He never swallowed tacks.
25 staples for barbed fence wire,
15 1 1/2-inch screws,
6 2-inch shoe nails,
16 2-inch wire nails,
30 1 1/2 inch wire nails,
16 32-caliber cartridges,
5 38-caliber cartridges,
2 pocket-knife blades (broken),
2 inches brass washstand chain,
2 small staples;
total, 119 pieces.
Eight cartridges passed after operation.
One ounce of comminuted glass (electric light globe).
Total number of objects, 127;
total weight, 1 pound.
Objects removed from the stomach of Sig. Ranana, by A. H. Meisenbach, M.D., at the Rebekah Hospital, St. Louis, MO., April 7, 1897.
ex A. H. Meisenbach, M.D. “Gastrotomy for the removal of foreign bodies from the stomach. With report of a case, and a table of reported cases operated on up to the present time. ” The Journal of the American Medical Association 30:10 (March 5, 1898) : 513-523
University of Toronto copy
(remarkable) image p 517
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“He always carried a supply of the objects, so as to be able to give an exhibition at any time. In his repertoire were pearl-top lamp chimneys, 2-, 4-, 6-, and 8-penny wire fence-nails, barbed wire fence staples, and 32- to 38-caliber cartridges. He never swallowed tacks.”
p 513
tags: hardware; nails; Sig Ranana; professional glass-eating; comminution; A. H. Meisenbach, “Gastrotomy” (1898)