Turns Out, CPR Doll’s Face Is A Copy Of 19th Century Drowned Woman’s Face
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You’d probably be surprised how many everyday objects and common things have ridiculous, bizarre, or even hilarious origin stories. Like the stethoscope! This ingenious piece of medical equipment, which became an inseparable part of a doctor’s image, was actually invented under quite amusing circumstances. Back in the day (the 19th century, to be precise), when doctors would rely on laying their ears on the patients body to hear their heartbeat, one physician, Rene Laennec, felt uncomfortable examining a female patient that close, so he took a piece of paper, rolled it up and, voila! Your first stethoscope was created!
“L’Inconnue de la Seine” was a woman whose death mask fascinated hundreds and saved thousands
However, some interesting stories have much grimmer beginnings. L’Inconnue de la Seine is a morbid icon in the art world, a death mask that feels uncanny to look at as it combines two things that usually don’t belong together. A portrait of a dead person and an utter sense of peace.
Although the exact origins are unknown, it is widely believed that the unidentified young woman whose death mask fascinated hundreds and saved thousands, was likely a victim of suicide. The story says that her body was pulled out of the River Seine in the late 1880s and showed no signs of violence, thus the suicide claim. Considering the state of her skin and features, some specialists have estimated the girl’s age to be no greater than 16 years. The pathologist at the Paris Morgue was reportedly so fascinated by the beautiful woman that he made a wax death mask.
Image credits: Nicolas Halftermeyer
The pathologist wasn’t the only person charmed by her calmness and beauty as numerous copies of the death mask were created, to the point where many Parisians kept it at home as a fashionable morbid fixture. Some people dwelled on the expression on the girls face. Famously, Albert Camus compared the girl’s smile to that of Mona Lisa’s, inviting many speculations about her status, circumstances, and death.
Image credits: Megan Rosenbloom
The image spread widely through history, inspiring many art pieces, stories, and novels. Some historians and scholars even note that The Unknown Woman of the Seine was a fashion icon with women trying to model their looks on her.
Image credits: Richard Jonkman
Image credits: George Hodan
Peter Safar and Asmund Laerdal, the creators of the first aid mannequin Resusci Anne, chose the Seine woman’s death mask as the face of the CPR procedure doll. As the mannequin was used for practicing CPR steps, L’Inconnue de la Seine has been dubbed the most kissed face of all time.
Image credits: Till Krech
Image credits: John Haslam
We’re all aware that the CPR mannequin is not alive. But not many realize how actually dead it is. Quite a horrifying thought!
Image credits: Phil Parker
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Amanda Cole is caught in her feels. The kissing reference is due to the colloquialism of calling resuscitation the 'kiss of life'. No need to sexualise it.
You have to wonder what her life was like, that death created an expression of such sublime contentment.
She's an enigmatic mystery. So serene. And she'll never know how important her face has become.
That is not significant they could have used a cpr mask that looks like something other than this young adults face I think this is a violation of morals.
Um, first of all, doing CPR is not kissing a person. Second, it's creepy how fascinated so many men were with the face of a dead girl. Third, I don't really care whose face it is on the CPR dummy, but I think it's interesting that we only have male chest CPR dummies, but the face of a woman?
St Johns ambulance first aid have stopped teaching the "kissing" part. 1: The movement of the chest with the compressions also moves air. 2: the mouth to mouth was the part that was hardest to get right. 3: It is more important to keep the heart compressions going in a rhythm.
Feels a little pessimistic to be humming “Another One Bites the Dust” while performing chest compressions. Try using “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees. Slightly more optimistic and also a 100 BPM song.
Yeah it's changed since I learnt mate. The song 'Another one bites the dust' by Queen is the perfect rhythm.
We have had female chests in Australia for at least a decade. [ sorry cannot edit here, only delete, don't know why ]
Not picking a fight, just injecting some levity, pointing out the song titles. Wife’s a nurse, I was a first aid/CPR trainer.
l like that they are no longer emphasising the breathing part of CPR..l broke the neck on my dummy when doing my test because l could not get down properly to do that section, well at least from the left hand side of Mannequin..but better the neck of the CPR dummy than a human..
We learned it with the Bee Gees song staying alive appropriate title and perfect rythm 120 bpm
This comment has been deleted.
The amount of compressions has increased but we still do the breathing, just not after 15 compressions but after 30. In fact I have my advanced life support (ACLS) next week.
Todd, I wouldn't be humming anything if doing compressions, it's extremely tiring to do CPR. My Dad is a paramedic and he taught me that song. There's plenty of 100bpm songs. This one is well known and in no way offensive anyone if all I'm doing is counting the beat in my head.
That's what I thought.... They kept remakes of her face in their house... Like a showpiece... What's going on ?? It's really weird
Can't deny that... Her story is like one of those things that run around on Twitter like "don't be sad omg you're so sexy" or "don't deactivate omg you're so pretty" that some fuckboys use..
It is Weird! But humans are weird.
It's easier to learn on a flat chest. If breasts are present on person needing chest compressions, hands still aim for the sternum. I still wonder how the poor lass ended up in the Seine.
But doesn't lack of practice on a big chest mean a big chested person is less likely to be saved? Mmmh, maybe I'm over reacting here, but maybe they need to practise on a variety of dolls of different shapes and sizes (child and baby sizes included)
Daria B these days there are all kinds of resuscitation dummy's, including babies and small children. In answer to your question, no the big chested person would receive same approach. Hands clasped on top of one another and place over sternum and get pumping. I'm not sure if you mean "big breasts or a big chest in general"? Both would require same technique.
I see, Han. Thanks for the clarification.
I wonder if practising only on male chests makes people less likely/too embarassed to try it on a woman in need though.
Well, so better to learn with the difficult issue. How do they expect to safe women if only they practise with easier things?
There is actually research showing that women are less likely to be saved due to people feeling uncomfortable doing compressions on a person with breasts. Therefore there are dummys with add on breasts to be practiced on.
The reason people are uncomfortable on woman is not that they dont know how but they are scard of being seen as pervs for touching boobs. The stigma and sexualization of breasts are the problem
I am an Ambulance officer and in my practice, CPR is well used to try and save sometimes life, so I like that you have brought up the fact that there are generally only flat chested Anne mannequins, because in reality there is quite a big difference doing quality chest compressions on a flat chested person to that of a large perky-breasted woman. Sure, the CPR procedure is basically the same, but it is definitely much harder to get your hand placement exactly right when there are large breasts that take up most of the chest area. I've never attempted resuscitation on anyone with silicone breast implants. I wonder if that would also hinder our CPR ability, due to how the implants would change the way the breasts would be positioned upwards, compared to someone without who's breasts are probably more prone to laying flat when the patient is laying supine on the floor?
I thought it was kinda weird too. They're entirely glossing over the sadness of why she was so distraught, or just the sadness someone met an early end, cuz "her beauty". I understand it's a peaceful face, in a way, but I think it demands more somber thoughts than what all these men were going for. "This is a sad moment in this woman's life, I must make a mask cuz shes beautiful!" feels insensitive to me.
It was the 1880's.
Death masks were a common practice before the advent and affordability of photography. Death masks and post-mortem photography were often the only way the living could remember the faces of the dead. This girl's serene expression was what captivated the mortician. She has an enigmatic smile, like that of the Mona Lisa.
Not to mention that there’s still a remote chance it wasn’t suicide. Any idea just how heavy long skirts and multiple petticoats can be, and how hard it would be to move legs tangled in them? Not to mention she probably had never learned to swim (women didn’t have the chance to—-no streamlined swimsuits as we know them, and what “bathing costumes” existed were only a fraction less heavy and cumbersome as street clothes, and not meant for actual swimming). If she was pushed, or given something to knock her out then thrown in the water, that makes it murder. A possibility to ponder.
The mask was because of the beauty and the oxymoron in the combination of her sense of peace whilst she had died by suicide. Apparently quite rare. Slightly more artistic motivation that "she is so beautiful "
Rescue Annie has never ha a male chest, always a female chest. Male dummies have male chests.
Anne doll is used in various countries to practise CPR and really many people think that she is a male doll because of the small breasts. I have been in several first aid courses and there always is someone who thinks that Anne is a boy. :D
Some women dont have much of a chest...
Cora was that comment for me or the girl thats comment Ive replied to? 🤨
PieFace I certainly don't
Are you the one in every group where people groan when you speak because you're not happy until you tell everyone that you know everything? 1) Everyone knows the (now outdated Mouth to Mouth for laypeople) isn't kissing...it's simply a turn of phrase. 2) Who cares that it's the face of a woman on a "man's body", if you've ever done CPR, you'll know it's quite difficult to do around breasts and not conducive to learning to do CPR if you've never done it before.
Feel better now?
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Do you think we really need CPR dummies with boobs? Seriously??:) I think this is a very ''inclusive'' trans friendly dummy!
Amanda Cole is caught in her feels. The kissing reference is due to the colloquialism of calling resuscitation the 'kiss of life'. No need to sexualise it.
You have to wonder what her life was like, that death created an expression of such sublime contentment.
She's an enigmatic mystery. So serene. And she'll never know how important her face has become.
That is not significant they could have used a cpr mask that looks like something other than this young adults face I think this is a violation of morals.
Um, first of all, doing CPR is not kissing a person. Second, it's creepy how fascinated so many men were with the face of a dead girl. Third, I don't really care whose face it is on the CPR dummy, but I think it's interesting that we only have male chest CPR dummies, but the face of a woman?
St Johns ambulance first aid have stopped teaching the "kissing" part. 1: The movement of the chest with the compressions also moves air. 2: the mouth to mouth was the part that was hardest to get right. 3: It is more important to keep the heart compressions going in a rhythm.
Feels a little pessimistic to be humming “Another One Bites the Dust” while performing chest compressions. Try using “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees. Slightly more optimistic and also a 100 BPM song.
Yeah it's changed since I learnt mate. The song 'Another one bites the dust' by Queen is the perfect rhythm.
We have had female chests in Australia for at least a decade. [ sorry cannot edit here, only delete, don't know why ]
Not picking a fight, just injecting some levity, pointing out the song titles. Wife’s a nurse, I was a first aid/CPR trainer.
l like that they are no longer emphasising the breathing part of CPR..l broke the neck on my dummy when doing my test because l could not get down properly to do that section, well at least from the left hand side of Mannequin..but better the neck of the CPR dummy than a human..
We learned it with the Bee Gees song staying alive appropriate title and perfect rythm 120 bpm
This comment has been deleted.
The amount of compressions has increased but we still do the breathing, just not after 15 compressions but after 30. In fact I have my advanced life support (ACLS) next week.
Todd, I wouldn't be humming anything if doing compressions, it's extremely tiring to do CPR. My Dad is a paramedic and he taught me that song. There's plenty of 100bpm songs. This one is well known and in no way offensive anyone if all I'm doing is counting the beat in my head.
That's what I thought.... They kept remakes of her face in their house... Like a showpiece... What's going on ?? It's really weird
Can't deny that... Her story is like one of those things that run around on Twitter like "don't be sad omg you're so sexy" or "don't deactivate omg you're so pretty" that some fuckboys use..
It is Weird! But humans are weird.
It's easier to learn on a flat chest. If breasts are present on person needing chest compressions, hands still aim for the sternum. I still wonder how the poor lass ended up in the Seine.
But doesn't lack of practice on a big chest mean a big chested person is less likely to be saved? Mmmh, maybe I'm over reacting here, but maybe they need to practise on a variety of dolls of different shapes and sizes (child and baby sizes included)
Daria B these days there are all kinds of resuscitation dummy's, including babies and small children. In answer to your question, no the big chested person would receive same approach. Hands clasped on top of one another and place over sternum and get pumping. I'm not sure if you mean "big breasts or a big chest in general"? Both would require same technique.
I see, Han. Thanks for the clarification.
I wonder if practising only on male chests makes people less likely/too embarassed to try it on a woman in need though.
Well, so better to learn with the difficult issue. How do they expect to safe women if only they practise with easier things?
There is actually research showing that women are less likely to be saved due to people feeling uncomfortable doing compressions on a person with breasts. Therefore there are dummys with add on breasts to be practiced on.
The reason people are uncomfortable on woman is not that they dont know how but they are scard of being seen as pervs for touching boobs. The stigma and sexualization of breasts are the problem
I am an Ambulance officer and in my practice, CPR is well used to try and save sometimes life, so I like that you have brought up the fact that there are generally only flat chested Anne mannequins, because in reality there is quite a big difference doing quality chest compressions on a flat chested person to that of a large perky-breasted woman. Sure, the CPR procedure is basically the same, but it is definitely much harder to get your hand placement exactly right when there are large breasts that take up most of the chest area. I've never attempted resuscitation on anyone with silicone breast implants. I wonder if that would also hinder our CPR ability, due to how the implants would change the way the breasts would be positioned upwards, compared to someone without who's breasts are probably more prone to laying flat when the patient is laying supine on the floor?
I thought it was kinda weird too. They're entirely glossing over the sadness of why she was so distraught, or just the sadness someone met an early end, cuz "her beauty". I understand it's a peaceful face, in a way, but I think it demands more somber thoughts than what all these men were going for. "This is a sad moment in this woman's life, I must make a mask cuz shes beautiful!" feels insensitive to me.
It was the 1880's.
Death masks were a common practice before the advent and affordability of photography. Death masks and post-mortem photography were often the only way the living could remember the faces of the dead. This girl's serene expression was what captivated the mortician. She has an enigmatic smile, like that of the Mona Lisa.
Not to mention that there’s still a remote chance it wasn’t suicide. Any idea just how heavy long skirts and multiple petticoats can be, and how hard it would be to move legs tangled in them? Not to mention she probably had never learned to swim (women didn’t have the chance to—-no streamlined swimsuits as we know them, and what “bathing costumes” existed were only a fraction less heavy and cumbersome as street clothes, and not meant for actual swimming). If she was pushed, or given something to knock her out then thrown in the water, that makes it murder. A possibility to ponder.
The mask was because of the beauty and the oxymoron in the combination of her sense of peace whilst she had died by suicide. Apparently quite rare. Slightly more artistic motivation that "she is so beautiful "
Rescue Annie has never ha a male chest, always a female chest. Male dummies have male chests.
Anne doll is used in various countries to practise CPR and really many people think that she is a male doll because of the small breasts. I have been in several first aid courses and there always is someone who thinks that Anne is a boy. :D
Some women dont have much of a chest...
Cora was that comment for me or the girl thats comment Ive replied to? 🤨
PieFace I certainly don't
Are you the one in every group where people groan when you speak because you're not happy until you tell everyone that you know everything? 1) Everyone knows the (now outdated Mouth to Mouth for laypeople) isn't kissing...it's simply a turn of phrase. 2) Who cares that it's the face of a woman on a "man's body", if you've ever done CPR, you'll know it's quite difficult to do around breasts and not conducive to learning to do CPR if you've never done it before.
Feel better now?
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Do you think we really need CPR dummies with boobs? Seriously??:) I think this is a very ''inclusive'' trans friendly dummy!