[sotd] February 2, 2005 [A Thin Blue Line]

        Site of the Day for Wednesday, February 2, 2005

        A Thin Blue Line: The History of the Pregnancy Test Kit

Today's site, from the U.S. National Institutes of Health, focuses on one
of the most widely used healthcare products -- the home pregnancy test.
Largely taken for granted now, Gentle Subscribers will discover the story
behind its development as well a timeline of earlier procedures from
ancient to modern.

"Am I pregnant? The answer to this age-old question once demanded a
combination of guesswork, intuition, and time. In 1978, however, the long
wait to know for sure became a thing of the past. Trumpeted by
advertisements as =93a private little revolution,=94 the first home
pregnancy tests started appearing on drug store shelves that year. A
quarter of a century later, innovations promise to make even the telltale
thin blue line obsolete. This web site looks at the history of the home
pregnancy test=97one of the most ubiquitous home healthcare products in
America=97and examines its place in our culture." - from the website

The site explains how the test works, along with the scientific pioneers
and the paths they travelled, which led to the development of the device.
The timeline section throws light on the fascinating and bewildering
methods used, from 1350 BCE, the Middle Ages through the seventeenth
century, the nineteenth century and beyond. In the popular culture section,
the site displays images of advertising graphics heralding the product
while the television section cites a range of programs and episodes which
featured the pregnancy test kit as a plot device.

Whizz over to the site for a revealing look at the history of the home
pregnancy kit at:

http://history.nih.gov/exhibits/thinblueline/

  A.M. Holm
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