Nurse Using Ultra-Violet Lamp to Stencil Initials on a Baby’s Skin, 1038

In 1938, a new hand-type ultraviolet-ray lamp made it easier for nurses in a Brooklyn, N.Y., hospital to brand the initials of a new-born baby on his skin to prevent identification mix-ups in the hospital nursery. Soft ultra-violet rays passed through stenciled initials placed within the easily handled unit to tan the letters on the infant as well as on the mother. Harmless, the identification brand was said to remain visible for a period of two weeks.