"Ignaz Semmelweis Saved Lives: Wash Your Hands"

Question

by Dr. Howard Markel

On this date in 1850, a prickly Hungarian obstetrician named Ignaz Semmelweis stepped up to the podium of the Vienna Medical Society’s lecture hall. It was a grand and ornately decorated room where some of medicine’s greatest discoveries were first announced. The evening of May 15 would hardly be different — even if those present (and many more who merely read about it) did not acknowledge Semmelweis’s marvelous discovery for several decades.

A photo shows soapy hands being washed in a sink.
Source: mast3r. Shutterstock

What, exactly, was the doctor’s advice to his colleagues on that long ago night? It could be summed up in three little words: wash your hands!

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Question
Use the passage to answer the question.

In this text, why might the author have included a statement of the solution before the problem in the way they structured the text?

(1 point)
Responses

to show how serious Ignaz Semmelweis was about his solution
to show how serious Ignaz Semmelweis was about his solution

to emphasize how simple the solution was compared with how significant the problems were
to emphasize how simple the solution was compared with how significant the problems were

to emphasize how Ignaz Semmelweis’s solution did not need much explanation
to emphasize how Ignaz Semmelweis’s solution did not need much explanation

to show that the solution was reached before the problem was discovered

Answer 1

The most appropriate response is:

to emphasize how simple the solution was compared with how significant the problems were.

This choice highlights the contrast between the complexity and severity of the medical issues Semmelweis was addressing and the simplicity of his proposed solution—washing hands. This structure helps to underline the significance and impact of his discovery.