Funtabulously Frivolous Friday Five 220
Just when you thought your brain could unwind on a Friday, you realise that it would rather be challenged with some good old fashioned medical trivia FFFF, introducing the Funtabulously Frivolous Friday Five 220
Question 1
What deceased Nobel Prize winner’s eyes are currently sitting in a safety deposit box in New York City?
Reveal the funtabulous answer
Albert Einstein
Not only did Dr. Thomas Stolz Harvey illegally perform Einstein’s autopsy and steal his brain, he also stole his eyes. He gave the eyes to Einstein’s eye doctor, Henry Abrams, one of Albert Einstein’s confidants. They are kept in a safety deposit box in New York City to this day. [Reference]
Question 2
Dr. Lattimer studied at Columbia University and became the urologist-in-chief of Presbyterian Hospital, but what piece of urological history did he obtain to prohibit its display and mockery?
Reveal the funtabulous answer
Napoleon Bonepart’s Penis
After his game-changing defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon was exiled to the British island of St. Helena, where it is now believed that he was ultimately poisoned with arsenic.
It seems that Napoleon’s doctor removed his penis during the autopsy, and then gave it to a priest, Vignali, who then smuggled it to Corsica. In 1916, a British collector obtained the penis and it was eventually displayed in New York, 1927. It was ultimately mocked for its small size and referred to by curious spectators as a small piece of leather or a shriveled eel.
In 1977, the penis found itself on the auction block once again when Lattimer purchased it and it is kept within the family until this day in New Jersey. [Reference]
Question 3
Which gaming company tried to make monitoring glucose for juvenile diabetes more fun by adding a glucose monitor to their consoles?
Reveal the funtabulous answer
Nintendo
- Garvey J. Bayer’s Didget makes childsplay of blood glucose monitoring. News Atlas
Question 4
Which infective skin condtion was called Ignis Sacer?
Reveal the funtabulous answer
Erysipelas.
An infection of the upper dermis and superficial lymphatics, usually caused by beta-hemolytic group A streptococcus. Erysipelas is more superficial than cellulitis, and is typically more raised and demarcated.
The term is from Greek ἐρυσίπελας, meaning “red skin”. Other names include holy fire and St. Anthony’s fire.
Question 5
Clutton’s joints are a manifestation of which disease?
Reveal the funtabulous answer
Congenital Syphilis.
Named after Henry Hugh Clutton (1850-1909)
They are painless symmetrical swollen joints due to fluid accumulation, typically in the knees.
- Clutton HH. Symmetrical synovitis of the knee in hereditary syphilis. Lancet 1886; 127(3261): 391-393
- Rodin P. Clutton’s Joints. Br J Vener Dis. 1961 Sep; 37(3): 204–206
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Funtabulously Frivolous Friday Five
Dr Neil Long BMBS FACEM FRCEM FRCPC. Emergency Physician at Kelowna hospital, British Columbia. Loves the misery of alpine climbing and working in austere environments (namely tertiary trauma centres). Supporter of FOAMed, lifelong education and trying to find that elusive peak performance.