The US during this war is an absolute titan of material production. Following its entry into the war, its industrial capacity was larger than that of any other nation and virtually untouchable by aerial bombardment or naval invasion. This has made its affect felt in many areas of the war, such as with fuel, truck, and aircraft production. There are also less famous industries where this was felt, such as with pharmaceuticals and penicillin, which the US was first able to mass produce after years of small scale programs in Britain. What are some other lesser known wartime industries where the US played a crucial, if not standalone, role in production?
Artificial rubber. With Malaya, Singapore and Dutch East Indies fallen the US had difficulty getting natural rubber. So the chemists formulated artificial rubber from petroleum. It is still being used today. Sidenote, one experiment failed and ended up with some rubber with no structural strength at all. But the engineers squeezed and played with it. It was later packaged and sold as modeling clay.
My uncle cut his finger as a child just after the war in the Isle of man. He then developed blood poisoning and was taken to hospital where my grandparents were told to prepare for his funeral. He is still with us today oweing to a new wonder drug.
@@WorldWarTwo academics have noted a distinct change in the plot lines of plays and novels as the sudden death of young people(previously one of an authors favourite devices)suddenly became far less plausible.
@@andrewpease3688 Unlike my grandparents’ generation, people my age (I was born in 1958) didn’t know anybody who died of infectious diseases- until the AIDS pandemic of the 1980s. COVID-19 is now writing Chapter Two of that story. But our relative freedom from deadly infections (with those two exceptions) is due on one hand to penicillin and all the antibiotics that followed it, and on the other hand to mass immunization campaigns.
When I was working as an medicinal chemistry intern at Pfizer, I learned learned that back in WW2, Pfizer was having difficulty with the low penicillin yield. It publicly asked people to bring in samples of mold. A woman brought in a moldy cantaloupe from the Peoria market one day and its mold had a different strain of penicillium that made like 100 times more penicillin than the original British strain. That made mass production possible. My boss used it to coach me that sometimes science is not just about how smart you are or how much resources you invest, but "serendipity" as he put it can be just as big of a factor.
My father in law was saved by penicillin in 1944. He was fighting in France wounded and about to have his leg cut off which he refused. The military doctor offered penicillin which was used. He lived until 99years old. He told me this story many times.
I absolutely adore the new backdrop and with it sparty looks like a time travelling librarian like that. A I love you guys and I've been watching since the great war,best wishes and thoughts to the entirety of the time ghost team. All HAIL Sparty's gorgeous mustashe
Hey there! Thank you for your appreciation, it really means the world to us! We're happy our content has been a source of entertainment to you for so long, you're amazing for sticking with us!
My father was born in 1926. When he was young, he lost a favourite cousin to a burst appendix. My father also had an appendix problem a few years after this. The doctor told his very worried parents that this could have been a major problem before, but now they have the wonder cure, sulpha drugs! This will take care of him in a jiffy. My father, however, turned out to be one of the people with major allergic reaction to sulpha drugs. It was touch and go for about a month as to whether he would live or die, but in the end he survived. One side effect to this was that we, his four children, learned to *NEVER* say that we had a stomach ache around him -- appendix problems still scared him down to the bones.
I like when Spartacus does more then just WaH. Its a great series but it always makes him seem more serious/sad to see then Indy. Seeing him do more stuff like this I think helps
@@kurtissmo yeah, they definitely compliment each other, Indy being more energetic and witty goes well with the action and exciting parts of war while Spartacus is more calm and serious brings us back down to the tragedy that the war brought
Many years ago, my job included a small answering service. (No answering machines back then .) An older couple were clients; I would occasionally take a message ftom their son at home. A few years older than I, he spoke like a polite 4 year old. I heard his story. He was badly burned when very young and ran a high fever. Penicillin was known but still rare. They were told that, if Churchill and FDR had both been infected, an impossible choice would be needed. There was nothing for a kid in Texss. He survived with permanent brain damage.
Penicillin was available in very limited quantities to British troops in Italy in 1944. A badly wounded major credited his own survival to being treated with it, but he grimly added, "other ranks died". The penicillin was only available to officers.
I'm a biochemist who did my undergraduate research on the enzymes bacteria use to gain antibacterial resistance to penicillin like drugs (molecules that have a beta-lactam ring). It's frightening how quickly bacteria can become resistant. We have many different penicillins, cephalosporins, carbapenems, monobactams, and other beta-lactam drugs, but we can barely keep up with the rate that bacteria evolve resistance to them.
1. They had two groups of usage for penicillin, the war-wounded and the soldiers with venereal disease. They withheld the penicillin from the wounded and gave it to the venereal-infected soldiers because these soldiers could be returned to service more quickly. 2. A woman who worked at the penicillin factory found some moldy grapefruit in her refrigerator and took a sample to see if it could be grown as a source. The factory found that this was the best source of penicillin because it gave a very, very high yield.
@Bobb Grimley I wouldn't exactly consider sharing a personal anecdote related to the topic of the video in the comment section to be a sign of narcissism. Cool it down with those kinds of accusations.
In 1943 my great grandfather got his local doctor drunk to pass the eye test so he could join the Navy. He was from San Angelo Texas and never experienced a true northern winter. In early 1944 he caught pneumonia. They gave him a experimental drug to see if it could help. With shots of penicillin he made a full recovery.
My father (also a doctor) recalls recycling penicillin from the urine of patients in the "Rapid Treatment Center for Syphillis. His early work was in public health (including the Public Health Service during the war.)
Something like 9/10 US soldiers hit in battle ended up living. They made excellent use of field medical stations and hospitals armed not just with antibiotics but also huge stores of donated blood for transfusions which as I understand it was absolutely decisive in keeping so many wounded alive.
My uncle had a ruptured appendix after WWII and got penicillin but took six weeks in the hospital to recover. Without it he most certainly would have died.
It's so important to remember the contribution some "wartime" things gave to civilian wellbeing post war. Despite the horrible side-effects that both have both Penicillins and Sulphonamadies are still saving lives today: sometimes in new and unexpected ways (even if the same side-effects are present).
As a child during WW2 in the UK my Father was one of earliest (non-military) recipients of penicillin for an infection he caught in a swimming pool (he scratched his leg). He was perhaps fortunate that his grandfather was working on 'Technology transfer' between the US and the UK, and the family was given the opportunity to 'test' the treatment as a portion of his leg had already had to be removed ('flesh eating bacteria'?? - not sure, I don't have the records). However the scar on his leg remained through out his life, and he and my Grandmother were always grateful that he 'had the opportunity' to receive it. As I read the reports of Danish soldiers being sent back to German military hospitals for seemingly trivial wounds to their hands or legs for months on end, I come to the conclusion that anything that returned soldiers to 'normal health' more quickly was indeed instrumental in impacting the available fighting strength. It is well documented that those in the Danish population ( a very small percentage) who chose to side with the Nazis and who were subsequently wounded on the Eastern front, spent months in recuperation for even seemingly minor wounds, and most were returned to civilian life months later. To have a fighting force so diminished by minor wounds (and the huge cost of resources to care for them) can only have had a negative impact on the German Army's ability to conduct warfare.
That one Finnish soldier who ate a whole tube of Pervitin and then ran through the snow for several days straight to escape the Soviets certainly must have appreciated it.
Glad that Sparty gets to deliver a presentation (special or regular) on an uplifting, life-saving application in this World War 2. It pains me that what feels like every video that I see is Sparty telling us about crimes against humanity. (Don’t seem to find anyone commenting on this so I start a new thread 😎) Yes that song about war was good for absolutely nothing- well, not quite. Alas innovation is born out of necessity, especially a world war worst than the last. Thank you Sparty, Indy and the whole Army! Never Forget! 🙏🏼
For all it's horrors war advances technology. The concept of the "golden hour" dates from Korea and was further amplified by Vietnam. Radar, penicillin of course, computers
Quinine played played a big part as well. The failure by the Japanese to fully exploit their stranglehold on the world's supply of cinchona tree bark led to tens of thousands of their troops dying from malaria while an equal number of GIs died from malaria due to insufficient stocks.
My grandfather who was a LCPL in Italy was treated with something that he later suspected was an early dose of Penicillin. Without these developments there's a possibility I wouldn't be here today.
Hmm this kind of reminds me of the anti-malarial drugs that will be a big boost and advantage to the Allies during the fight in jungle warfare against the Japanese (who by contrast did not often have it as much as the Allies) as well...
But this discovery has saved incalculable numbers of our fellows from scepticeamia infection to the clichéd prick on the finger, a glimpse at the world's population will give you a clue to how remarkable this invention truly was*
@@slcpunk2740 It was interesting that during the war, all natural sources of quinine was under the control of the Axis Powers, so the Allies were forced to research into alternate drugs to treat malaria. Despite controlling all natural sources of quinine, the Japanese did not really bother to develop an anti-malarial drug for their troops. Nevertheless, malaria often took more casualties amongst the troops compared to the actual fighting in the jungle itself.
Japanese sat on world supply in East-Indies, yet were slow at utilizing it. Full synthesis of quinine was achieved durin WW2, but even now it still isn't done on large scale. Maybe that is because of reduced demand.
One ofthe small personal tragedies of WW II was the death of Arline Feynman, her husband Richard's high school sweetheart and beloved wife, from tuberculosis in June 1945. In a few more months, penicillin could have saved her life.
I always found it interesting that Florey was one of two notable Adelaide born scientists that made contributions during the war that lead to historical changes. One being Howard Florey's work with penicillin and the other Sir Mark Oliphant's work with microwave radar and in the Manhattan Project. One became a Baron of Adelaide (Aus) and Marston (UK) and the other Governor of SA.
A couple years ago I met a WW2 veteran who had gotten a severe case of trench foot in the Vosges in late 1944. The trench foot meant he missed the Battle of the Bulge by a few weeks and the Penicillin saved not just feet, but all of his toes too - even though most of them had turned black.
Hard to believe that one of the greatest discoveries in medical history was the result of carelessness. A discovery that has saved countless lives since, fascinating. Keep up the good work.
Speaking as someone who would otherwise be dead, without the use of penicillin, I found this fascinating and uplifting. (edit to add: nothing to do with WW2, jus plain old appendicitis.)
I am here because of penicillin. My mum (born 1931) had a bad ear from a toddler and when she was a teenager she suffered a major infection in that same ear. She was gravely ill and had that infection occurred about a year or two earlier, she likely would not have made it.
Sparty, you are looking particularly dashing in this episode. The jacket, tie, pocket square, all of it, are giving me some fashion goals to shoot for. Even your 'stache seems particularly ebullient today. Cheers, and thanks for the knowledge.
We seriously have to rethink our approach to antibiotics because antimicrobal resistance is projected to kill ~10 million people a year by 2050 (it's around ~700k as of now). For all intents and purposes we will return to the pre-antibiotic era and it's a scary thought.
@@crazy031089 Figuring out germ theory and having better field sanitation practices (i.e. don't throw garbage next to your tent) probably saved a lot of those lives even before sulfa.
I worked at the Howard Florey institute for a time. They were testing apomorphine, first they were getting mice addicted to morphine and then treating them with apomorphine. The study was disrupted when somebody made off with the 8 ounce jar of morphine that they were using. Thereafter much smaller amounts were used.
I have always very much enjoyed all of the Time Ghost videos, Indy is an excellently skilled narrator and orator. I do however particularly enjoy the episodes with Spartacus at the desk. 🤘🏼
With Russia they didn't get enough Penicillin or sulfa so they used/fed Garlic which while not as successful or effective did help. I put that and onions in my food quite often and I haven't gotten sick in like over 2 or 3 years. Maybe occasional sniffles but that's it
Gramicidin-S or Gramicidin-Soviet is an antibiotic that is effective against some gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria as well as some fungi. Gramicidin-S was discovered by Russian microbiologist Georgyi Frantsevitch Gause and his wife Maria Brazhnikova in 1942. Within the year Gramicidin-S was being used in Soviet military hospitals to treat infection. And one of the oldest Russian antibiotics which has been used since sometime around 1300's is a clear liquid with 40% alcohol.
Hey, guys, now that the US forces are just about to enter into the western theater en masse in Operation Torch and some dodgy things are gonna start happening in the brothels of Casablanca and other colonial cities it would be wonderful if you talked about the big issue that venereal diseases became for the involved armies. I'm not that well versed with the in idence of VD on the eastern front but I'm sure it must have been rampant as well.
I think it is because it is about making people live, instead of die. As important as the regular episodes are, it has become something I have to psychologically work myself up to watch because I know it will be so depressing.
The Soviets also developed their own penicillin production during WW2. The microbiologist Zinaida Yermolyeva, head of the Department of Microbial Biochemistry of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, led the project, and Soviet-made penicillin first made it to field hospitals in early 1943. She was also researching on treatment measures against cholera, and the results of her research were seen as vital on reducing the spread of cholera during WW2. She received the Stalin Prize in 1943 and two Orders of Lenin for her archievements.
While most assume that penicillin largely benefited the wounded, it benefited another larger group of soldiers. Sexually transmitted infections(STI). I was born In early 1945 and caught diphtheria at 2 days old.I was committed to an isolation hospital as penicillin was only given to soldiers with STI. They were more important than the mere babies. Fortunately my father was Canadian Army and I was given every possible medical treatment when we arrived in Canada in 1945. I am now 76, I go to the gym every day and as fit as a fidle, although I my weakness can be breathing difficulties under stress.
Great authors understand more than one disease. Mario Puzo most known for his GodFather novel of mobsters used access to penicillin as the pivotal motive for his masterful novel "The Dark Arena". In Berlin post WWII hostilities penicillin was only available legally to Americans or their dependents. There was a black market for the drug. I am not going to write out the entire story but when people end up with blackmarket drugs of any kind that do not work, more than a refund is demanded sometimes.
My god… I love this channel so much!!! Thanks to spart, Indy, and the staff. The attention to detail, recognizing all the factors of the war is what makes this the BEST historical series ever. It is so fascinating to me to see love of history demonstrated so perfectly. Tldr: this channel is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I had a resistant skin infection five years ago. After several courses of different antibiotics I got a cocktail of 4 antibiotics including sulpha. Apparently some bacteria have forgotten their sulpha resistance.
My father was in the US Navy stationed on the USA California transferring to the USA Arizona when his dad died of sepsis in September 1941. Dad went home to Sandusky Ohio and was returning to Pearl Harbor on December 7, transiting in Bremerton Washington. If penicillin was available at that time, he would have been on the Arizona when it was attacked.
Great video Sparty! I love the insight into the research war going on behind the scenes scientists really were fighting along with their countries to get an edge.
The resistance to penicillin was first reported by 1948 prompting cries for restraint of use lest we create antibiotic-resistant strains. Those calls went unheeded and, as predicted, the resistant strains have rendered penicillin a 3rd-class drug that is prescribed less each year with a concomitant increase in penicillin-resistant infections.
I hope you guy will create country specials, particularly on the less focused countries during WW2 such as the minor Axis powers, Czechoslovakia, Mongolia, the Japanese puppet states, Mexico and Canada
I live down the road from Sir Alexander Flemings country home in Barton Mills Suffolk East Anglia, its received a plaque and is memorialised for posterity *
@@QUISLINGG Oh I get you now, OK so the plaque I'm referring to is not a Blue plaque it's a circular metallic brush finished object which is mounted on one of his front gate posts. 🙏
Let me get this straight. An Australian, a British and a German researcher working together, along with the help of the American Department of Agriculture, were responsible for the development of penicillin. Just goes to show what can happen when people work together instead of butting heads. It would be nice if our various governments could learn this lesson.
so fun fact my great-aunt Regina dies at 4 years old in 1944 becasue she had gotten a minor infecting and was treated with a sulfa drug and had a major allergic reaction. my great-great uncle Thomas who has serving in the army as a sergeant in France at the time wrote a letter to the hospital it self demanding to understand why they didn't use penicillin. it was a known fact of the families reaction to sulfa drugs.
The other wonder drug (Amphetamine) sure made a good shot at trying to win it. The Germans had so many troops on it during Offensives and Defensive Operations to keep them alert and awake during Soviet Attacks, that it was almost as important as ammunition or new tanks. Many Medical Specialists of that era theorize that it led to premature deaths among many German Soldiers due to it's after affects from being overused. It may have been the reason for the higher than average deaths among German Soldiers in POW Camps after the War. Even the American Military used drugs to keep their troops and pilots functioning during long operations.
I'm wondering wether the drug could have a moral boost effect. Like "if i get wounded i will survive with a much higher possibility. Lets go and get them (krauts)...?
It has been said that florey saved more human lives than any other Australian. He went on to become the Provost of The Queen's College in Oxford. As far as resistance to penicillin is concerned it was first identified as early as 1940 and the more we use it the worse that will get. Please do not insist on penicillin or any other antibiotic for simple coughs and colds.
Here in Central Illinois, we're rather proud of the Ag lab's contribution to penicillin development, so I'm glad you mentioned it. But, Sparticus, it's Peoria (Pee-ORIA).
Hey Spartacus I just want to make sure you're alright. At 4:37 your right hand shakes a little bit. That shaking is sometimes a sign of neuroglial disorders. I'd rather you know that now then figure that out too late in the future. Love from Chicago!
A bit of a jump, could just be low blood sugar, being on a set can be quite exhausting, especially if they're filming in batches, that being said its good to make sure he's okay. Edit: I stand corrected
Thank you for the concern. It is a neurological disorder, but not one that will kill me. I have a congenital disorder called tremor familiaris. It amplifies the natural (usually too small to notice) shaking everyone has. It effects either the head or the hands or both. I’m fortunate to only have it in my hands. Unfortunately the shaking gets worse with the years. It’s rather distracting to people so I try to keep my hands on the desk or held together so that it doesn’t show so much. Here I forgot myself for a moment.
Germans would never have discovered penicillin first. Can you imagine a German scientist having mess all around his lab, then carelessly going for two weeks vacation?
It would be superb to sea detailed timeline of these events. Some events & the reasons for them are not clear here. My father worked for one of the Danish team so I actually met him. That was an amazing story in itself.
The French called Syphilis 'the Italian disease'. The Italians called it 'the French disease'. GI's had several names for all the STD's, but a reported case got you confined to Quarters for 30 days if you weren't on the Front Line.
Alexander Fleming came from Helensburgh..A small town west of Glasgow on the north side of the river Clyde..I was born and brought up in Greenock.directly opposite on the south side of the Clyde.
At the age of seven my father was struck in the eye by a throwing dart in 1944. He developed a staph infection of the orbit of the eye. Universally fatal at the time. He was sent to the veterans hospital in Chicago and received penicillin that was extracted from the urine of veterans. It worked.
During those days penicillin had problem of going through body real fast and thus it had to be extracted from excretions and reused. Penicillin outside your body does not treat disease. It took few years to develop penicillin that lasted longer in body.
Penicillin was virtually unobtainable to civilian medicine during the War as all supplies were headed straight to the military. I knew of a few people that died during the war that most likely could have been saved had Penicillin been available to them. Also, years after the War there was evidence presented that wounded soldiers liberally treated with sulfa drugs developed cancers of varying types 30-40 years after the fact. Still, those drugs did work and continue to work today.
The US during this war is an absolute titan of material production. Following its entry into the war, its industrial capacity was larger than that of any other nation and virtually untouchable by aerial bombardment or naval invasion. This has made its affect felt in many areas of the war, such as with fuel, truck, and aircraft production. There are also less famous industries where this was felt, such as with pharmaceuticals and penicillin, which the US was first able to mass produce after years of small scale programs in Britain.
What are some other lesser known wartime industries where the US played a crucial, if not standalone, role in production?
Artificial rubber. With Malaya, Singapore and Dutch East Indies fallen the US had difficulty getting natural rubber. So the chemists formulated artificial rubber from petroleum. It is still being used today.
Sidenote, one experiment failed and ended up with some rubber with no structural strength at all. But the engineers squeezed and played with it. It was later packaged and sold as modeling clay.
Another ones would be the huge use of movies as a propaganda tool, and also the nuclear weapons industry I think
@@yatsumleung8618 I thought "silly Putty" was the result of that failed experiment
Boots. Just... uniform boots.
I'm guessing the US also supplied the other allies with many food items.
My uncle cut his finger as a child just after the war in the Isle of man. He then developed blood poisoning and was taken to hospital where my grandparents were told to prepare for his funeral. He is still with us today oweing to a new wonder drug.
Thank you for sharing, we're glad to hear that he survived, it's amazing how much different things can be in such a small amount of time.
@@WorldWarTwo academics have noted a distinct change in the plot lines of plays and novels as the sudden death of young people(previously one of an authors favourite devices)suddenly became far less plausible.
@@andrewpease3688 Unlike my grandparents’ generation, people my age (I was born in 1958) didn’t know anybody who died of infectious diseases- until the AIDS pandemic of the 1980s. COVID-19 is now writing Chapter Two of that story.
But our relative freedom from deadly infections (with those two exceptions) is due on one hand to penicillin and all the antibiotics that followed it, and on the other hand to mass immunization campaigns.
@Bobb Grimley Crystal methamphetamine is what won the War. Or as the Pilots called it "PEP PILLS"....They would fly for 36-48 hours....
When I was working as an medicinal chemistry intern at Pfizer, I learned learned that back in WW2, Pfizer was having difficulty with the low penicillin yield. It publicly asked people to bring in samples of mold. A woman brought in a moldy cantaloupe from the Peoria market one day and its mold had a different strain of penicillium that made like 100 times more penicillin than the original British strain. That made mass production possible. My boss used it to coach me that sometimes science is not just about how smart you are or how much resources you invest, but "serendipity" as he put it can be just as big of a factor.
@Xiphoid Process Very interesting! Thanks for sharing that with us.
My father in law was saved by penicillin in 1944. He was fighting in France wounded and about to have his leg cut off which he refused. The military doctor offered penicillin which was used. He lived until 99years old. He told me this story many times.
I absolutely adore the new backdrop and with it sparty looks like a time travelling librarian like that. A I love you guys and I've been watching since the great war,best wishes and thoughts to the entirety of the time ghost team. All HAIL Sparty's gorgeous mustashe
Hey there! Thank you for your appreciation, it really means the world to us! We're happy our content has been a source of entertainment to you for so long, you're amazing for sticking with us!
The Gilded Age has got nothing on Sparty's 'stache.
@@krisfrederick5001 just off coast of Japan you can see Godzilla
Extremely educational video. Thank you. RS. Canada
My father was born in 1926. When he was young, he lost a favourite cousin to a burst appendix. My father also had an appendix problem a few years after this. The doctor told his very worried parents that this could have been a major problem before, but now they have the wonder cure, sulpha drugs! This will take care of him in a jiffy. My father, however, turned out to be one of the people with major allergic reaction to sulpha drugs. It was touch and go for about a month as to whether he would live or die, but in the end he survived. One side effect to this was that we, his four children, learned to *NEVER* say that we had a stomach ache around him -- appendix problems still scared him down to the bones.
I like when Spartacus does more then just WaH. Its a great series but it always makes him seem more serious/sad to see then Indy. Seeing him do more stuff like this I think helps
I really like seeing Spartacus on screen, but I'm not always ready for a war against humanity episode so I agree. This one was very cool.
@@kurtissmo yeah, they definitely compliment each other, Indy being more energetic and witty goes well with the action and exciting parts of war while Spartacus is more calm and serious brings us back down to the tragedy that the war brought
Many years ago, my job included a small answering service. (No answering machines back then .) An older couple were clients; I would occasionally take a message ftom their son at home. A few years older than I, he spoke like a polite 4 year old.
I heard his story. He was badly burned when very young and ran a high fever. Penicillin was known but still rare. They were told that, if Churchill and FDR had both been infected, an impossible choice would be needed. There was nothing for a kid in Texss.
He survived with permanent brain damage.
Penicillin was available in very limited quantities to British troops in Italy in 1944. A badly wounded major credited his own survival to being treated with it, but he grimly added, "other ranks died". The penicillin was only available to officers.
I'm a biochemist who did my undergraduate research on the enzymes bacteria use to gain antibacterial resistance to penicillin like drugs (molecules that have a beta-lactam ring). It's frightening how quickly bacteria can become resistant. We have many different penicillins, cephalosporins, carbapenems, monobactams, and other beta-lactam drugs, but we can barely keep up with the rate that bacteria evolve resistance to them.
1. They had two groups of usage for penicillin, the war-wounded and the soldiers with venereal disease. They withheld the penicillin from the wounded and gave it to the venereal-infected soldiers because these soldiers could be returned to service more quickly.
2. A woman who worked at the penicillin factory found some moldy grapefruit in her refrigerator and took a sample to see if it could be grown as a source. The factory found that this was the best source of penicillin because it gave a very, very high yield.
It was cantaloupe.
Penicillin really is a miracle drug. Amoxicillin just saved my cat's life or, at the very least, his right front leg.
When I was growing up, my family had a cat that lost her front right leg.
@@jos_meid They do fine without a leg because of their amazing balance, but it would have been sad and expensive.
@@Valdagast Yeah, she lived like 15 years after losing her leg.
My brother's friend accidentally killed her parrot with aspirin
@Bobb Grimley I wouldn't exactly consider sharing a personal anecdote related to the topic of the video in the comment section to be a sign of narcissism. Cool it down with those kinds of accusations.
In 1943 my great grandfather got his local doctor drunk to pass the eye test so he could join the Navy. He was from San Angelo Texas and never experienced a true northern winter. In early 1944 he caught pneumonia. They gave him a experimental drug to see if it could help. With shots of penicillin he made a full recovery.
My father (also a doctor) recalls recycling penicillin from the urine of patients in the "Rapid Treatment Center for Syphillis. His early work was in public health (including the Public Health Service during the war.)
Something like 9/10 US soldiers hit in battle ended up living. They made excellent use of field medical stations and hospitals armed not just with antibiotics but also huge stores of donated blood for transfusions which as I understand it was absolutely decisive in keeping so many wounded alive.
It may have already been noted, but Fleming, Florey etc. never took a dime for their work above their regular salaries.
I'm still chuckling about the scientists smearing it on their coats
When it came time to extract the penicillin from their coats, they had to figure out which stains were mold and which were mustard from their lunch.
"You said it was on your coat but what's all this fungus in your shoes?"
"Go wash your hands."
My uncle had a ruptured appendix after WWII and got penicillin but took six weeks in the hospital to recover. Without it he most certainly would have died.
It's so important to remember the contribution some "wartime" things gave to civilian wellbeing post war. Despite the horrible side-effects that both have both Penicillins and Sulphonamadies are still saving lives today: sometimes in new and unexpected ways (even if the same side-effects are present).
As a child during WW2 in the UK my Father was one of earliest (non-military) recipients of penicillin for an infection he caught in a swimming pool (he scratched his leg). He was perhaps fortunate that his grandfather was working on 'Technology transfer' between the US and the UK, and the family was given the opportunity to 'test' the treatment as a portion of his leg had already had to be removed ('flesh eating bacteria'?? - not sure, I don't have the records). However the scar on his leg remained through out his life, and he and my Grandmother were always grateful that he 'had the opportunity' to receive it. As I read the reports of Danish soldiers being sent back to German military hospitals for seemingly trivial wounds to their hands or legs for months on end, I come to the conclusion that anything that returned soldiers to 'normal health' more quickly was indeed instrumental in impacting the available fighting strength. It is well documented that those in the Danish population ( a very small percentage) who chose to side with the Nazis and who were subsequently wounded on the Eastern front, spent months in recuperation for even seemingly minor wounds, and most were returned to civilian life months later. To have a fighting force so diminished by minor wounds (and the huge cost of resources to care for them) can only have had a negative impact on the German Army's ability to conduct warfare.
Sparty: "But is this really the drug that will win the war?"
Meth: :(
Sad Panzerschokolade noises.
you're right, this will have to be in the drugs playlist
@@robertalaverdov8147 *Laughs in Russian potato vodka*
That one Finnish soldier who ate a whole tube of Pervitin and then ran through the snow for several days straight to escape the Soviets certainly must have appreciated it.
"Hey krauts! We've got this new wonderdrug that saves millions of lives what do you have?"
Germans: meth
I could have gone my whole life without ever hearing the phrase "mold juice".
@@FutureBoyWonder I is a bit dramatic to point that out
Yum.
@@BleedingUranium mold excrement?
Face it, if you are drinking beer, wine, or spirits then you are drinking yeast pee.
@@kirbyculp3449 Kelner another pitcher of Yeast piss!
Glad that Sparty gets to deliver a presentation (special or regular) on an uplifting, life-saving application in this World War 2. It pains me that what feels like every video that I see is Sparty telling us about crimes against humanity.
(Don’t seem to find anyone commenting on this so I start a new thread 😎)
Yes that song about war was good for absolutely nothing- well, not quite. Alas innovation is born out of necessity, especially a world war worst than the last.
Thank you Sparty, Indy and the whole Army! Never Forget! 🙏🏼
Thank you for your support!!
For all it's horrors war advances technology. The concept of the "golden hour" dates from Korea and was further amplified by Vietnam. Radar, penicillin of course, computers
5:04 - "Gonna need a bigger boat" Thanks Chief Brody
That line is supposed to have been improvised.
Quinine played played a big part as well. The failure by the Japanese to fully exploit their stranglehold on the world's supply of cinchona tree bark led to tens of thousands of their troops dying from malaria while an equal number of GIs died from malaria due to insufficient stocks.
My grandfather who was a LCPL in Italy was treated with something that he later suspected was an early dose of Penicillin. Without these developments there's a possibility I wouldn't be here today.
Hmm this kind of reminds me of the anti-malarial drugs that will be a big boost and advantage to the Allies during the fight in jungle warfare against the Japanese (who by contrast did not often have it as much as the Allies) as well...
Quinine
But this discovery has saved incalculable numbers of our fellows from scepticeamia infection to the clichéd prick on the finger, a glimpse at the world's population will give you a clue to how remarkable this invention truly was*
@@slcpunk2740 It was interesting that during the war, all natural sources of quinine was under the control of the Axis Powers, so the Allies were forced to research into alternate drugs to treat malaria. Despite controlling all natural sources of quinine, the Japanese did not really bother to develop an anti-malarial drug for their troops. Nevertheless, malaria often took more casualties amongst the troops compared to the actual fighting in the jungle itself.
Japanese sat on world supply in East-Indies, yet were slow at utilizing it. Full synthesis of quinine was achieved durin WW2, but even now it still isn't done on large scale. Maybe that is because of reduced demand.
@@vksasdgaming9472 Sure they were...
One ofthe small personal tragedies of WW II was the death of Arline Feynman, her husband Richard's high school sweetheart and beloved wife, from tuberculosis in June 1945. In a few more months, penicillin could have saved her life.
I always found it interesting that Florey was one of two notable Adelaide born scientists that made contributions during the war that lead to historical changes. One being Howard Florey's work with penicillin and the other Sir Mark Oliphant's work with microwave radar and in the Manhattan Project. One became a Baron of Adelaide (Aus) and Marston (UK) and the other Governor of SA.
A year ago any mention of "Pfizer" would not have meant much to me.
THAT WORD MAKES ME HARD!
Then you weren't paying attention. Pharma does some evil stuff, dude.
@@armyofninjas9055 They also save uncountable numbers of lives, dude.
A year ago any mention of "Pfizer" would likely have been in reference to erection pills.
Viagra: the pfizer riser
A couple years ago I met a WW2 veteran who had gotten a severe case of trench foot in the Vosges in late 1944. The trench foot meant he missed the Battle of the Bulge by a few weeks and the Penicillin saved not just feet, but all of his toes too - even though most of them had turned black.
Hard to believe that one of the greatest discoveries in medical history was the result of carelessness.
A discovery that has saved countless lives since, fascinating.
Keep up the good work.
Speaking as someone who would otherwise be dead, without the use of penicillin, I found this fascinating and uplifting. (edit to add: nothing to do with WW2, jus plain old appendicitis.)
if that is the case maybe you got lucky too. As penicillin is not much effective against appendicitis germs
Thanks! Glad you liked the video.
I owe my life to Fleming and Florey and the others. As a child, I suffered frequently with strep throat.
I'M ALLERGIC TO PENICILLIN, SO I AM NATURALLY YOUR MORTAL ENEMY. LONG LIVE NON-PENICILLIN ANTIBIOTICS.
@@PutinHasGiantLadyBoobies The war has begun.
@@PutinHasGiantLadyBoobies BACTERIAS WILL WIN THE WAR EVENTUALLY!
I am here because of penicillin. My mum (born 1931) had a bad ear from a toddler and when she was a teenager she suffered a major infection in that same ear. She was gravely ill and had that infection occurred about a year or two earlier, she likely would not have made it.
The map shown at roughly 9:00 was very interesting in that it shows the primary highways prior to the development of the interstate highway system.
Are you sure that it's not the railway network?
Sparty, you are looking particularly dashing in this episode. The jacket, tie, pocket square, all of it, are giving me some fashion goals to shoot for. Even your 'stache seems particularly ebullient today. Cheers, and thanks for the knowledge.
Why thank you, much flattered by your compliments 😊
I can't imagine fighting in wars before these things existed.
Have you ever gotten sick? That’s all you need to imagine.
We seriously have to rethink our approach to antibiotics because antimicrobal resistance is projected to kill ~10 million people a year by 2050 (it's around ~700k as of now). For all intents and purposes we will return to the pre-antibiotic era and it's a scary thought.
AFAIK in all the wars before 1900 more soldiers died from non combat stuff than from the enemy
@@DrRipp667 hopefully by then we'll be able to treat infections with bacteriophages
@@crazy031089 Figuring out germ theory and having better field sanitation practices (i.e. don't throw garbage next to your tent) probably saved a lot of those lives even before sulfa.
I worked at the Howard Florey institute for a time. They were testing apomorphine, first they were getting mice addicted to morphine and then treating them with apomorphine. The study was disrupted when somebody made off with the 8 ounce jar of morphine that they were using. Thereafter much smaller amounts were used.
I have always very much enjoyed all of the Time Ghost videos, Indy is an excellently skilled narrator and orator.
I do however particularly enjoy the episodes with Spartacus at the desk.
🤘🏼
Thank you!
Our boi Sparty is the calm and soothing voice u listen in a cold day, near a warm cozy fire with hot cocoa.
I remember learning about this is elementary school. Penicillin was called “the miracle that flew through the window”.
With Russia they didn't get enough Penicillin or sulfa so they used/fed Garlic which while not as successful or effective did help. I put that and onions in my food quite often and I haven't gotten sick in like over 2 or 3 years. Maybe occasional sniffles but that's it
Gramicidin-S or Gramicidin-Soviet is an antibiotic that is effective against some gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria as well as some fungi.
Gramicidin-S was discovered by Russian microbiologist Georgyi Frantsevitch Gause and his wife Maria Brazhnikova in 1942. Within the year Gramicidin-S was being used in Soviet military hospitals to treat infection.
And one of the oldest Russian antibiotics which has been used since sometime around 1300's is a clear liquid with 40% alcohol.
Love these unique specials you guys do on stuff that usually only gets a footnote
Hey, guys, now that the US forces are just about to enter into the western theater en masse in Operation Torch and some dodgy things are gonna start happening in the brothels of Casablanca and other colonial cities it would be wonderful if you talked about the big issue that venereal diseases became for the involved armies.
I'm not that well versed with the in idence of VD on the eastern front but I'm sure it must have been rampant as well.
This tie is simple yet effective. A bit like Penicilin really. 3/5
Thank you!
@@spartacus-olsson Most welcome Spartacus
did you mention Mary Hunt and her cantaloupe? It gave Penicillin chrysogeum which produces much more than Penicillin Notatum (Fleming's variant)
Thank you again, and your presentation is so emotional and so to the point. Great job.
This channel never ceases to amaze and intrigue me. Its always great to see a new episode in my feed. Thanks all at TGH
I enjoy the whole WAH series, but something about this particular one feels especially interesting. Keep up the good work team
I think it is because it is about making people live, instead of die. As important as the regular episodes are, it has become something I have to psychologically work myself up to watch because I know it will be so depressing.
Thank you! Glad you liked it!
The Soviets also developed their own penicillin production during WW2. The microbiologist Zinaida Yermolyeva, head of the Department of Microbial Biochemistry of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, led the project, and Soviet-made penicillin first made it to field hospitals in early 1943. She was also researching on treatment measures against cholera, and the results of her research were seen as vital on reducing the spread of cholera during WW2. She received the Stalin Prize in 1943 and two Orders of Lenin for her archievements.
While most assume that penicillin largely benefited the wounded, it benefited another larger group of soldiers. Sexually transmitted infections(STI). I was born In early 1945 and caught diphtheria at 2 days old.I was committed to an isolation hospital as penicillin was only given to soldiers with STI. They were more important than the mere babies. Fortunately my father was Canadian Army and I was given every possible medical treatment when we arrived in Canada in 1945. I am now 76, I go to the gym every day and as fit as a fidle, although I my weakness can be breathing difficulties under stress.
Great authors understand more than one disease. Mario Puzo most known for his GodFather novel of mobsters used access to penicillin as the pivotal motive for his masterful novel "The Dark Arena". In Berlin post WWII hostilities penicillin was only available legally to Americans or their dependents. There was a black market for the drug. I am not going to write out the entire story but when people end up with blackmarket drugs of any kind that do not work, more than a refund is demanded sometimes.
Sparty's moustache is looking particularly luxuriant in this episode !
My god… I love this channel so much!!! Thanks to spart, Indy, and the staff. The attention to detail, recognizing all the factors of the war is what makes this the BEST historical series ever. It is so fascinating to me to see love of history demonstrated so perfectly.
Tldr: this channel is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's one of history's cliffhangers that this drug was developed in Orwell's home country but took too long in development to save his life.
I had a resistant skin infection five years ago. After several courses of different antibiotics I got a cocktail of 4 antibiotics including sulpha. Apparently some bacteria have forgotten their sulpha resistance.
My father was in the US Navy stationed on the USA California transferring to the USA Arizona when his dad died of sepsis in September 1941. Dad went home to Sandusky Ohio and was returning to Pearl Harbor on December 7, transiting in Bremerton Washington. If penicillin was available at that time, he would have been on the Arizona when it was attacked.
Great video Sparty! I love the insight into the research war going on behind the scenes scientists really were fighting along with their countries to get an edge.
The resistance to penicillin was first reported by 1948 prompting cries for restraint of use lest we create antibiotic-resistant strains. Those calls went unheeded and, as predicted, the resistant strains have rendered penicillin a 3rd-class drug that is prescribed less each year with a concomitant increase in penicillin-resistant infections.
I hope you guy will create country specials, particularly on the less focused countries during WW2 such as the minor Axis powers, Czechoslovakia, Mongolia, the Japanese puppet states, Mexico and Canada
@@BleedingUranium what
I live down the road from Sir Alexander Flemings country home in Barton Mills Suffolk East Anglia, its received a plaque and is memorialised for posterity *
Blue plaque having once lived person name
@@QUISLINGG I can't understand your post?
@@DaveSCameron Blue plaque see Wikipedia
@@QUISLINGG Oh I get you now, OK so the plaque I'm referring to is not a Blue plaque it's a circular metallic brush finished object which is mounted on one of his front gate posts. 🙏
Let me get this straight. An Australian, a British and a German researcher working together, along with the help of the American Department of Agriculture, were responsible for the development of penicillin. Just goes to show what can happen when people work together instead of butting heads. It would be nice if our various governments could learn this lesson.
Penicillin saved my mums life. She was born in England, October 1945 and had TB as a baby
"Are you sure this will work?"
"I have no idea!"
URRAAAAAA NEW EPISODE
LETS GO
The entire video is in another level, great work!
Finally Sparty can talk about people being saved, not killed!
Thank you for another informative and well presented video about a subject that I didn't know about.
You're welcome! It's always a pleasure to see that someone has learned something new thanks to our work.
so fun fact my great-aunt Regina dies at 4 years old in 1944 becasue she had gotten a minor infecting and was treated with a sulfa drug and had a major allergic reaction. my great-great uncle Thomas who has serving in the army as a sergeant in France at the time wrote a letter to the hospital it self demanding to understand why they didn't use penicillin. it was a known fact of the families reaction to sulfa drugs.
The other wonder drug (Amphetamine) sure made a good shot at trying to win it. The Germans had so many troops on it during Offensives and Defensive Operations to keep them alert and awake during Soviet Attacks, that it was almost as important as ammunition or new tanks. Many Medical Specialists of that era theorize that it led to premature deaths among many German Soldiers due to it's after affects from being overused. It may have been the reason for the higher than average deaths among German Soldiers in POW Camps after the War. Even the American Military used drugs to keep their troops and pilots functioning during long operations.
I'm wondering wether the drug could have a moral boost effect. Like "if i get wounded i will survive with a much higher possibility. Lets go and get them (krauts)...?
It has been said that florey saved more human lives than any other Australian. He went on to become the Provost of The Queen's College in Oxford.
As far as resistance to penicillin is concerned it was first identified as early as 1940 and the more we use it the worse that will get. Please do not insist on penicillin or any other antibiotic for simple coughs and colds.
I never have
Nice tie, Sparty! Thank you for another great episode.
Thank you!
I once heard our use of the wonder drug being described as ‘like dinging the garden with the crown jewels’.
Here in Central Illinois, we're rather proud of the Ag lab's contribution to penicillin development, so I'm glad you mentioned it. But, Sparticus, it's Peoria (Pee-ORIA).
Another amazing video. Us viewers can’t possibly thank you enough.
You're welcome! Thank you for being a fan!
Hey Spartacus I just want to make sure you're alright. At 4:37 your right hand shakes a little bit. That shaking is sometimes a sign of neuroglial disorders. I'd rather you know that now then figure that out too late in the future. Love from Chicago!
A bit of a jump, could just be low blood sugar, being on a set can be quite exhausting, especially if they're filming in batches, that being said its good to make sure he's okay.
Edit: I stand corrected
Thank you for the concern. It is a neurological disorder, but not one that will kill me. I have a congenital disorder called tremor familiaris. It amplifies the natural (usually too small to notice) shaking everyone has. It effects either the head or the hands or both. I’m fortunate to only have it in my hands. Unfortunately the shaking gets worse with the years. It’s rather distracting to people so I try to keep my hands on the desk or held together so that it doesn’t show so much. Here I forgot myself for a moment.
Flemming was Scottish, and the scottish biomedical firms played a large part in supplying the allies.
Thank you for the lesson.
You're welcome! Glad you learned something new!
@@WorldWarTwo I studied WW2 just enough to know the very basics.
This is a very in depth look at things I knew superficially or not at all.
Another fantastic episode full of things I did not know
Glad you learned something new!
Germans would never have discovered penicillin first. Can you imagine a German scientist having mess all around his lab, then carelessly going for two weeks vacation?
It would be superb to sea detailed timeline of these events. Some events & the reasons for them are not clear here. My father worked for one of the Danish team so I actually met him. That was an amazing story in itself.
So awesome to have Peoria mentioned on this channel!
Maybe it didnt change the outcome of the war, but it saved lives...
A LOT of lives!
There is a great film called Breaking the Mould which details the work of Florey and colleagues.
"....You'll also see Indy looking like a mad pharmaceutical researcher there."
So Indy looking like Indy is what you're saying? 😆
I love that u changed episodes name from penicillin to wonder drug and I immediately clicked lol
Medicine always play a big part in anything!
(Except things that do not need them)
The French called Syphilis 'the Italian disease'. The Italians called it 'the French disease'. GI's had several names for all the STD's, but a reported case got you confined to Quarters for 30 days if you weren't on the Front Line.
The scientists in Tuskegee didn't call it anything
StarTrek Discovery is its current name for some.
And it was originally from the Americas.
@ 6:15 he mentioned recycling from urine... reminded of a scene in Catch 22 when the nurses swap the IV bottle for the urine collection bottle
Thank you for an extremely interesting slice of the medical history!
You're welcome! Thanks fpr watching!
Penicillin, centimetric radar, the proximity fuse, mass production, prefabricated shipbuilding. There were multiple reasons why we won.
Two main ones - oil and vodka.
Alexander Fleming came from Helensburgh..A small town west of Glasgow on the north side of the river Clyde..I was born and brought up in Greenock.directly opposite on the south side of the Clyde.
Will you be covering the development of the anti-seasickness pill?
This is first video where I saw Spartacus somehow positive.
Fleming, Florey and Chain shared the 1945 Nobel Prize. Florey appeared on the Australian $50 note 1973-1995.
Ah yes, 'mold juice' I can smell it now xD
At the age of seven my father was struck in the eye by a throwing dart in 1944. He developed a staph infection of the orbit of the eye. Universally fatal at the time. He was sent to the veterans hospital in Chicago and received penicillin that was extracted from the urine of veterans. It worked.
During those days penicillin had problem of going through body real fast and thus it had to be extracted from excretions and reused. Penicillin outside your body does not treat disease. It took few years to develop penicillin that lasted longer in body.
Special episodes on Willow Run and The Kaiser Shipyards of Richmond, California are called for.
Penicillin was virtually unobtainable to civilian medicine during the War as all supplies were headed straight to the military. I knew of a few people that died during the war that most likely could have been saved had Penicillin been available to them. Also, years after the War there was evidence presented that wounded soldiers liberally treated with sulfa drugs developed cancers of varying types 30-40 years after the fact. Still, those drugs did work and continue to work today.