The concept of cryonics, or freezing one's body after death, is explored. The story begins with a British schoolgirl who won the right to freeze her body after death, hoping to be revived when a cure for her cancer is found. The story then delves into the history of cryonics, including the first recorded attempt to revive a person using ice, which was proposed for George Washington after his death.
The story highlights the work of Robert Ettinger, an American soldier who wrote about the possibility of deep freezing a person to revive them in the future. He was later frozen himself, becoming the 106th person to undergo the procedure.
The process of cryopreservation is explained, including the use of anticoagulants, cryoprotectors, and liquid nitrogen to cool the body to -196 degrees. The story notes that only three companies in the world offer this service: ALCOR, the American Cryonics Institute, and the Russian company KrioRus.
The story also touches on the idea that even if a person is frozen, it's impossible to revive them with current technology. However, people are freezing themselves in the hopes that future technology will be able to revive them.
The story concludes by encouraging young people to be open to new ideas and to take risks, highlighting the example of Thomas Edison, Louis Bralf, and Steve Jobs, who all made significant contributions to innovation at a young age. The story also mentions a project called #CAPTAIN, which aims to encourage young people to turn their ideas into their own businesses.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. A British schoolgirl with terminal cancer won the right to freeze her body after death in court.
2. Robert Ettinger and his wife May have prepared documents for their freezing after death.
3. Exactly 50 years ago, James Bell, a professor of physics at the University of California, was frozen a few hours after his death.
4. James Bell's body is still in good condition and may be revived in the future.
5. George Washington was associated with the idea of resurrection and was afraid of being buried alive.
6. George Washington asked to be buried three days after his death, but his family did not agree with his plan to be frozen and revived.
7. In 1780, Uigi Vagliani discovered that passing electric discharges through a frog's corpse could make its limbs twitch.
8. Giovani Aldini passed current through a human corpse and made public displays of it.
9. In 1999, a girl named Sanna Beguilion survived for 80 minutes under ice after falling into a lake while skiing.
10. Sanna Beguilion's body temperature dropped to -13.7 degrees Celsius, but she was revived and her neck was eventually restored.
11. There are currently only three companies in the world that provide cryopreservation services: ALCOR, the American Cryonics Institute, and the Russian company KrioRus.
12. To be frozen, one must sign a contract during their lifetime and pay between $40,000 to $250,000.
13. Freezing only one's head or brain is also an option and costs between $10,000 to $120,000.
14. Currently, several thousand people and dozens of animals have been cryopreserved.
15. A Russian company called KrioRus has frozen 54 people, including 14 foreigners, and 8 dogs, 6 cats, and 3 birds.
16. Robert Ettinger, an American soldier with Russian roots, wrote a book called "Prospects of Immortality" and was frozen in 2011.
17. Neil Wanton, who considers himself immortal, wears a bracelet with instructions on what to do with his body after death.