TNB Night Owl – Rescue Annie

Resusci-Anne, Photo by -Aorta-

No, not Deep State Annie. If she needs to be rescued, she’ll do it herself.

Rescue Annie, or Resusci-Anne, is the name given to the training mannequin used to train people on the proper methods of CPR and forced breathing.

She was designed by Norwegian toymaker Asmund Laerdal in 1955, after he had been asked to make a training aid for the recently developed cardio-pulmonary resuscitation techniques. The basic notion of clearing an airway and blowing into lungs for recent drowning victims was already recognized; Laerdal himself had done so to save his son’s life, years earlier.

This, however, was to be a potential lifesaver for millions. Laerdal decided that the softer features of a woman’s face would be less threatening for students, and he hunted for the right face to use. He found her in France.

It was once fairly commonplace for famous people to have “death masks” made… impressions of the person’s face at the time of their passing, preserving their facial features for generations to come. One of these masks had become abnormally famous; “L’Inconnue”, the Lady of the Seine. In the later years of the 19th century, a young woman’s body had been fished from the river. Although her body was placed on display for the public, no identification was ever made. A mask had been made from her face, and the gentle features had since been pressed into use as a muse for various artists.

Laerdal decided that the face was perfect; the unknown woman whose visage had served as inspiration for artists and writers would be a perfect recipient for millions of practiced “kisses of life.”

In any case, using the face of a drowned lady for Rescue Annie is appropriate. There is a strong possibility that it is more appropriate yet.

It is believed by many that the reason the mask was made was regret; that the attending physician, who arranged the plaster casting, had recognized that if he’d only gotten there a few moments earlier – or if any of the people present had thought to clear her airways and breathe into her lungs – L’Inconnue would have survived.

And now, a little song about Rescue Annie:

Question of the night : Have you ever had to administer emergency first aid?

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About AlienMotives 1991 Articles
Ex-Navy Reactor Operator turned bookseller. Father of an amazing girl and husband to an amazing wife. Tired of willful political blindness, but never tired of politics. Hopeful for the future.