In 1848, a man named Phineas Gage blew a crowbar right through his head with blasting powder,

but somehow survived the appalling injury.

It became a bedrock case in neurology.

If you've heard his story, you might have heard that his personality completely changed

as a result of the brain injury.

But today, neurologists are taking another look, and correcting some of the ways Por Phineas

has been misused by the textbooks.

Phineas Gage is coming up next on Skeptoid.

You're listening to Skeptoid.

I'm Brian Dunning from Skeptoid.com.

Phineas Gage on second thought.

Nearly every student beginning their neurology studies is told the story of Phineas Gage, the

man who had an iron rod shot through his head and survived.

The story goes that he was personable before the accident, and profane and hostile afterwards.

It was the first time scientists of the day learned that the brain and the mind are connected,

that damage to one can affect the other.

Ever since his unfortunate accident, Phineas Gage has occupied that top step on the podium

of famous cases in neurology.

He's heard it, nobody doubts it.

Today, we're going to take a lesson from almost 750 past episodes of Skeptoid and view

Phineas through our Skeptical Eye.

Did the real events match the story that's told today?

...