November 01, 2005
The true meaning of Halloween
It's all about the candy. And the devil-worship. And the costumes. But mainly, the candy.
And the horror! Behold!
No, it's not an avant-garde fashion display. It's an illustration taken from the Journal of the History of the Neurosciences article "Transcranial Brain Injuries Caused by Metal Rods or Pipes over the Past 150 Years", by James L. Stone. Would you believe that someone survived the middle accident with no reported ill effects? And the one on the left might have survived, except the ramrod was bent. The one on the right is a model of the classic case study Phineas Gage.
Anyway, I figure this is the one day of the year when I can indulge in this stuff without fear of censure or reprisal. And really, who else is going to dig up stuff like this?
In 1994, O’Neil et al. reported a 25-year-old male who suffered a transorbital-transcranial penetrating head injury from an aluminum shaft hunting arrow (O’Neill et al, 1994). The victim and his friend were intoxicated and attempting a ‘William Tell’ maneuver. There was no loss of consciousness and the arrow was in place on admission to the hospital.
Fortunately for the poor guy, he "was discharged from the hospital 8 days after surgery with no change in neurologic status."
The true horror of Halloween, though, will Blast Your Very Sanity. I speak of none other than the shambling horror that is the Great Old Pumpkin.
It's the Great Old Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Via LJ user acrabtree.
Posted by: Andrew Reeves at November 1, 2005 03:16 PM"...with no change in neurologic status."
So I guess there was nothing important going on in that part of his brain. :)
Posted by: Eduard at November 2, 2005 12:00 PMI can't believe some one survived a pipe through the head. It just blows my mind.... lol! get blows my mind. hehehe
Posted by: Danielle at June 13, 2006 10:06 PM