What Happened on January 11?
- Insulin was first used to treat diabetes. (1922) The first insulin injection was given to a teenager in Canada, Leonard Thompson, who was on his deathbed. Unfortunately, the injection was so impure that Thompson had a severe allergic reaction. Researchers worked around-the-clock for the next 12 days to create a pure version, and the next injection went off without a hitch. The availability of insulin turned diabetes from a fatal condition into a treatable one.
- The US Surgeon General issued the first government warning that smoking is hazardous to health. (1964) The announcement was extremely controversial, since at the time about half of Americans smoked, and cigarettes were a highly visible multi-billion dollar industry. In the following months, cigarette consumption dropped 20 percent, though it later climbed again.
- The first recorded lottery was held in England. (1569) The lottery was chartered by Queen Elizabeth I, and every ticket holder got a prize. The proceeds were put towards public works.
- Milk was first delivered in bottles. (1878) Dr. Hervey Thatcher invented "Thatcher's Common Sense Milk Jar," which made it possible to safely and hygienically transport milk to houses on a wide scale.
- Joseph Stalin banished Leon Trotsky from Russia. (1928) Trotsky was a major leader in the Bolshevik Revolution, but was criticized for being anti-Communist when Stalin came to power. After traveling through Europe, Trotsky settled in Mexico City. He was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Soviet state, and killed by with a pickaxe by a Spanish communist in 1940.
- The cornerstone of the Islamic Center of Washington was laid. (1949) It was the first major mosque built in America, and was intended to serve as a mosque for all American Muslims. The center was built largely due to diplomatic pressure from the diplomatic sector of D.C.
- Amelia Earhart began a flight from Hawaii to California. (1935) She became the first person to fly from Hawaii to California, and won $10,000 US Dollars (USD) for the 18-hour flight.
- Mount Etna erupted in Sicily in conjunction with a massive earthquake that damaged Sicily and Malta. (1693) Mt. Etna is the largest active volcano in Italy, and has caused a great deal of damage. One of Mt. Etna's eruptions is even mentioned by the classical poem Virgil in The Aeneid.
- Actor Charlie Chaplin's finances were frozen. (1927) The 38-year-old Chaplin was going through an ugly divorce with his 19-year-old wife, which eventually ended in a $1 million USD settlement.
- The Grand Canyon National Monument was created. (1908) The park is one of the oldest national parks in the US, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The monument was created largely as a result of environmentalist lobbying after engineers proposed to make a dam in the canyon.
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Discuss this Article
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Hazali
Post 3 |
While I've never had diabetes before, so I can't comment on what it's like to have the condition, on the other hand, I never knew that diabetes used to be fatal. More often than not, I've always thought that there was always some cure or solution to the problem.
Adding onto this, while I do know what diabetes entails, I'm assuming that the amount of insulin that someone needs usually depends on how severe their case is, right?
For example, let's look at it this way. If someone only has a minor case of diabetes, where all they need to do is watch what they eat, maintaining a stable blood sugar certainly wouldn't be too much a problem.
However, I know some people use how to inject themselves with insulin every hour. Even then, that sometimes doesn't cut it. Though that's more of a rare case, it's still a harsh and unfitting lifestyle. Myself included, I feel people who don't have diabetes need to be a lot more aware of it.
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Krunchyman
Post 2 |
Even though in this day and age, I don't see milk being delivered (especially not in bottles), I do think it's a rather interesting concept. After all, anytime most people want some fresh milk, all they have to do is go to the store and buy a carton or two.
However, just imagine getting your milk for free in the morning, not having to go the hassle of driving or walking to get your milk. It's little things like this we take for granted, and it's a great way to wake up in the morning.
On a final note, does anyone know why many places stopped delivering milk? Also, how long has this been going on? Just a guess, but I'm assuming that because the milk was free, stores weren't making as much money as they should. Due to this, they probably moved all milk beverages to stores, where people now buy them, and the store owners are able to make money.
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Viranty
Post 1 |
In relation to the second bullet point, does anyone else wonder why smoking was so popular in the 1960's, and generally speaking, that time period? Obviously, there are still many people who are smoking several packs a day, but it still doesn't seem as popular as it was back then. If anything, many people avoid it because they now know it's bad for their health. If anything, the only reason why some people continue to smoke is because it's addicting. It's extremely difficult to quit, and if many smokers were able to, they would have done so a long time ago.
Even though my answer is just speculation for the most part, I've come to the conclusion that many people found smoking to be glamorous, and that's why they did it so much. After all, from reading the second bullet point again, notice how it's mentioned that cigarettes were a highly visible milti-billion dollar industry. Overall, this definitely gives some good insight on why it was considered so popular back then.
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