Phineas Gage and the Iron Rod

The Accident

On September 13, 1848, the 25 year old Phineas Gage was working as a foreman in a railroad project near Cavendish Vermont. His crew was clearing the path of the railroad by using explosives to remove the masses of land and rock. They were making holes in the area and poured explosive powder on it. Gage was tamping the powder in one of the holes by the use of an iron rod when unfortunately, it exploded. The 43 inch long and 1.25 inch in diameter iron rod hurtled upward penetrating the left cheek of Gage and passing through his skull damaging his frontal lobe (brain). The iron rod reportedly found about 80 feet away from the site of the accident.

courtesy of  Jack and Beverly Wilgus

Right before the accident, it was surprising that Gage managed to walk to a nearby cart and asked help from his crew. They took Gage in the town to be seen by a doctor. The first doctor to look at Gage was Dr. Edward H. Williams. The physician remarked;

"I first noticed the wound upon the head before I alighted from my carriage, the pulsations of the brain being very distinct. Mr. Gage, during the time I was examining this wound, was relating the manner in which he was injured to the bystanders. I did not believe Mr. Gage's statement at that time, but thought he was deceived. Mr. Gage persisted in saying that the bar went through his head. Mr. Gage got up and vomited, the effort of vomiting pressed out about half a teacupful of the brain, which fell upon the floor."

Another Doctor that examined Gage was D. John Martyn Harlow. Dr. Harlow said;

"You will excuse me for remarking here, that the picture presented was, to one unaccustomed to military surgery, truly terrific; but the patient bore his sufferings with the most heroic firmness. He recognized me at once, and said he hoped he was not much hurt. He seemed to be perfectly conscious, but was getting exhausted from the hemorrhage. His person, and the bed on which he was laid, were literally one gore of blood."

After the Accident

Dr. John Martyn Harlow reported that Gage had developed an infection and went through a semi comatose state from September 23 until October 3 of the same year. Fortunately, Gage recovered from the comatose and began to improve his physical and intellectual functioning. Gage returned to his parents' house in New Hampshire the following months. When he got fully recovered he worked as a stagecoach driver in Chile. He also held a work in a livery stable and a farm.

But the most shocking thing is not the "gore bloody accident" of Gage. It was his "change in personality" after recovery, and it was not just a mere shift in attitude but as if he was no longer Phineas Gage! Dr. Harlow accounted;

"The equilibrium or balance, so to speak, between his intellectual faculties and animal propensities, seems to have been destroyed. He is fitful, irreverent, indulging at times in the grossest profanity, manifesting but little deference for his fellows, impatient of restraint or advice when it conflicts with his desires, at times pertinacious obstinate, yet capricious and vacillating, devising many plans of future operations, which are no sooner arranged than they are abandoned in turn for others appearing more feasible. A child in his intellectual capacity and manifestations, he has the animal passions of a strong man. Previous to his injury, although untrained in the schools, he possessed a well-balanced mind, and was looked upon by those who knew him as a shrewd, smart businessman, very energetic and persistent in executing all his plans of operation. In this regard his mind was radically changed, so decidedly that his friends and acquaintances said he was no longer Gage."
 

Psychological Explanation

courtesy of J.B.S. Jackson MD.

So what was the reason why Phineas Gage had a personality different from who he was before the accident? Psychologists believed that the reason behind the phenomena is due to damaged frontal lobe of Gage brought by the accident. According to them, the frontal lobe of the brain is responsible for our personality formation. Gage’s personality was distorted when his frontal lobe was damaged.

Phineas Gage’s Death

Gage had several epileptic seizures beginning in February of 1860. On May 20 at his mother’s house, Gage had a severe convulsion and on succeeding day, May 21 he died. He was buried in San Francisco’s Lone Mountain Cemetery. Seven years later his skull were exhumed by Dr. Harlow with the permission of Gage’s family. The iron rod was also in the possession of Harlow by the time. Today, Gage’s skull and iron rod is now displayed at the Medical Museum of Harvard University.

Che Guevara: A Rockstar?

I was walking in the street when I heard the conversation
of two students;

Student 1: "Hey! Who's that guy in your shirt?"
Student 2: "You don't know him? duh.. He's a famous ROCK STAR dude!"
Student 1: "Really?! That's cool! Where can I buy one? "


The picture of a man in the shirt is referred to as the most popular photograph in the world. Its a photograph of Che Guevara. Almost everybody knows it's him. Almost everybody heard his name. But not all knew who he really was.

Public Domain Picture

Ernesto Guevara De La Serna is the real name of Che Guevara. He was born on June 14, 1928 in Rosario Argentina. Guevara was the eldest of five children of Spanish-Irish descent, middle-class family.

Che Guevara studied medicine at the University of Buenos Aires. Aside from medicine, Guevara was also interested in exploring the world. He spent many of his time in travelling across Latin America through a motorcycle. Che made an account of this travel entitled "The Motorcycle Diaries". Through such journey, his eyes were opened to the reality of great poverty in Latin America. The masses were being victims of greedy capitalists. This observations changed the views of  Guevara towards political and socio-economic aspect of life. He believed that the only way to solve the problem was a violent revolution. He then began to change the status quo of Latin America.

Che Guevara went to Guatemala in 1953 and met Jacobo Arbenz who headed a social revolution. But this revolt was overthrown by U.S CIA in 1954. From Guatemala, Che went to Mexico where he met Fidel and Raul Castro (they're brothers), political exiles who were opposing the regime of the dictator Fulgencio Batista in Cuba. Together with Fidel Castro, they started the "Cuban Revolutionary War". Being an excellent diarist, Che recorded their struggles and victories in overthrowing Batista's regime in "Reminiscences of the Cuban Revolutionary War". They established a Marxist Government in January 2 1959 after winning Havana. Che Guevara became a famous figure in Cuban revolutionary war.

After the revolution, Che Guevara lived and became a citizen of Cuba. He served as the president of National Bank of Cuba, chief of the Industrial Department of the National Institute of Agrarian Reform. He became famous for his opposition of all types of imperialism and U.S. foreign policy. This can be traced in his writings in "Man and Socialism in Cuba". In 1965, Che Guevara dropped his public office and went to Congo. He went there together with other guerrilla fighters. They aided the Patrice Lumumba Battalion, which fought in Congo's civil war. On October 8, 1967, Che together with other guerrillas were defeated in battle by the Bolivian Army with the help of CIA. Che Guevara was captured and shot.

His death is not the end of story. Che Guevara became an icon of liberality and serves as an inspiration to many young leftist and radicals around the globe. And one thing is for sure, he's not a rock star!