Former GOP Sen. Hecht owes life to Democratic candidate Kerry "Former U.S. Sen. Chic Hecht of Nevada is a staunch Republican, but he thanks his lucky stars for Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts. On July 12, 1988, Hecht was attending a weekly Republican luncheon when a piece of apple lodged firmly in his throat." via Eschaton (Atrios)
posted by Postroad on Aug 11, 2004 - 30 comments

Heimlich falsely claims he invented surgical procedure. Have you ever been choking in a lovely restaurant and suddenly felt the hands of God around you, releasing forth the offending object? Henry Heimlich has long taken all of the credit for this procedure, though it had apparently been performed by Romanian doctor Dan Gavriliu at least four years before Heimlich started to make his claims.
posted by Pancake Overlord on Mar 16, 2003 - 9 comments