Our trip to and back from the Countway Library of Medicine in the Harvard Medical School was quite eventful. We decided to go on a Friday because the Warren Anatomical Museum in the Countway Library was only open on the weekdays. Our main objective was to go see a painting depicting the first operation on a patient under ether. Our secondary objective was to go check out the Warren Anatomical Museum. We could’ve reached the Countway Library through walking, public transportation or car. We decided to take the fastest way there since everyone has dinner that they needed to go to in a couple of hours and it was already after 3 pm when we finally all gathered together. We took a Lyft since some of the group members haven’t used it before and you can get coupons for your first ride. The first Lyft ride went smoothly, and we arrived there on time. The Countway Library technically isn’t entirely open to the public and only the Warren Anatomical Museum was for the public. We told the guard that we were there for the Warren Anatomical Museum and he signed us in. Immediately, we saw the painting that we were supposed to find in the lobby once we entered. It was painted by Robert C. Hinckley in 1893 who was an art student at the time. The painting was named First Operation Under Ether. The painting was not entirely historically accurate as the painter added some people who actually aren’t present at the operation. There is another painting at the Massachusetts General Hospital that was more recently painted and accurate. The first operation under ether actually took place on October 16th, 1846 which was also a Friday at the Ether Dome in Massachusetts General Hospital (Chaturvedi and Gogna). Ether was one of the first anesthesia that was used in surgery operations. It made surgery less painful and stressful as patients are unconscious. Before ether was first used, patients had to endure surgical procedures fully conscious and in pain. We looked at the painting and the inscriptions on the plaque beside it closely. Afterwards, we took pictures of it and with it. After we completed our primary goal, we moved on to complete our secondary objective. We went up to the fifth floor to see the Warren Anatomical Museum. We were met by a peculiar collection at the Warren Anatomical Museum. For me, I found many intriguing connections between the museum and knowledge that I had previously learnt. My psychology professor this semester loves to throw in extra historical facts in his lectures and several things that he had mentioned were connected to the museum. He talked about phrenology which focused on the concept that certain areas of the brain have localized, specific functions. One great example that he showed of phrenology was a picture depicting a “brain map”. We happened to also see a “brain map” in the Warren Anatomical Museum. In psychology class, we also talked about how brain injuries had helped psychologists learn more about the human brain. When we were talking about famous brain injuries, the professor also happened to mention Phineas Gage. The skull of Phineas Gage was displaced at the Warren Anatomical Museum. Phineas Gage was the most famous brain-injury survivor in the history of neuroscience. During 1848, Phineas Gage was the foreman of a crew cutting railroad bed in Cavendish, Vermont. On September 13th of that year, he was using a tamping iron to pack explosive powder into a hole and the powder detonated. The tamping iron pierced Phineas Gage’s left cheek ripped into his brain, and excited through his skull. He was able to stay awake and survive after the incident. However, his personality changed severely. He went from a nice person to a fairly unpleasant person. His case was the first case to suggest a link between brain trauma and personality. His fame carries on now even after more than a hundred and fifty years had passed since his death (Twomey). At the Warren Anatomical Museum, we also saw some surgical instruments that were used in the past. Some of them are huge and looked terrifying. I found it incredibly hard to believe that they were used on living people when they are fully awake, it must have been awful to be sick during those days. The journey back was however pretty hectic. We weren’t familiar with the area and were confused about the locations. We thought the Lyft would wait for us where we were dropped off, however that was not what had happened. The Lyft waited for us at the other side where the main road was. He refused to wait for us and by the time when we had run to the main road, he was long gone. We then decided to take the public transportation back to the campus. Overall this was a fun and informative trip about some medical history, though maybe we should’ve just walked or taken the public transportation without the hassle that Lyft had caused.