OCTOBER 16th - Ether He Did or He Didn't



On this day in 1846, Dr. William T. G. Morton, a dental surgeon, became the first to publicly demonstrate the use of ether as surgical anesthesia. Dr. Morton administered the drug to a patient so Dr. John Collins Warren could remove a tumor from his neck. Then Morton got all Tricky-Dicky and said that the drug was called “letheon” and worked to obtain a patent so he could profit from its use. However, there were some issues concerning whether he had indeed been the one to come up with ether’s applied usage, and his attempts to profit off the popularity of the drug’s usage dried up like a month-old Bundt cake. So he never really gained the recognition he was hoping for from his peers, although he did gain some notoriety when he was a star defense witness in a highly publicized trial. His nemesis was the star witness for the prosecution, his former mentor, who also claimed to have developed and discovered the uses of ether. Two guys just couldn't see eye to eye. Morton did get a movie made about his life in 1944 though. So there’s that. I’m not particularly sure who started the whole ether-anesthesia thing, but I thank him. I’ve only been knocked out by anesthesia once, and I must say it’s better than getting knocked out by the fist of a semi-pro wrestler named BrassKnuckle Bubba. And while I’m not positive that a drug-dealing, high-school dropout couldn’t come up with something as effective as ether using his supply of Sudafed and burning various plastics, I do feel a little safer with drugs being regulated. So while I’m not entirely sure if Doc Morton deserves all the credit, I’m willing to tip my cap to the man. Least I can do. The man just wanted credit for drugging people to the point of unconsciousness. Seems reasonable to me.

This day has been Marked.

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