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Herckleperckle
Member
11-20-2003
| Monday, January 07, 2008 - 4:23 pm
This one is about Adolph Hitler. I never knew any of this! This time I'm happy about an incompetent doctor! Heh. Click on the link below: http://tinyurl.com/2uwxnz
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Hukdonreality
Member
09-29-2003
| Monday, January 07, 2008 - 4:26 pm
How strange that you post this just now, Herck. I've watched 2 shows this afternoon about Hitler and his cabinet members (History Channel), and a third is paused while I eat dinner. I'm glad he had bad gas all his life.
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Herckleperckle
Member
11-20-2003
| Monday, January 07, 2008 - 4:28 pm
Hee Hee. It was on a site I always visit. Just happened to see it and read it and really enjoyed reading about what really DOES sound like a Woody Allen movie.
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Hukdonreality
Member
09-29-2003
| Monday, January 07, 2008 - 4:33 pm
Would have been great if he'd also suffered from anal spasms which would tighten up on him. Then he would have imploded from the gas.
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Herckleperckle
Member
11-20-2003
| Monday, January 07, 2008 - 4:38 pm
Hahahahhaha! You nut!
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Escapee
Member
06-15-2004
| Monday, January 07, 2008 - 4:42 pm
Abraham Lincoln's son (one of them) was born with a cleft pallet.
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Herckleperckle
Member
11-20-2003
| Monday, January 07, 2008 - 4:43 pm
I didn't know that! I should tell my son (also born with a cleft palate).
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Stacey718995
Member
07-06-2007
| Monday, January 07, 2008 - 5:01 pm
Huk you just made me laugh hard enough to scare the cat!
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Nyheat
Member
08-09-2006
| Monday, January 07, 2008 - 6:30 pm
FDR had his own private subway car/line run under Fifth Avenue in New York City so the public wouldn't see him in a wheelchair. The car is still parked in a tunnel under the city in pristine condition. Fascinating.
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Herckleperckle
Member
11-20-2003
| Monday, January 07, 2008 - 6:57 pm
I did know that! An FDR fan here.
Thomas Edison (1847-1931) Around the age of twelve, Edison lost almost all his hearing. There are several theories as to what caused his hearing loss. Some attribute it to the after-effects of scarlet fever which he had as a child. Others blame it on a conductor boxing his ears after Edison caused a fire in the baggage car, an incident which Edison claimed never happened. Edison himself blamed it on an incident in which he was grabbed by his ears and lifted to a train. He did not let his disability discourage him, however, and often treated it as an asset, since it made it easier for him to concentrate on his experiments and research. Undoubtedly, though, his deafness made him more solitary and shy in dealings with others. On October 21, 1929 President Herbert Hoover and numerous scientists and celebrities such as Madame Curie, Orville Wright, and Will Rogers came to Greenfield Village for the "Golden Jubilee of Light" to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Edison's greatest invention. The proceedings were broadcast live around the world. The high point of the evening occurred when Edison, 82 and frail, reenacted the great event. When he turned the switch, he said, "Let there be light!" (Josephson 480). And there was. In fact, Ford had instructed the radio audience to turn off their own lights at home and to turn them back on when Edison's light glowed. After this reenactment, Edison returned to Independence Hall, Ford's replica of the historic building in Philadelphia, to attend a grand banquet in his honor. Overcome with emotion and fatigue, Edison collapsed in the doorway. His wife Mina revived him with a glass of warm milk and reminded him that millions of people were waiting for him to speak. Edison persevered and read a short prepared speech. At the end of it he said, "As to Henry Ford, words are inadequate to express my feelings. I can only say to you that, in the fullest and richest meaning of the term--he is my friend" . Two years later on October 18, 1931, Edison died at his home in West Orange. He had been ill with Bright's disease (a kidney disease with an ironic name in Edison's case), uremic poisoning, diabetes, and a gastric ulcer. As his death neared, he drifted into a coma. Many reporters camped around Edison's Glenmont estate. The garage became a press-room. Faith healers appeared. His death was a major event in the world.
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Escapee
Member
06-15-2004
| Monday, January 07, 2008 - 10:02 pm
Edison was very hansome, wasn't he.
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Sharinia
Member
09-07-2002
| Monday, January 07, 2008 - 10:10 pm
JFK had Addison's disease
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Herckleperckle
Member
11-20-2003
| Thursday, January 10, 2008 - 12:20 pm
Winston Churchill 1874-1965 Winston Churchill was obese, snored (possibly had sleep apnea; took afternoon naps to catch up on his sleep), suffered with crippling depressions (which he called The Black Dog--and for which no helpful medications were then available as they are now), smoked cigars and abused alcohol. He had a lisp (and not a stutter, as many claim)--and at one point even asked a doctor to operate on his tongue as he thought that would remedy the problem. He had an inguinal hernia that was repaired. In 1949, he had a stroke which was kept secret from the public. In October, 1951 he became prime minister for the second time. However, he was too ill to deal with day to day activities required of a prime minister. In 1953, he won the Nobel Prize for literature. It wasn't until 1955 that he resigned from politics. In 1963, he was made an honorary American citizen, an honor confirmed by Congress. Fifteen days before he died in 1965, he went into a coma after suffering another stroke. Links to sources: http://tinyurl.com/3av4jx http://tinyurl.com/4vz6 http://tinyurl.com/2tv2fk http://tinyurl.com/27l7s2 http://tinyurl.com/2smd2v
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Goddessatlaw
Member
07-19-2002
| Tuesday, January 15, 2008 - 7:28 pm
Abraham Lincoln is suspected to have suffered from Marfan Syndrome, based upon his own physical characteristics and the diagnosis of an indirect relative (all of Lincoln's direct descendants died out by 1980 or so - after his last ggrandson was accused and vindicated of fathering a child when he was 70 or 80 or so.) Toulouse Latrec (sp) was a dwarf, apparently because his parents were cousins (who shared a recessive gene for dwarfism, I assume?). Both discussed in this article Genetic defects
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Herckleperckle
Member
11-20-2003
| Thursday, January 24, 2008 - 1:23 am
William Howard Taft 27th American President Lived 1857-1930 Served 1909-1913 Source: LINK At age 9, Taft suffered a slight skull fracture and a bad cut on the head when the horses drawing the family carriage ran off. For the rest of his life he carried "a deep depression" in his skull. There was speculation this injury damaged Taft's pituitary gland and caused his obesity, but this is unlikely because: Taft was big from birth and throughout his life, Taft's weight generally paralleled his unhappiness. Taft wrote that he and his brothers came down with typhoid fever after a visit to Middle Bass Island when he was about 10. His casual tone in the letter suggests it was not a severe bout. "Not much can be said about Taft's health without saying a great deal about his size". Taft was 5 feet 11.5 inches tall. He weighed 243 pounds when he graduated from college and, by all accounts, carried it well. By age 48, when he had been Secretary of War for two years, he weighed 320 pounds. Under the guidance of English physician Dr. N. E. Yorke-Davies, he lost 70 pounds over the next year and a half. But two years after that, he was once again over 300 pounds. He weighed 335-340 pounds when he left the White House. He then lost weight rapidly, dropping to 270 in a year and a half. The summer before he died, he weighed 244 pounds, just one pound more than his college weight. Taft was big almost from birth. It's clear, however, that he had an enormous appetite. Taft's size impressed some people, but often made him the butt of jokes. Note: Judged solely by body mass index, a 5-foot 11-inch person weighing more than 290 pounds is severely obese. Taft lived in Manila as Governor of the Philippines from 1900 to 1903. In September 1901 he developed a fever and was diagnosed (probably incorrectly) with dengue. In early October he developed abdominal pain. Late that month, an abscess in the perineum ruptured. After an emergency operation, he was near death for several days, but recovered. A second operation was necessary in late November 1901, and the need for a third operation became apparent in February 1902. In March 1903 he developed amoebic dysentery and was forced to bed leading some to believes the original abscess was amoebic. He later suffered 2 bouts of food poisoning, one in Japan and another in Minnesota. And he had Acid Reflux. He also had continuing problems with hoarseness due to the era in which he had to deliver speeches. Microphones and loudspeakers had not yet been invented and political candidates had to make their voice heard to crowds numbering into the thousands. May 17, 1909: In the morning, Taft's young son Charlie endured a bloody adenoid operation. Later that day his wife suffered a stroke, rendering her unable to speak. "The President looked like a great stricken animal. I have never seen greater suffering or pain shown on a man's face". Presaging the cover-up of President Woodrow Wilson's stroke, word of the event was kept from the public. Taft kept all his appointments and Mrs. Taft's sisters became White House hostesses. Taft was thrown from a horse shortly after his wife suffered a stroke. He had other problems with horses during his political career, including the famous telegram from Secretary of War Elihu Root and an angry exchange with his military aide at the Grand Canyon when Taft wanted to ride a horse down the trail into the Canyon. The aide, who "had no idea of letting him run the risk of breaking his neck and imposing the Vice President on the country as the Chief Executive," finally persuaded Taft it was not wise. He developed Lumbago in early September 1909. The chief result was to slow down the President's golf game. Taft had gout attacks in both feet. In later life wore a gout shoe. He also developed gout stones in his urinary bladder. Although Taft was a 320-pound middle-aged man, his physical strength repeatedly surprised others. For example, while visiting Yosemite National Park in October 1909, Taft and John Muir walked the four mile, 3242-foot descent from Glacier Point down to the floor of the Yosemite Valley. They quickly outdistanced the rest of the party, many of whom rode horseback. (The horse provided for Taft had appeared unequal to the President's bulk, so Taft was advised to walk.) Taft wrote: "While I am tired from the open air exercise, I feel greatly the better for it." Taft was the first sitting President to use automobiles regularly. And he was nearly the first President killed in a car accident. In March 1910 Taft's car was struck by a trolley in New York City and carried a half-block down Eighth Avenue. No one was hurt, but the President was shaken. Taft had several other mishaps in cars and trains during his public life. Taft suffered from hypertension. Dr. James Marsh Jackson found that Taft's systolic blood pressure was 210 mmHg in 1910. At that time, Taft's weight was near its peak as was, presumably, the severity of his sleep apnea. By 1926 his blood pressure was 160-165/100 and his weight 60-70 pounds lower. Taft also suffered from motion sickness and TMJ. Almost every night, Taft's military aide, Major Archibald Butt, would write a letter to his sister-in-law. Published after the death of Taft, these unique and honest letters provide a window into even the smallest parts of a President's life. Poor Butt, who died on the Titanic, spares not even himself when he relates how he slammed a car door on the President's hand and, on another occasion, drove a golf ball into the President's thigh. In 1921 Taft's car skidded on a Washington street in a rainstorm and his knees were badly bruised. It is not clear if Taft was driving (or even knew how to drive). It is also unclear if this incident led to his "rheumatic" knee. On July 10, 1913, Taft developed a fainting feeling while playing golf, and had to sit down, The episode was blamed on his aggressive dieting. In retrospect, it may have been the first episode of atrial fibrillation. On April 27, 1923 Taft wrote to his brother that he was suffering from an "internal inflammation." He ascribed this to the hard work he was doing. It is unclear what this condition was. "He had been having trouble with his prostate gland and this had been relieved by treatment" in early 1913. In December 1922 "the Chief Justice told his relatives and friends about a brief period of hospitalization in which gravel had been removed from his bladder". These were "30 or 40 calculi or uric acid origin", i.e. a complication of gout. Shortly before he died in 1930, it was disclosed that Taft had chronic cystitis. Taft was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in 1923 -- the only President ever to serve on the high court. As early as 1925, however, Taft noticed that he was slowing down mentally. He noticed it more as the years passed. As Chief Justice, he administered the oath of office at President Hoover's inauguration in March 1929, but became confused about his lines and had to improvise. Although his general health declined, Taft was his normal alert self as December 1929 ended. By the end of January 1930 he was hallucinating. By the end of February 1930 he was intermittently comatose. He was dead on March 8. Some believe Taft had Alzheimer disease. But, given his coronary disease, it is likely he had cerebrovascular disease, too. In his fifties Taft developed signs of "hardening of the arteries" accompanied by a rising blood pressure. His exercise tolerance decreased, and an elevator was installed in his house. By his mid-sixties, exertional angina and breathlessness limited his ability to travel. Taft berated himself for the poor care he had taken of himself. After lingering in a coma, he died on March 8. Side Notes: * The Tafts were the last residents of the White House to keep a milk cow. Named Pauline Wayne (but also known as Wooly-Mooly), she grazed on the White House grounds. She developed brucellosis, however, and had to be taken away. She may have been taken to Chicago. There is no record of any of the Tafts contracting the disease. * Taft "was fascinated by his ailments and would describe them with minute detail". * Taft was "tall and heavy (though well - proportioned)." He weighed from 300 to 340 pounds most of the time he was in the White House. Before he was President, he once sent a telegram to Secretary of War Elihu Root, "Took long horseback ride today; feeling fine." The Secretary immediately cabled back: "How's the horse?" * In her later years, Taft's mother wore a cap to conceal baldness. * Through his mother, Taft was a seventh cousin twice removed of Richard Nixon.
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