Virtual Mentor. December 1999, Volume 1, Number 4.

Did You Know?

December Birthdays

Little-known medical trivia.

  • December 24 is the birthday of:
    Michel de Nostradamus, physician and prolific prophet of 20th-century events.
  • People [interns] will work no more than 6 hours at a time, and this will be in staggered shifts. A whole range of goods and services [phlebotomy and intravenous teams] will be available during the nighttime hours.
        David Goodman Croly (1888)
  • By the year 2531, the family will be completely replaced by test-tube conception.
        Aldous Huxley (1931)
  • There will be peace, union and change.
        Nostradamus (1557)
  • December 25 is the birthday of:
    Clara Barton, Civil War nurse and founder of the American Red Cross.
  • Dr Bernadine P. Healy, past director of the National Institutes of Health, is the first physician to head the American Red Cross.
  • More than 4 million Americans donate nearly 6 million units of blood each year. Despite that, regular blood supply shortages occur especially during the holiday season.
  • People in good health who weigh at least 110 pounds can donate a unit of blood as often as 8 weeks. To find out where you can donate blood, call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE.
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