Friday / Weekend Open Line


Few of us have the opportunity to actually change the shape of people’s lives and help them to live more happily. Such a man was Dr. Claire Straith of Southfield, Michigan, whose birthday in 1891 is noted today. Treating soldiers wounded in World War I, he pioneered many techniques in plastic and cosmetic surgery that are still in use today. Later, noting that he was performing a lot of reconstructive surgery on crash victims, Straith successfully urged automakers to use safety glass and remove dangerous projections from the interiors of their cars. There are some 7,300 plastic surgeons among the 972,000 medical doctors in the U.S. today. You can find current data on the country’s economy by downloading the new America’s Economy mobile application at <www.census.gov/mobile>