married and sire two children, one of whom would also attend medical school while the other went on to become one of the Internet's least consistent bloggers.
Yes, that's right, through an odd twist of fate today, the anniversary of Horace Wells' fateful surgery, is also the birthday of the Invisible Dad who is, I would argue, at least partially responsible for my interests in history, science, and the intersection between them. As I've struggled my way through graduate school, he has supported of my efforts and continued to surprise me with his extensive knowledge of basically everything. Honestly, I can think of few other individuals who are equally comfortable discussing the history of television, the relative merits of various Marx Brothers movies, WWII military strategy, and the principles of electrical engineering. And even though he sometimes turns our conversations into pop quizzes, I always walk away learning something new in the process...for example, the historical coincidence alluded to above.
All of which is just a verbose way of saying thanks for everything, Dad...and happy birthday!
(And for those of you wondering about this year's holiday movie quote contest...stay tuned.)
A pair of quick history lessons, gentle readers.
166 years ago yesterday, a Hartford dentist named Horace Wells went to a show hosted by Gardner Colton, a stage performer who followed the lead of Humphry Davy and other Romantic-era natural philosophers by engaging in public demonstrations of various "airs." Wells, noticing that people under the influence of nitrous oxide did not seem to show pain upon being injured, started to ponder the medical applications of the substance.
166 years ago today, Wells recruited his partner John Riggs to assist in an experiment. While Wells inhaled large doses of nitrous oxide--supplied by Colton--Riggs removed one of Wells' molars, without any serious discomfort. With that single surgery, the modern discipline of anesthesia was born.
107 years later, a man was born who would later follow in Wells' footsteps to become a master gas-passer. What's more, this anesthesiologist par excellence would proceed to get married and sire two children, one of whom would also attend medical school while the other went on to become one of the Internet's least consistent bloggers.
Yes, that's right, through an odd twist of fate today, the anniversary of Horace Wells' fateful surgery, is also the birthday of the Invisible Dad who is, I would argue, at least partially responsible for my interests in history, science, and the intersection between them. As I've struggled my way through graduate school, he has supported of my efforts and continued to surprise me with his extensive knowledge of basically everything. Honestly, I can think of few other individuals who are equally comfortable discussing the history of television, the relative merits of various Marx Brothers movies, WWII military strategy, and the principles of electrical engineering. And even though he sometimes turns our conversations into pop quizzes, I always walk away learning something new in the process...for example, the historical coincidence alluded to above.
All of which is just a verbose way of saying thanks for everything, Dad...and happy birthday!
(And for those of you wondering about this year's holiday movie quote contest...stay tuned.)
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