In September 2021, a yellowed photograph of a menacing-looking woman with a hammer went viral on social media. The caption said that this was an anesthesiologist named Matilda, and the photo was taken in 1894. We checked if this is true.

Caused a great response on Facebook publication, made by a user named Alex Howitt, has almost 6,000 shares as of September 22. There are also publications on 4300 And 4600 reposts. Photography is also popular in other social networks, as well as on humorous sites. In a number of sources TBCthat Matilda's last name is Crawford.

Upon closer inspection, the photograph raises several questions.

First of all, the hammer takes a really long time used in anesthesia until the availability of appropriate chemical agents. However, it was completely wooden, and the instrument shown in the photo has a metal striker.

Secondly, 1894 is enough late date for the use of hammers for such purposes. At the end of the 18th century, Humphry Davy discovered the analgesic effect of nitrous oxide, in 1818 Michael Faraday described the effect of inhalation of sulfuric ether, and on March 30, 1842, the American doctor Crawford Long performed the first operation in the history of medicine using ether as an anesthetic. In the second half of the century, there was a boom in such drugs, many of which later became widespread as drugs.

Third, the sources do not know of a late 19th-century nurse named Matilda Crawford, although the presence of women in professional medicine was quite a notable event in those years. Some bearers of this name and surname who lived during the indicated period looked at all otherwise. Was it really in honor of the pioneer of anesthesia Long that the photographic Matilda got her “surname”?

Finally, what catches your eye is the rather strange, non-voluminous shape of the headdress with a cross on the lady. There is a feeling that it was added later. Although this does not mean that the rest of the picture and its caption are fake.

However, a short search among images on the Internet dispels the last doubts. This photo was known to a certain circle of users even before its “anesthesiological” boom - for example, it was used in Russian-language demotivators in June And September 2019. In one case, the photo is black and white, in the other - color, the captions are completely different, and the medical cap has disappeared from the lady’s head.

In 2012–2015, a mockumentary series was aired on the American Discovery Channel "Amish Mafia" — about representatives of a religious movement living in one of the counties in Pennsylvania. The series was positioned as a reality show, although investigations show that there is no mafia in this Protestant community. However, you can also see real people in the series, one of whom is a woman named Mary Troyer, the heroine of the special Christmas special 2013 and more several series. As can be seen with the naked eye, it is this stern lady who is depicted in our photograph. The original photo can be seen on the dedicated Mary page on the Discovery Channel website. Judging by various shots, she has more than one hammer—she also has a wooden one: