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While it's common to depend on others for help from time to time, the world of social distancing and quarantines has forced us to become more self-reliant in order to minimize contact with others.
Although isolation may be a new experience for some, throughout history, people have consistently demonstrated resilience, rising above challenges and achieving great things independently. Here are 10 stories of individuals who overcame the odds to do what many of us might find impossible—or at least unimaginable.
10. Aimo Koivunen Takes More Drugs Than a 1980s Rock Star
When reflecting on personal achievements, taking large amounts of drugs likely isn't something you consider as ‘getting things done.’ However, during World War II, using methamphetamine was seen as an effective strategy, and Finnish soldier Aimo Koivunen might have been the top user. Though, his excessive consumption wasn’t entirely intentional.
In 1944, while on a lengthy ski patrol south of Murmansk, Aimo's group was ambushed by Soviet forces. Exhausted and in desperate need of energy to escape, he attempted to take a dose of Pervitin (methamphetamine). But he struggled to open the bottle.
In a moment of desperation, Aimo emptied the entire contents of the bottle into his mouth—30 pills in total—a supply meant for the whole patrol. When he was eventually found weeks later, his heart rate was more than double the average, his weight had dropped to 42.6 kilograms (94 lb), and he was over 400 kilometers (250 mi) away from his group.
9. Maurice Hilleman Uses His Babies To Prevent Mumps
While the title may suggest Maurice Hilleman isn't exactly 'Father of the Year,' the situation isn't as troubling as it sounds. In 1963, when his five-year-old daughter woke him up in the middle of the night, sick with mumps, he quickly sprang into action.
Hilleman gathered the freshest possible samples of the mumps virus from his daughter, then rushed the samples to his lab to freeze them for future study, all in the dead of night.
After cultivating the virus and creating what he believed to be a milder strain that could be fought off more easily, Hilleman needed test subjects for his vaccine. He chose his one-year-old daughter to be the first volunteer.
Although modern regulations would likely prevent a scientist from using their own children as test subjects, the vaccine was successful and continues to be used today. Over his career, Hilleman developed nearly 40 vaccines in total.
8. The Viking of Stamford Bridge Goes Berserk
In 1066, the Vikings' war with the English ended in such devastation for the Norwegians that only 24 out of their 300 ships made it back home. Yet, their efforts, particularly the actions of one Viking on a bridge, are remembered in history.
While the courageous Viking’s name is unknown in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, it recounts how a towering Norseman remained behind on a bridge, holding off the full force of the English army. His goal was to allow his comrades to form a shield wall and stand their ground against the English assault.
Armed with a Dane axe, the Viking killed at least 40 men before being stopped by a cunning English soldier. This soldier had hidden in a half-barrel and floated under the bridge, where he reached up and pierced the Viking with a spear, ending his rampage. Although the Viking’s identity may be lost to time, his brave stand is remembered almost 1,000 years later.
7. Dave Grohl Forms The Foo Fighters
The loss of someone dear can be incredibly painful, and everyone processes their grief in their own unique way. While most of us might shed tears and eventually move on, some people might retreat into isolation and channel their emotions into creating a debut album to cope with their sorrow.
Both responses are completely valid ways to handle loss. However, Dave Grohl stands out as one of the few to take the album-making route after the tragic death of his close friend and Nirvana bandmate, Kurt Cobain, in 1994.
In just one week, Dave wrote and recorded nearly every vocal and instrumental part for the debut album, with only one or two guest contributions. He then distributed some of the album's copies on cassette tapes.
He wanted to keep the fact that the album was essentially just him expressing his emotions through music under wraps. Even the name 'Foo Fighters'—inspired by a book he was reading on UFOs—was selected to give the impression that a group of anonymous musicians was behind the project.
6. Martine Rothblatt Develops A Drug To Save Her Daughter
Let’s be honest. Most people don’t have the luxury of millions of dollars to spend as they wish, but wealth alone doesn’t always guarantee success.
In the 1990s, Martine Rothblatt’s daughter was diagnosed with pulmonary arterial hypertension, a life-threatening condition with no available treatments at the time. Rather than simply throwing money at the problem, Martine took matters into her own hands and began researching the disease herself.
Sure, she eventually invested millions of dollars into establishing a medical research facility to find a cure. But initially, against all odds, she identified a molecule that showed potential.
The molecule was owned by the drug company GlaxoSmithKline, which refused to give it to Martine because she wasn’t a scientist. Undeterred, Martine assembled a scientific team and gained access to the molecule, eventually leading her company to develop a treatment for the disease.
Although Martine has not yet found a cure for pulmonary arterial hypertension, her daughter's life, along with the lives of thousands of others, has been prolonged with Martine’s groundbreaking treatment.
5. Clara Lemlich Convince 20,000 People To Go On Strike
The year is 1909. You work 66 hours a week in a hazardous factory environment, earning a mere $3. If you even think about fighting for better working conditions, you’re likely to be met with a police baton to the face or even a bomb. But that didn’t deter Clara Lemlich, who took to campaigning and picketing in an effort to improve life for shirtwaist workers in New York’s garment industry.
While many others protested alongside Clara to demand fairer treatment in the factories, she made her mark in history by taking the stage away from union representatives and pushing for action from her fellow workers. The union representatives urged a more cautious approach, recommending they discuss their grievances. But Clara wasn’t interested in waiting.
She addressed the crowd, telling them that words alone wouldn’t change anything, and insisted they go on strike:
I have listened to all the speakers, and I have no further patience for talk. I am a working girl, one of those striking against intolerable conditions. I am tired of listening to speakers who talk in generalities. What we are here for is to decide whether or not to strike. I make a motion that we go out in a general strike.
Over the next few days, around 20,000 shirtwaist workers went on strike, and their collective action came to be known as the Uprising of the 20,000.
4. John Crandon Deliberately Induces Scurvy To Prove Vitamin C’s Effectiveness
In the 1700s, William Stark was among the pioneers who examined the impact of vitamin C on scurvy. However, John Crandon’s approach in 1939 proved more successful—he didn’t die from vitamin C deficiency, unlike Stark. For the first several months, Crandon's main issue was simply increased fatigue due to the lack of vitamin C.
The turning point came after the 19th week, when Crandon’s body wounds stopped healing, his skin became rough, and small hemorrhages appeared on his legs. Under close medical supervision, he started receiving daily intravenous injections of one gram of ascorbic acid for a week. Within 24 hours, Crandon’s health showed significant improvement after taking the vitamin.
3. Gregory Watson Secures Constitutional Amendment Despite a Bad Grade
Receiving a C on a college assignment is hardly catastrophic. Many students would simply accept it and move on, but Gregory Watson was not one of those students. In 1982, as a 19-year-old sophomore at the University of Texas, Watson set out on a decade-long mission to turn his grade into an A by getting an amendment to the U.S. Constitution ratified.
In his paper, Gregory discussed one of the original amendments to the Constitution that was proposed but never ratified. Introduced in 1789, it was intended to be passed alongside the Bill of Rights. However, not enough states supported it at the time.
Gregory was convinced that the amendment could still be ratified. In 1982, his teacher disagreed with his interpretation and gave his paper a C grade. Gregory refused to accept that judgment.
Determined to prove his point, Gregory began reaching out to lawmakers across the country, working to secure the ratification of the amendment. After ten years of effort, the Constitution officially gained its Twenty-Seventh Amendment in 1992—because one student believed his grade deserved a change.
The Twenty-Seventh Amendment prevents any law altering the compensation of U.S. Representatives or Senators from taking effect until after the next election of representatives. Most notably, in 2017, Gregory finally succeeded in getting his grade changed from a C to an A+.
2. Almon Strowger Revolutionizes Communication Technology For Revenge
Imagine being an undertaker who struggles to get any business, despite facing little to no competition in your area. Surely, people are still passing away, so what's going on?
For Almon Strowger, the problem stemmed from the unethical practices of a local competitor’s wife. She worked for the telephone exchange and, every time someone called Strowger's business, she would reroute the call to her husband's funeral home instead.
When the telephone company refused to intervene, Strowger took matters into his own hands. In 1889, he invented the first automatic telephone exchange, allowing customers to connect directly with one another without the need for an operator. He patented his invention in 1891. One man’s revenge led to a game-changing innovation that transformed the way we communicate over the phone forever.
1. Herbert Hoover Shows That The Early Bird Really Does Get The Worm
Herbert Hoover is frequently cited as one of America’s least effective presidents, largely due to his mishandling of the 1929 stock market crash and the ensuing Great Depression. Yet, despite the blemish on his presidency, Hoover demonstrated that a poor situation could be turned around—especially with his rocky yet determined entry into Stanford University during its inaugural year.
Hoover applied to Stanford and failed every entrance exam except for his math test. Nonetheless, he was still accepted. Perhaps, given that it was the school’s first year, they needed to accept anyone they could.
Hoover made the most of this opportunity by arriving on campus two months before classes began. Before the semester officially started, he earned money by launching several small businesses, from delivering laundry and newspapers to assisting other students with their enrollment process.
Hoover went on to lead several groups at Stanford, taking charge of the football team, the baseball team, various school plays, and even a significant portion of the student government. His efforts were recognized when he was elected as the student treasurer.
