by Ann Beach | Jun 11, 2026 | Medicine
Ludwig van Beethoven, the unparalleled musical genius, died in 1827 at the age of 57. We all remember he was deaf. What a bitter disability for a composer. It is hard to imagine he composed his famous 9th Symphony (including the monumental Ode to Joy) after he lost...
by Ann Beach | May 29, 2026 | Medicine
No, this is not an essay about emissions, or seatbelts, or fatal car accidents. It’s something more unexpected and surprising. First (You know me by now.), we need a little history lesson. In July 1976, (Happy Bicentennial!), there was a convention of 4000 people-...
by Ann Beach | May 14, 2026 | Medicine
Are you wearing glasses or contacts to read this? If so, join the 75% of American adults who need some type of vision correction. Of that 75%, 64% wear prescription glasses. That means that almost 200 million Americans use glasses to see well. Only 15% of us who need...
by Ann Beach | May 1, 2026 | Medicine
Last time, when I wrote about Wilbur Wright’s dental problems, I happened upon information so unexpected and interesting that I knew I had to tell you about it! Waterloo Teeth! First, we need to talk a bit about cavities and the history of dentistry. Cavities have...
by Ann Beach | Apr 22, 2026 | Medicine
Winter, 1885, on an icy pond in Ohio, in the middle of a hockey game, Oliver, a 15-year-old neighborhood bully, whacked 17-year-old Wilbur in the face with his hockey stick. Nobody is sure if it was an accident or on purpose. (Wilbur’s dad’s diary says, Oliver “threw...
by Ann Beach | Apr 12, 2026 | Medicine
I’m glued to the Masters this weekend, and if you’re a golfer, or live in Georgia, you are, too. Did you know that several of these professional golfers, all of them great athletes, are competing in the face of significant medical problems? Rory McIlroy, last year’s...
