While reading the children's classic "Madeline," Taylor's kids asked her what an appendix is, and she had no idea. No longer classified as a vestigial structure (take that, Darwin), the appendix might help with regulating gut bacteria after an illness.

We'll talk about Gabriele Falloppio, who was no doubt wrist-deep in a human body when he called the appendix worm-shaped in 1522. Claudius Amyand, who performed the first successful appendectomy in 1735 on an 11-year-old boy, and Charles McBurney, who pointed to a belly and said, 'Name that spot after me!'

We're doctors now.

#appendix #darwin #medicalhistory #madeline

Links from our listener emails 

President Biden Announces Release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve As Part of Ongoing Efforts to Lower Prices and Address Lack of Supply Around the World - https://qz.com/the-biden-administration-made-66-million-in-its-first-1850531437

The Biden administration made $66 million in its first oil trade - https://qz.com/the-biden-administration-made-66-million-in-its-first-1850531437 

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