Omaha daily bee., 1909-08-22
EXPLODING SOME PALACES
Trio of Doctors Perform a Surgical
Operation on Common
Notions,

Three physicians were standing in a Kan
sas City drug store the other day, when
one, who had been looking at an evening
paper, exclaimed: Great Caesar, here 1t
Is again! l see 1t in the papers at least
twice a month"
What's that?" asked one OF the others.
ITS that popular fallacy about a drown
ing man sinking for the third time. Here
1t says, Just as he was sinking for the
third time he was saved by the timely
arrival, etc, The next. time / see about
this third time business 1t probably will
read, He sank for the third time before
aid could be had and was drowned
Why will people get that fool idea that
sinking for the third time must needs be
fatal to a drowning man? Why, bless you,
! saw a man sink a half dozen times be-
fore he was rescI,d alive. An uncle Of
mine, witnesses sUid, never sank but once
and he was drowh.d. The number Of times
a man sinks mas nothing tn do with his
drowning. He u.uy sim nut cnce and IT,
may so beneath lie water any numoer Of
times. II all depends upon the person who
is drowning, his ph ysicIl condition and how
quickly the lungs fiji with water"
THAT cycle OF three suggested another
OF the doctors, lis carried along by those
who insist that a person dies IN his. third
congestive chill. But this is not true. The
same rule holds good in ningestive chllls
as in the case If 'he drowning man. A
person may die IN The first Tr he may
have a dozen and s,ljl live. rhe rule Of
three does not obtain thore. either,
The first physician, with great disdain,
then told how many ignorant persons would
swear that III we git m Inalary an 1t
runs into typhoid fever an that runs into
newmony it's shore death"
There's that same Old rule OF three
again" he continued almost dngrily. First
and foremost, one disease does not run
into another. There's no such thing as a
collision between diseases, as many be-
lieve, II one has malaria he has that and
that alone, The same thing is true of ty-
phoid fever and pneumonia. Each one is a
separate and distiact trouble and a doctor
with any sense should be able to diagnose
his malady from symptoms which are al
ways present In eaCa and entirely differ
ent. This idea of one disease running into
another originated, | think, with the doctor
who made a mistake In his original dag
nosis and was compelled to nave a COLI
sion between the two diseases later to
square himself
The physicians were not carrying on all
this medical discussion for theii own bene-
fit. Several laymen, among whom were
some believers in the rule Of three" In
drowning and disease, were present and
the lectures were mainly for their educa-
ton. From popular f~allacies in regard 10
medicine the conversation drifted to falla-
cies regarding the law. A lawyer present
was called upon to explain first one thins
and another, when one Of the bystanders
said:
Il made a bet the other day that a per
son had no right TO touch a dead body until
the coroner arrived and l won"
Who decided the question for YOU:
asked the lawyer, smiling.
We'll" said the man sheepishly, 1T wal
a bartender, but he's an educated fellow
and Is a good judge Of law"
You speak Of the Law as II It we're some