Extra Life audiobook cover - A Short History of Living Longer

Extra Life

A Short History of Living Longer

Steven Johnson

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Extra Life
Core Premise+
Vaccination & Immunity+
Public Health & Food Safety+
Medical Regulation+
Antibiotics & Penicillin+
Automotive Safety+
Agriculture & Famine Reduction+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 7
What is the primary difference between early inoculation (variolation) and vaccination as described in the text?
  • A. Inoculation uses a similar but less harmful disease, while vaccination uses live strains of the real virus.
  • B. Inoculation involves deliberately infecting people with live strains of the real virus, while vaccination uses a similar but less harmful disease.
  • C. Inoculation was invented by Edward Jenner, while vaccination was practiced in ancient China.
  • D. Inoculation uses synthesized antibodies, while vaccination relies on natural immunity.
Question 2 of 7
Why was milk considered a highly dangerous substance in cities like New York during the mid-nineteenth century?
  • A. The process of early pasteurization inadvertently introduced deadly microbes into the milk supply.
  • B. Farmers intentionally added chemical preservatives to extend the shelf life of the milk during transport.
  • C. Cows were kept in cramped city quarters and fed unwholesome grain mash from distilleries, leading to disease.
  • D. Cows were exposed to a strain of cowpox that proved highly fatal when transmitted to human infants.
Question 3 of 7
How did the thalidomide tragedy change the way the FDA regulated pharmaceuticals in the United States?
  • A. It required pharmaceutical companies to prove that their drugs were effective, not merely safe.
  • B. It established a strict 60-day limit for the FDA to approve or reject any new medication.
  • C. It banned the use of synthetic chemicals in medications meant for pregnant women.
  • D. It shifted the responsibility of drug testing from the government to independent medical universities.
Question 4 of 7
What crucial contribution did Mary Hunt make to the widespread use of penicillin?
  • A. She conducted the first successful human trials of the antibiotic in Oxford.
  • B. She accidentally discovered the antibiotic properties of mold left by an open window.
  • C. She discovered a highly efficient strain of the mold on a rotting supermarket cantaloupe.
  • D. She convinced the US government to fund the mass production of antibiotics during World War II.
Question 5 of 7
What was the prevailing attitude of the automobile industry regarding car safety before the mid-1950s?
  • A. They believed that implementing safety features would make cars too heavy and fuel-inefficient.
  • B. They thought traveling at high speeds was inherently dangerous and that drivers simply had to accept the risk.
  • C. They assumed that strict government speed limits would naturally eliminate the risk of fatal accidents.
  • D. They relied entirely on the invention of the airbag, believing seat belts were unnecessary.
Question 6 of 7
Why did the three-point seat belt become widely adopted across the global automobile industry?
  • A. The US government immediately mandated its use in all imported and domestic vehicles.
  • B. Nils Bohlin sold the design to multiple car manufacturers at a heavily discounted rate.
  • C. Volvo chose not to enforce its patent on the invention, prioritizing public safety over profit.
  • D. Insurance companies refused to cover vehicles that did not feature the new seat belt design.
Question 7 of 7
How did Fritz Haber's 1908 discovery of synthesizing nitrates impact global populations?
  • A. It eradicated cholera by providing a new method to purify urban water supplies.
  • B. It allowed for the creation of artificial fertilizers, drastically boosting farm productivity and lowering famine risks.
  • C. It provided an inexpensive vitamin supplement that could be added to livestock feed, such as for chickens.
  • D. It led to the development of the first chemical pesticides, which eliminated crop-destroying insects globally.

Extra Life — Full Chapter Overview

Extra Life Summary & Overview

Extra Life (2021) looks at some of the breakthroughs that allowed the global human life expectancy to double in just one hundred years. From seat belts to explosives, from Ireland to Constantinople, it’s an account as gripping as it is wide-ranging.

Who Should Listen to Extra Life?

  • History buffs interested in lesser-known tales from times past 
  • Medical nerds fascinated by the history of human health
  • Humanitarians who want to learn from past progress

About the Author: Steven Johnson

Steven Johnson is a science writer and podcast host from Washington, DC. He is a regular contributor to the New York Times, the Financial Times, and the Wall Street Journal. He’s also the author of 13 books, including Emergence and Farsighted.

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