Browsing: Health/Medicine

A Brief History On March 30, 1981, only a bit past two months into his presidency, Ronald Reagan was shot by a mentally ill assassin! Digging Deeper Reagan, riding the crest of popularity from being newly inaugurated and the Iranian hostage crisis having been ended on inauguration day, was in Washington, D.C. and had just delivered a speech to an AFL-CIO audience.  Outside the Hilton Hotel, Hinckley was waiting with a cheap .22 caliber revolver loaded with 6 rounds. Before Reagan could enter his limousine Hinckley fired all 6 shots at him, hitting the president with a bullet that ricocheted…

A Brief History On March 22, 1972, the US Supreme Court decided that unmarried Americans were allowed to have sex! Digging Deeper It is hard to imagine that so recently the commonly referred to as liberal state of Massachusetts had a law against distribution of contraceptives except by pharmacists or doctors and then only to married people! The Massachusetts law prohibiting “Crimes against Chastity” was on trial after a lecturer and advocate of population control through contraception purposely violated the law in order to mount the court challenge, known as Eisenstadt v. Baird. At issue was the right of unmarried…

A Brief History As has already been established on our site, we at History and Headlines are fascinated by unusual deaths.  Accordingly, earlier today, we featured an article on the death of gangster Frank Nitti.  Nevertheless, we suspect you hunger for even more inglorious criminal deaths… Digging Deeper 10. Saddam Hussein (2006) Known for waging unprovoked war and using poison gas against Iran and his own people, Saddam was hanged while being jeered by his prison guards and recorded on cell phone video.  He was apparently not even hanged properly as his neck was ripped open, and the indignity continued…

A Brief History On February 27, 2011, Frank Buckles died at 110 years old, just one of the many fascinating things about his life! Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find our hero born in 1901 in Missouri into a family of farmers that already had a history of service to the country in the American Revolutionary and Civil Wars. When the U.S. entered World War I, Frank was eager to join the action and went to the nearest Marine Corps recruiting station where he was sent away for being too small.  His 2nd choice, the Navy turned him away for flat…

A Brief History On December 2, 1982, medical history was made when Barney Clark, a retired dentist, received a Jarvik 7 artificial heart at the University of Utah, the first time an artificial heart was implanted meant as a permanent solution and not just a temporary spot holder until a viable heart for transplant could be found. Digging Deeper Powered by a pump the size of a dehumidifier or larger, the 1980’s version was not exactly a walk around your house back to normal life type of proposition.  Other attempts prior to this had been with devices meant only to…