The Craziest Secrets You Should Know About Hospitals

Being Discharged? Take Notes

One study found that patients forget 40 percent to 80 percent of what doctors and nurses tell them, even if they’re nodding their heads. Have someone with you to take notes or tape-record what the doctor says on a smartphone. (Ask, “Do you mind if I tape-record this?”) The most critical time to record is at discharge, when you receive crucial information about medications and next steps.

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The More You Know

  • The television was invented only two years after the invention of sliced bread.
  • A 26-sided shape is known as a small rhombicuboctahedron.
  • An 11-year-old is responsible for naming Pluto.
  • The Nobel Committee declined to award the Nobel Peace Prize in 1948 because "there was no suitable living candidate." This was meant as tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, who was assassinated earlier that year without receiving the Prize.
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