The Bizarre Experiments of William Beaumont | Mackinac Island, Michigan
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 เม.ย. 2024
- In 1822, Alexis St. Martin was gravely injured on what’s now Mackinac Island, Michigan. To his rescue came Dr. William Beaumont - and so began a relationship that would change modern medicine forever. If you know how your stomach works, you partially have these two men to thank.
If you’re interested in reading more about Beaumont and St. Martin, I referenced this book extensively: “Life and Letters of Dr. William Beaumont,” published 1912: archive.org/embed/lifeandlett...
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Credits:
All images of Beaumont hospitals are courtesy of Corewell Health.
Scans of William Beaumont’s journals come from the Bernard Becker Medical Library Archives, at Washington University in St. Louis. Full credits can be found below.
Other key sources:
www.beaumont.org/about-us/his...
revcycleintelligence.com/news...
www.drwilliambeaumont.com/dr_l...
www.mackinacparks.com/dr-will...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
findingaids.lib.umich.edu/cat...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NB...
Credits for Beaumont’s journals:
Beaumont’s journal of cases, recorded at Fort Mackinac, PC001-S01-B02-F37, Bernard Becker Medical Library Archives, Washington University in St. Louis.
Employment contract between Beaumont and St. Martin, PC001-S01-B03-F23, Bernard Becker Medical Library Archives, Washington University in St. Louis.
Letter from St. Martin about wife’s objections, PC001-S01-B06-F49, Bernard Becker Medical Library Archives, Washington University in St. Louis.
Beaumont’s medical license, PC001-S01-B02-F01, Bernard Becker Medical Library Archives, Washington University in St. Louis.
Correction:
2:30 Mackinac Island is located in this area, but is too small to appear on this map. This arrow accidentally points to the larger Bois Blanc Island. Whoops!
![มองหน้ากันไม่ติด (Awkward) - โอ๊ต ปราโมทย์ FEAT. MAIYARAP [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4b02SY_r6Gw/mqdefault.jpg)
Correction: I goofed on the animated map of Mackinac Island! Mackinac Island is located in that area, but is too small to appear on this map. The arrow is actually pointing to Bois Blanc Island, which is significantly larger. Thanks to everyone who caught that!
Do you know if there's any interesting story behind how the Jordan River Valley in Northern Michigan (East Jordan, Michigan) was created? It's by the Ring Fingernail on the Michigan Hand Map 🤣
We forgive you. :)
I thought so, but no biggie! You're certainly allowed!!!
No worries. At least you pronounced the name correctly. 😅
❤
Why doesn't this young lady have her own tv show? I just recently discovered this channel and i absolutely love it. Alexis, you are intelligent, engaging, and your passion for your work really comes through in your vids. Your delivery of the info you are imparting to your viewers is fantastic. Plus, you are absolutely adorable. The wife and I go up to Mackinac Island once in a while and love the U.P. keep up the great work!
That's so kind of you - thank you for saying so! I don't know if TV is ever in the cards for me, ha, but I love what I currently get to do. Thanks for enjoying the series!
@@AlexisDahl Well, if it ever happens, I'll definitely be a loyal viewer!
Alexis St.Martin is my kin! This is awesome to see you covering on TH-cam! Thanks 👍🏼😊 and yeah... Rumor is that Alexis just wanted to go home to Quebec, and Dr. Beaumont kind of prevented that.😢 Kind of torturing him in essence... another case of medical gaslighting!
Also... FYI - Dr. Beaumonts home is still on Mackinac island - you can go there and see it. It makes me wonder what all went down in that place...?
I remember learning about Beaumont's digestion study as a HS freshman, in biology class way back in 1966. Us kids were fascinated and repulsed all at the same time!
Ha ha, I love it!
I was living in Georgia when I developed ulcerative colitis, and when I moved back to Michigan, I told my Gastroenterologist I would be living near William Beaumont hospital, at which he responded, "William Beaumont was the father of Gastroenterology", and didn't worry that I would not be able to find a good new Doctor!
I love the dichotomy of describing what Mackinac Island is for those outside of Michigan, but also smoothly rolling past a mention of "pizza rolls and pasties" with no other context. Alexis! These outsiders have no concept of the deliciousness of pasties.
As a side note, you could totally do a whole video on the UP history with pasties.
Ha ha, I have definitely thought about doing a pasty video - I just haven't quite figured out how I want to approach it yet. For this video, I decided I'd just sneak the word in for the folks who know. 🙂
You do know that they're really called Cornish pasties... right?
As in, they're not from here but from England.
Meaning... a whole lot of people know exactly what they are.
Oh, absolutely! They're definitely not a UP invention by any means. Thanks to the immigrants who brought their recipes over, though, pasties have become a large part of the area's culture - and something you don't see much outside of this region of the state.
@@FreeEricBrandt I did! And I also knew that they came over with the miners who needed a lunch that could be taken with them down into the iron and copper mines. The real question is: gravy or not?
Sadly, I heard the more famous restaurant for Pasties in Marquette, has closed. But I bet there is still plenty to teach those that don't know.
As a Ru-n-Wye patient, I appreciate Dr. Beaumont. I had no idea that this happened here in Michigan, once again, Alexis, you have broadened my knowledge!
Thank YOU!🎉
Bill
I'd learned the beginning of the story when I visited Mackinac. Thanks so much for the rest of this rather unsettling story
Thank you for this story. Evidently, Dr. Beaumont never read the words of the Hipporatic Oath. I know medical standards were not great back then, but even then, they could sew up holes like the one in this poor man's stomach. Granted, the odds were 50/50 on him, not dying from an infection. However, he did live with the hole attaching to his abdominal wall. Beaumont may be considered the father of gastroenterology, but he appears to be someone who took advantage of another man's misfortune that he could have prevented.
I learned about Dr. Beaumont and his experiments many, many, years ago when my family and I visited Mackinac Island. Beaumont's experiments, although strange by today's standards, are how we have come to know how things works in our bodies. I am familiar with the Beaumont hospital system as my father died in the Rochester, Michigan location about 21 years ago. Thanks for the great video! I love that you do a lot of great videos on things around this great state!
What an interesting history lesson! Strange to think how a single (traumatic) moment can come to define so much of two people's future.
Something my brain keeps getting stuck on is a word Beaumont used a few times. Possession/Possess. I wonder if the specifics of the way we use the word(s) changed over time or if Beaumont really viewed St. Martin as a walking experiment that can be owned.
That's also something I thought a lot about while reading through Beaumont's journals and various other letters about St. Martin. I'm also curious if how we use that word has changed in the last ~200 years. I certainly hope it has, given the implications otherwise... but yeah, that also very much stood out to me!
Alexis, you do an absolutely wonderful job of storytelling. You have a gift and you make learning about history so much fun, Thanks for what you do !
I just got introduced to your videos, and I can't get enough of them! I'm a geologist at MSU, and we take our students up to Marquette every year, to some of the same spots that you've made videos about. Thank you so much!
Hey, thank you so much! Also, that sounds like a blast! If there are any geology stories in the Lower Peninsula you wish more people knew about, please feel free to get in touch (alexisdahl.com/contact). I love telling UP stories, but know there's plenty of interesting stuff downstate, too!
My dear Alexis,
You are the bomb. Your intelligence combined with your sense of humor, plus your ability to present sometimes difficult topics in an understandable way to those of us without advanced degrees is such a welcome change from much of what shows up online. Thank you for providing a way for people like me to connect with you as you share interesting stories about Michigan. I am a life long Michigander who lives in the northern suburbs of Detroit and have relatives in Sudbury, Ontario (who knew a meteor fell on Sudbury?) and like you am familiar with the name William
Beaumont. And have always wondered who in the heck he was. Your story about him was enlightening and entertaining at the same time. I enjoy your channel so much. Keep up the good work.
Thank you so much, Bill! Your message is so sweet, and was a highlight in my day. I really appreciate you taking the time to write.
Education and entertainment at it's highest level. Your delivery is second to none. Thanks for another great video! I never lived in metro-Detroit, but I did live in Port Huron for a while a loooooong time ago. "That might have been the end of the story if it weren't for that fistula." Immediately cuts to a BBQ grill commercial. That painted a humorous picture in my brain. :) Greetings from NE MN.
Interesting history! Maybe someday Beaumont Hospital will name one of its facilities after Alexis St. Martin?
Thank you for the wonderful story. I first learned of the story from a plaque on Mackinaw Island. I have never heard it in this much detail before.
If you haven’t been down to Sturgeon falls and the scenic view of the Sturgeon Gorge I would recommend it. The falls are a good hike but the spot for the view of the Gorge is only a five minute walk from parking. You can get to both from the Baraga Plains road. Both are back in the stick’s pretty much.
I'm going to Mackinac Island this summer. I'll have to look for his house and any historical placards. Great story as always.
As always loving your content. Thank you.
Thank you for another very interesting and informative video!
One of your best. Very interesting. Thanks
Love this channel, having only recently discovered it. Every vacation we took was touring our amazing home state, hiking, camping and enjoying every scenic road everywhere. The UP is the best, and favorite! Mackinaw has old goat trails through the woods that were fun to hike and get to the beaches on the quieter side of the island.
The island was a perfect location for a lookout facing east, (Arch Rock)as the native people could see for many miles who was coming into the straits towards their place. Being prepared for friend or foe, they were well equipped. To this day, it was not conquered, and the island is still their home.
Great vid, keep em coming
Excellent story; terrific delivery.
Your content is amazing!! I'd love to see a video showcasing lovely Southwest Michigan
Great job, again. I haven't been on your channel in a while, so i have some catching up to do. Thanks for another great episode.
I heard of him too and visited his hospitals back in the 1990s even though I am from the west side of Michigan
Keep up the good work my friend! God bless!
History never stops amazing us all. Very interesting. Thank you Alexis 😊
Awesome story! You should look into the history of Grand Rapids city street planning. It's really interesting
Alexis, seems to me that if anyone could put a positive, upbeat spin on this particular subject matter it would be you. I knew the link to the state of Michigan was in there somewhere but I did not expect that little connection.
thanks again for brightening my afternoon.
Interesting, thanks!
I learned a little about this incident in Michigan History class back in the late 60s. Thanks for doing all the research and presenting it really interesting manner.
Awesome video, I'm a northern michigan person myself. Love the vids, keep up the good work
As a medical scientist in the copper country this one was right up my alley ;)
I love your informative videos, your enthusiasm, and your personality. I'm subsribing to your Patreon to help you produce more content. Thank you.
Thank you so much, Andrew! I deeply appreciate both the kind words and the support.
Nice to see your friendly face in the am. Love your videos! They're very entertaining and well made.
Thanks so much! I appreciate hearing that. 🙂
The cows at UIUC have port holes too, to study their multiple stomachs. Beaumont and St. Martin had a more synergistic relationship
They keep cows like this at many universities to access the bacteria in the rumen that is essential for digestion. It is given to other cattle that have had their own destroyed by systemic antibiotics.
Cool video! So interesting.
I wonder if Beaumont ever looked at his children and said "Kids, you're not leaving this table, until you put all that food, into your stomach hole." ;)
I love your videos! ❤
Very interesting story! Thanks for sharing. Cheers from the 920 of Wisconsin.
I could barely stomach this story😂 I’m surprised there was no serious infection over all those years. Wondering did he implant any living things into the stomach, goldfish, frogs a potted plant? RIP Alexi.
You are just brilliant...I love every single video I have seen....and it's a lot! You go girl!
Shucks, thank you! 💛 I'm grateful you've been watching them for so long!
@@AlexisDahl I wouldn't miss them. You do such incredible stuff....
Fantastic content, as always! As a Michigan native, I really appreciate the historical context to all the people and places of this state.
Thanks so much! I've really enjoyed learning about the variety of stories here, and know I've barely scratched the surface.
Years ago, I worked on the island as a teamster/tour driver/drayman - At 2:53 in the vid, the rig on the left is Dale Gough's Unit 7 Taxi, but I can't make out who's driving in the picture (Unit 7 is the only taxi on the island with blue down below - Carriage Tours-owned taxis (all the rest) are red where his is blue) The two carriages you can see in the distance on the right are the 20-seat Mackinac Island Carriage Tours buggies - I drove one of those, and sang the "front half" tour song for a little while, including the part about Alexis and Dr. B, before moving over to Service Company driving the flatbed drays to at least partially escape from the fudgies.
we learned about this vaguely in my medical terminology class this week (a guy with a hole in his stomach who a doctor studied) but they either didn't mention any names or I didn't realize this was the Beaumont guy the hospitals are named after. Crazy lol
Alexis and Beaumont make for an excellent tale illustrating the necessity of IRBs. I also think IRBs can be used to make sure certain information is never learned. Any gatekeeping mechanism (IRBs, peer review, etc...) has the potential to be abused for purposes other than those for which they were created or intended. In the case of peer review, we just happened on that by accident as journals wanted all of the money but none of the responsibility for review.
Another wonderful video Thank you! I enjoyed some Skinny Pop popcorn while watching your video, but then I worked on the City of Kenosha garbage trucks as summer help when I was 18, so I have a very strong stomach.
I still remember being in the hospital room where the experiments were done at the Fort back in the '60s on a Boy Scout trip.
First time here - Great Video, sub'd. !
Excellent story! I love stories about Michigan people in the 1800s.
Thanks! Never knew of this fabulous history!
I was born at the orig Wm Beaumont Hosp at 13 and Woodward (Northwood). 😂
Thanks for another delightful video. Lots of interesting stories from Michigan. I believe you may be inviting suggestions for stories. Great lake water levels are managed!? Soo locks and dams. If you've already done it. Sorry. It seems it could be a story thread that keeps giving the more you pull.
My father developed a fistula from his intestines to his hip due to crohn’s disease back around 1971, which had to be bathed and re-bandaged twice a day. He wound up having an operation to correct the problem. This was his second major operation for crohn’s, the first being around 1960 when I was too young to remember the details. Just before his 2nd operation when I was a teenager, we were on vacation at a rented cottage, and I remember sitting at the table eating my alphabets, or whatever, while mom was bathing the wound in the same room, and my alphabets weren’t tasting too great with the odour and all. We wound up cutting the vacation short and him being hospitalized back in the city. He survived though, at least till his heart got him about 15 years later.
Not going to lie, this was a lot less violent than I was expecting. Nothing like southern doctors experimentation, or axis powers.
Interesting story! We have been going to beaumont for years, never for stomach issues.
They did some questionable things during Covid ( storing bodies ) and caught a lot of backlash and fines because of it.
Take care!
I saw your "sailing against the wind" video earlier today. Your husband was gracious to join you on this side of the camera. You probably already know this, and I hope you're not offended, but he's a really lucky guy.
Thanks, Andrew! And that's kind of you to say. I think I'm extremely lucky to have him! 🙂
IMO the telling word here, used multiple times by Beaumont, is "possession".
I had a very similar thought. It's possible the word was used differently in Beaumont's time, but by modern standards, it definitely is noteworthy.
That was odd. Thanks!
I remember reading about that back in school.
0:35 points to Bois Blanc Island (semantics, and Mackinac is really likely too small to show). Amazing content as usual!!
You're right! Mackinac is arguably too small to show, but that arrow is definitely confusing. Thank you for catching this! I'll pin a comment with a correction.
Great story,very educational your videos always are thanks for your hard work putting it together
And I have a new word of the day
“Fistula”
Thanks so much, Brian!
You are always interesting.
I was literally telling a coworker about this last night! I believe I learned a bit of the story on Mysteries at the Museum
As a kid there was a movie made about this, very impressive. Because I still remember it.
Ah, Beaumont. My first “real job” decades ago. Most of my family has worked/is still working there. Sorry to see it become just another cold soul-less corporate entity. Oh well, such is life I guess.
So glad I made the move here to the UP half a lifetime ago. So many cool and beautiful things to see and do here. And pasties (and pizza rolls) Love your content! Please keep it up. I learn something new from every post! 😊
Off topic but...I love the shirt you have on. I also love your videos.
That is the sad fact that a lot of the medical procedures we enjoy today were first discovered in less than honorable means
My wife is literally freaking out, she works at that hospital!
Had both my hips replaced at Beaumont
Something gives me the feeling Eric Idle must have sung the Galaxy Song to Mr. St. Martin.
Always wonderful to watch your content. Thanks for all you do! And thanks for being a great Michigander!
I remember learning about him at the fort when I was 8 or so. For some weird reason this always seemed like common knowledge to me since I learned about him young and it stuck with me. Thinking back yeah most people haven't been the Mackinac Island lol.
Oh, that completely makes sense! I feel like all of us learn some unusual things as kids and think they're normal. 🙂
Beaumont got me too! I have a airway condition that gives pause to putting me under anesthesia for any reason that is not a medical emergency so when some test indicated that a colonoscopy was advised my local Doctor referred me to the good people at Beaumont who said "no problem we have a procedure that requires no anesthesia and I seen on the paperwork it was labeled "virtual". I did wonder about that. I mean I had an appointment at the hospital so I obviously would be there but it seemed reassuring somehow. I was told that they were the leading experts in the field so I guess at the time I figured they had a work around like a cat scan or MRI and agreed to it. Noped it was a regular colonoscopy only while wide awake. lol The "virtual" part? Just meant that the doctor didn't need to be there to hear me cuss and scream just two unlucky technicians with a hose and camera and me in a little room. NEVER AGAIN MR BEAUMONT!!
I couldn't help but notice that you consistently pronounce Makinac MACK-in-awe or ma·kuh·naa. Being a curious person, I looked it up. I was born in Saginaw, and I found that some people ask why the place pronounced MACK-in-awe is spelled Macinac when the place prnounced SAG-in-awe is spelled Saginaw? Google came through and I found the answer easily. I know it seems like a relatively trivial matter, but I know you have a gift for seeing how things that seem small on the surface tend to be like icebergs when you start unfolding the history and the cultural intertwinings and the stories. Your video on singing sands, for instance, led me to that crazy French guy who took the art (music?) and science of the sounds sand can make to another level. Fascinating. To me, the mystery of the pronunciation of Makinac seems to have a distinctly Michigan resonance. But the northern tip of Michigan is of course not the only place in the US where French influenced the way things are spelled or pronounced. Always a treasure to spend time with you. Thank you for the wonderful science education work you do.
There’s Mackinac Island and Mackinaw City, both pronounced the same. Lot of quirky pronunciations around the state: Milan (vs Italy), Saline (1st or 2nd syllable accent), Charlevoix (definitely French). Good point about Saginaw.
When there started to be more attention paid placed named after ethically dubious people, I started joking that it wasn't log before they'd change the name of Beaumont hospital.
That was gut wrenching 😂😂
Pasties! Ha! Had my first last September and loved it! Go UP!
Around 1969 I went to MSU on a field trip. We saw the cow with the glass stomach. That was wild and informative. Well a little gross but awesome.
My wife tells me she was with her dad on a visit to MSU where he was doing particle counting to build filtration systems for the food storage system. She saw the goat, at the farm area, and the professor directing the facility opened up the plug to show the inside.
She remembers it was a big goat, and petted it, and pulled some grass up to feed it. The animals there were happy, not "trapped". She also toured the big cheese making building, and got to go into the Cheese Vault!
Pizza rolls and pasties....mmmmm. The good life.
Haha, I chuckle every time we drive by William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, MI, the mothership of the Beaumont system. Those big proud letters that have stood in front of the hospital for decades, appear to have a defect. I’m no typography expert, but those “M”s sure do look more like upside down “W”s, don’t they? And sorry, difficult to argue it was an intentional style choice when the official Beaumont brand typeface is something completely different.
As someone with a weak stomach, imma gonna skip this one, but I'll leave a like and comment to compensate 😊
If this has piqued your interest in medical advances in the 1800s, you should read about Louis Pasteur's research into rabies and a vaccine for it. Not a Michigan story, but it involves rabid rabbits, their dried intestines, and street waifs in Paris. Again, not strictly ethical by today's standards, but crucial to the study of disease and its spread.
She's great !
Whoa!
I did some stomach research of my own on Mackinac Island myself. How much fudge can one stomach hold!?
Ha Ha!
"Possession" of an "ungrateful" human being who didn't, surprisingly, want to be experimented on? Disgusting.
As usual, your research and presentation are awesome. In my opinion, though, the choice of subject was below your usual high level.
Thanks, My stomach thinks he is pretty cool too.
Do YOU have a Beaumont Doctor?
Q: What did we learn here today kids? A: Don't go Googling the names of people for named things in the medical community.
Too bad for william beaumont arriving in st louis missouri.
As you alluded to in the beginning, ultimately, the only way to truly understand this situation, and indeed any historical event, is to see it through the eyes of the time. Applying our current morales, feelings, values, etc., to anything that did not occur recently will give false answers/results. Easy example: Historical Fact: Abraham Lincoln slept with a man - Conclusion: he was a homosexual. Historical Truth: At that time, men sleeping with another man or women sleeping with another woman meant nothing at all and was relatively commonplace. Conclusion: Nothing notable or out of the norm can be gained from this
The island on the map isn't Mackinac Island. That's Bois Blanc Island.
Mackinac Island now has a Starbucks which just wrong. Howard Schultz the CEO is from Marquette so he should know better.
If the doctor wanted someone at hand at all times with a hole in their stomach, someone should have obliged him…
This is definitely the most bizarre video you've ever made. Beaumont was a weird guy for sure!
No different than today. One thing about youngins is they think a volountary agreement is forced because "waaah" poverty this and that. If you really feel that way let's close down all the blood banks because disadvantaged agree to donate in exchange for money 😑 No more University research either where volunteers are paid.
As usual you surprise us with UP facts. I assume the French studies is to communicate with Canadians?? Living in downstate Illinois, all I need is gas, and an understanding of country slang! ha
Great stuff!!! 😊
Thanks, John! And ha ha, no, the French studies are unrelated. 🙂
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