Changes

A canal in the Isthmus of Panama. Completed in 1914, it was built by the Americans under President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt.

A canal in the Isthmus of Panama. Completed in 1914, it was built by the Americans under President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt.

The French had already attempted to build a canal through the isthmus, but couldn't do it. 22,000 of them died, whereas only 5,609 Americans died.

The French had already attempted to build a canal through the isthmus, but ended their attempt after 22,000 of them died, mostly due to yellow fever. Some 5,609 Americans died in the subsequent successful attempt to build the canal. This is due to the fact that the canal was not just an engineering, but also a medical triumph, as U. S. Army physician [[Walter Reed]] identified the mosquito ''Aedes aegypti'' as the carrier of yellow fever. Mosquito-control measures limited the spread of infection and made it possible to complete the work.

 

The canal was thus not just an engineering, but a medical triumph, credited to U. S. Army physician [[Walter Reed]]. Reed identified the mosquito ''Aedes aegypti'' as the carrier of yellow fever. Mosquito-control measures limited the spread of infection and made it possible to complete the work.

==Trivia==

==Trivia==

*A well-known [[palindrome]] (a sentence that reads the same forwards and backwards) is:

*A well-known [[palindrome]] (a sentence that reads the same forwards and backwards) is:

:::A man, a plan, a canal—Panama!

:::A man, a plan, a canal—Panama!