The Devil's Own
September 24, 1906 -
U.S.
President Theodore Roosevelt proclaims Devil's Tower as the nation's first
National Monument. Devil's Tower is a monolithic, igneous rock formation located in
the Black Hills in northeastern Wyoming.
The formation rises dramatically 1,267 feet above the surrounding terrain and
the summit is 5,112 feet above sea level. The name Devil's Tower originated in
1875 during an expedition led by Col. Richard Irving Dodge when his interpreter
misinterpreted the name to mean "Bad God's Tower." Devil's Tower was featured as
an alien landing spot in the 1977 science fiction movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
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The Accidental Cure
September 28, 1928 - Sir Alexander Fleming, a Scottish researcher,
discovered a bacteria-killing mold that later became Courtesy of Microbiologybytes.com  | known as penicillin.
Fleming described the discovery as a fortuitous accident. While researching
Staphylococcus cultures in his laboratory Fleming noticed a petri dish he had
mistakenly left open. The petri dish had been contaminated by a blue-green mold,
which had formed a visible growth. Fleming also noted that there was a halo of
inhibited bacterial growth around the mold. Fleming concluded that the mold was
releasing a substance that was repressing the growth and killing the bacteria.
He grew a pure culture and discovered that it was a Penicillium mold, now known
to be Penicillium notatum. Additional research lead to the manufacture of
Penicillin as an antibiotic. To date Penicillin remains the most most widely
used antibiotic.
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Deadly Pain Relief
September 29, 1982 - Mary Kellerman, a 12-year-old girl living in Elk Grove Village, Illinois,
died after taking a contaminated Tylenol capsule. Kellerman was the first of
seven individuals in the Chicago
area to die in what has become known as the Chicago Tylenol Murders. The murders
involved Extra-Strength Tylenol medicine capsules that had been laced with
potassium cyanide. When police discovered the Tylenol connection between the
deaths they immediately broadcast urgent warnings to the public to not use the
medicine. In addition police drove through Chicago neighborhoods issuing warnings over
loudspeakers. A total of eight contaminated bottles of Tylenol were discovered
by investigators. Because the bottles came from different factories and all of
the deaths occurred in the Chicago
area, police believe the culprit entered various supermarkets and drug stores
over a period of weeks, stole packages of Tylenol from the shelves,
contaminated their contents with solid cyanide compound at another location, and
then replaced the bottles. To date the case remains unsolved and no suspects
have been charged. A $100,000 reward, offered by Tylenol manufacturer Johnson & Johnson for the capture and conviction of the "Tylenol Killer,"
has never been claimed. The incident led to reforms in the packaging of
over-the-counter substances and to federal anti-tampering laws.
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