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The first documented use of surgical anesthesia in the United States was in Connecticut in 1844.
As the western states of America were settled, pioneers often had to drink rancid water from ponds and other sources. This often resulted in chronic diarrhea, causing many cases of dehydration and death that could have been avoided if clean water had been available.
More than 150,000 Americans killed by cardiovascular disease are younger than the age of 65 years.
Human stomach acid is strong enough to dissolve small pieces of metal such as razor blades or staples.
When Gabriel Fahrenheit invented the first mercury thermometer, he called "zero degrees" the lowest temperature he was able to attain with a mixture of ice and salt. For the upper point of his scale, he used 96°, which he measured as normal human body temperature (we know it to be 98.6° today because of more accurate thermometers).