Meet Horace Wells, born in 1815 in Hartford, Vermont. He's not your average person. He changed how we see and handle pain, especially during surgeries. As a dentist, he noticed patients were in extreme pain during dental work. So, he decided to do something about it. He found a solution in "laughing gas, " also known as nitrous oxide.
One day in 1844, Wells had a bright idea. He thought, "What if this gas could help during surgical procedures? " To test it, he had a tooth pulled while under the influence of nitrous oxide. Guess what? It worked! The pain was gone.
But when Wells showed this off in Boston, people weren't convinced. They thought it was a joke. Even so, his work was important. It paved the way for the field of anesthesiology.
Over time, doctors realized the power of Wells' discovery. They started using other gases like ether and chloroform to make surgeries less painful. Thanks to Wells, dental and medical surgeries became much more bearable.
Even though Wells faced some skepticism, his discovery remains a big deal in modern anesthesia. He's remembered for making surgeries less scary and painful.
