Day Tripping: October 28

Medical Science Genius

Jonas Salk was born in 1914 to Jewish parents in New Jersey. The family then moved to East Harlem where Jonas and he entered a school for gifted academics at the age of thirteen. Salk then studied Medicine at New York University while working at a medical lab part-time.

Jonas Salk stated he never intended to practice mainstream medicine, preferring to concentrate on bacteriology to help people in general rather than single patients.

“Solutions come through evolution. They come through asking the right questions because the answers pre-exist. It is the question that we must define and discover. You don’t invent the answer-you reveal the answer.”

When Jonas Salk first tested the Polio vaccine on 43 children in 1952, $67 million worth of research funding had propelled the project. By the time the vaccine went into public use, $7 billion had been granted.

There were no public outcries of human rights violations against receiving the vaccine. In fact, immediate vaccination campaigns began in Canada, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, West Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Belgium.

When asked who owned the patent to the vaccine, Salk replied that the people own it and he had no right to monetary claims after so much funding. He also shied away from public recognition though he would often be involuntarily put in the spotlight.

He did spend the rest of his life advocating for mandatory Polio vaccination, saying that preventing the disease in children was a “moral commitment”.

Today is:

Chocolate Day — Well, it’s about time!

Musical Ride

Kenny Rogers was performing at the Adams Mark Hotel in Dalla in 1999 when he threw a frisbee that hit a chandelier. Shards of glass hit spectator Kevin O’Toole who sued Rogers, claiming his sex life was ruined because of the scars on his face. O’Toole’s wife also files a suit claiming Rogers “deprived her of the services, love and guidance of her husband.”

Interesting Notes

The Philadelphia Experiment of 1943 was conducted by the US Navy. According to urban legend, the USS Eldridge destroyer was cloaked to appear invisible inside a Philadelphia shipyard. The US Navy has never acknowledged the existence of the experiment.

Notable Births

1955 — Bill Gates said, “I am not in competition with anyone but myself. My goal is to improve myself continuously.”

1967 — Julia Roberts said, “People love scandal; people love drama. They love stripping away the layers to see what’s really in there, and they’ll do anything — as well as make it up — to get it.”

K. Barrett Maria Rattray Maryam Merchant Dr. Mehmet Yildiz Tree Langdon Myriam Ben Salem Phil Truman Chelsea Mandler MAT Terry Mansfield Hollie Petit, Ph.D. Terry Trueman Dr. Preeti Singh John Gruber Bill Abbate James G Brennan ScienceDuuude Marcus Liam Ireland Claire Kelly Noorain Hassan, BMS Amy Pierovich David Acaster Nora Thewriteyard David Perlmutter Joe Luca Holly Kellums Michael Burg, MD Lucy Dan Dave Logan

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The Story Of Day Tripping Through History What’s Past Is Often Present

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