Assassination Vacation

I meant to mention that on Saturday I headed up to the National Museum of Health and Medicine, which is located on the Walter Reed campus, to see their exhibit commemorating the 125th anniversary of President's Garfield's assassination. Garfield was shot in the spine on July 2, 1881, and lived 80 days until September 19. Apparently, the injury would not have been fatal, except that his doctors unwittingly killed him by repeatedly sticking their unsterilized fingers and instruments into his wound to try to figure out where the bullet went. Oh, and also starving him to death. Oops.

The exhibit itself consists mainly of a preserved piece of Garfield's vertebrae (pictured above), which is exactly as interesting as it sounds. It continues until September 19.