Oligodynamic action

In 1878 a young black man named Osbourn Dorsey (who was, as near as anyone can tell, 16 at the time) applied for and was granted the first known patent worldwide for..... the doorknob. Not much is known about Osbourn, except for his patent application. Which is a shame. I want to know more about him. I mean, look at that face.

Is this the Osbourn Dorsey who invented the doorknob? I hope so.

Doorknobs have traditionally been constructed of brass or bronze. Both of these metals have a high copper component (brass=tin+copper; bronze=zinc+copper). The oligodynamic properties of copper were once dismissed as folklore. More and more research papers point out the antiseptic properties of copper. Unfortunately, many people had to fall sick before this was figured out. 

In 1976, a plague of sorts plowed through the American Legion hotel in Philadelphia. A virulent flu bacterium got into a proliferated in the airconditioning vents, spreading to hundreds and killing 34 people. Now known as Legionnaire's Disease, the outbreak caused building practices to be reformed via laws that aim to establish cleaner air and water. Copper filters and pipes are now the norms in most hospitals and other public buildings.

As bacteria ooze across these surfaces, they absorb copper molecules which disrupt their working metabolism, causing death in about an hour. Doorknobs made of brass or bronze are, therefore, self-sterilizing. This oligodynamic action is the ability of small amounts of heavy metals to exert a lethal effect on bacterial cells. This is good since one germ covered doorknob can infect half of your office in a single hour. Further studies have even shown that older, tarnished doorknobs are even more effective at eliminating Staphylococcus bacteria and even the Influenza virus. Use of brass or bronze doorknobs and push plates in public places are a simple way of reducing the spread of infection.

References

Kean, Sam (2011) The Disappearing Spoon. New York: Little Brown & Company

Michels, H., W. Moran, and J. Michel, (2008) "ANTIMICROBIAL PROPERTIES OF COPPER ALLOY SURFACES,  WITH A FOCUS ON HOSPITAL-ACQUIRED INFECTIONS" International Journal of  Metalcasting 

Noyce, O. et al. (2006) "Potential Use of Copper Surfaces to Reduce Survival of Epidemic Metacillan-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in the Healthcare Environment" Journal of Hospital Infection.

Kajigaya, Naoko et al. (2015) "Assessment of contamination using an ATP bioluminescence assay on doorknobs in a university-affiliated hospital in Japan" BMC Research Notes.

Shimoda, Tomoko et al. (2015) "ATP bioluminescence values are significantly different depending upon material surface properties of the sampling location in hospitals" BMC Research Notes.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/one-germy-doorknob-can-infect-half-your-office-within-hours/
http://www.handsomehandles.co.uk/blog/6/the-invention-and-history-of-door-knobs

https://www.tbks.co.uk/blog/ask-the-expert/the-history-of-door-knobs/

https://www.reference.com/history/o-dorsey-c2356d21b129dfc1

Dorsey's patent application

Hippopotamuslessness

sketch of a hippo I did at the zoo in Portland around 5/2012

you can call it cynicism or you can call it realism, but it's the attitude that's given us a hundred years of hippopotamuslessness.
                                                            -Jon Mooallen-

In the 1890s, the United States ran into trouble, meat-wise. There was unfettered European immigration driving the population up. There was poor land management, leading to massive cattle die-offs during the blizzard of 1897. Upton Sinclair published his book, The Jungle, in 1904 about slaughterhouses. Newspapers across the nation debated the Meat Question.