Three cheers for a great scientist and humanitarian….Linus Pauling. His Day is celebrated on February 28th in the state of Oregon, because Pauling, a two-time Nobel Prize winner, is a native-son of Portland, and got his undergraduate degree at Oregon State University.
He both discovered the specific abnormality in the hemoglobin molecule that causes sickle-cell anemia, a landmark proof of the molecular basis of disease, and then fought against nuclear testing to aid in the reduction of nuclear bombs throughout the world. Although brilliant, some of his ideas have been rather roundly criticized, including his later-in-life support of Vitamin C as the ‘cure all’ for many health issues. If you crave EMERGEN-C, then you are celebrating one of Pauling’s more dubious claims; yet, revering a great scientist brings joys to the hearts of nerds beyond Oregon’s borders.