An interesting story. When I was in third grade in a one-room schoolhouse of grades 1-6, every row was a higher grade. There was one teacher for all. Where we lived was so small it wasn't named a village, town, or city. It was Clark Station near Gary, Indiana, even though there was no bus or train service.
One day, 3 men and a nurse came in and said they were going to tattoo our blood types on our bodies. They had what looked like a drill with a box full of different blood type medal markers. A desk was set up in the entrance way where the "nurse" sat. One man was in our room calling out a row number.
The children would line up in front of the nurse, she would prick the index finger, determine the blood type, we would be separated by type, and each row would be added. When all was done, another man fixed a marker on the "drill" and drilled it into our side. I don't remember if it hurt or not. Just remember being scared.
My mother was told it was the government's idea to protect the children in case of an atomic bomb attack. It was in the early 50s.
So, since third grade, I knew my blood type, B+. The mark only faded away after 50+ years. The strange thing for me was that no other school had done it.
Yesterday, a reader sent me this:
https://www.amusingplanet.com/2020/04/operation-tat-type-why-some-american.html
Operation Tat-Type: Why Some American Kids Got Tattooed With Blood-Type
If you're curious.
