In 1818, Ignaz Phillip Semmelweis was born into a world of dying women. The finest hospitals lost one out of six young mothers to the scourge of “childbed fever.” A doctor’s daily routine began in the dissecting room where he performed autopsies. From there he made his way to the hospital to examine expectant mothers without ever pausing to wash his hands. Dr. Semmelweis was the first man in…

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A long while ago, a painting by Anna Mary Robertson, better known as Grandma Moses, was brought to the Antiques Roadshow for appraisal. Born before the Civil War, Robertson did not take up painting until late in life and she saw little fame in her life. The man who brought the painting to be evaluated had lived nearby and his mother was a friend of Grandma Moses. He explained that… “She was just a…

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A curious 15-year-old boy named Adrian was taking piano lessons from a teacher when a question hit him that would change the next five years of his life. Grand piano fanatics know that the strings of a grand piano are set to different lengths to accomplish the frequency required to be in tune. Some may not realize that the lower strings cannot create the proper frequency at the length the standard…

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Years ago, now on an almost forgotten show, “The Merv Griffin Show,” a bodybuilder was the day’s guest. During the interview, Merv asked, “Why do you develop those particular muscles?” The bodybuilder stepped forward and flexed a series of well-defined muscles from his chest to his calves. The audience applauded. “So, what do you use all those muscles for?” Merv asked. Again…

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Einstein was once traveling from Princeton on a train, when the conductor came down the aisle, punching the tickets of every passenger. When he came to Einstein, Einstein reached into his vest pocket. He couldn’t find his ticket, so he reached in his trouser pockets. It wasn’t there. He looked in his briefcase but couldn’t find it. Then he looked in the seat beside him. He still couldn’t find it.

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