My Blog
Surprising Medical Advances During Wartime
Today is Memorial Day, the day we set aside to honor Americans who died in active military service. War is always horrible, but historians tell us that the attempt to save many lives during wars has always led to innovative technologies and new skills that have helped...
The Measles Stories You’ve Never Heard
Measles is very much in the news lately, so I feel compelled to write about it. Nope, I’m not going to get into the vaccination discussion; Instead, I’m going to tell you how measles changed history and impacted our lives in ways we don’t realize. It was not until...
A Long Easter Weekend Changed Things for Millions of People
Dr Barry Marshall, a young Australian gastroenterologist, was sure peptic ulcers were caused by infection, but he couldn’t prove it. That is, until a long 4-day Easter weekend led to a fateful change in the lab. It was 1982, and the conventional wisdom of the time was...
Bobby Jones- a Golfing Life Cut Short
This week marks the 89th year of the Masters Golf Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. The Masters, known for the pristine course, gorgeous azaleas and dogwoods, well-mannered crowd, and unforgettable pimento cheese sandwiches, is the holy grail of golf. Since I...
Darwin and the Big Black Bug
I’ve just gotten back from a terrific trip to the Galapagos Islands, and naturally I’ve been immersed in all things Charles Darwin. That means you’re in for a story about Darwin I suspect you have never heard. We all know about Darwin’s famous 5 year round-the-world...
Happy Mardi Gras! I Think!
I love Mardi Gras and have fond memories of the first time I went. There’s nothing more fun than the parades, the crowds, and the excitement of Mardi Gras. I’ve written about it before. http://annfbeach.com/uncategorized/a-medical-mardi-gras-story/ Being a doctor, I...
Another Dangerous Book
Where am I and what am I doing? I’m in a foreign capital city, deep in a large, beautiful building, wearing a lead apron and gloves. I’ve signed a waiver for anything bad that happens, and I’m getting ready to open a lead-lined box. All because I love books. What’s...
Dangerous Books
Usually, when people talk about dangerous books, they are referring to the content, so we think about banned books, and politically controversial books. I’m referring to books that are dangerous objects. What do I mean? Before we can talk about books, we need to talk...
The Candy Land Game and Its Link to Polio
We all remember playing Candy Land, following the brightly colored path through the peppermint stick forest and gumdrop mountains, past the lollipop woods to get to Home Sweet Home. However, few people realize that this game would never have been invented if not for...
Tennessee Williams and How Illness Affected What He Wrote
The Glass Menagerie launched Tennessee Williams’ Broadway career. You may remember the character Laura, the abnormally shy, dreamy sister of Tom, the protagonist. She spent her time escaping from life, drawn into a world of glass figurines. It’s a largely...