The Story of the Resusci Anne Mannequin

Did you know how the first prototype of a mannequin for practicing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) skills appeared? Whose face was once used to create the mannequin?

Many might wonder about this. I also happened to learn the history of the mannequin's origin quite by chance.

There are many versions of whose face was used when creating the mannequin for..., but the most plausible one is the story of the famous "Inconnue de la Seine" (the unknown woman of the Seine).

At the end of the 19th century, the body of a young girl ended up on a table in a Parisian morgue.

The body of a sixteen-year-old girl was pulled from the Seine River near the Louvre. As time passed, she was never identified.

In those days, it was fashionable to make casts, death masks of the deceased. A death mask was also made for this unknown girl. The cast was displayed in the morgue window and became truly popular. Copies were were made from the death mask and sold.

For 60 years, the Parisian drowning victim remained nameless. Only 60 years later was she "brought to life" and given a name.

In 1958, Norwegian toymaker Åsmund Laerdal received an order to develop a mannequin for practicing resuscitation skills.

The client was Austrian physician Peter Safar, the author of cardiopulmonary resuscitation courses. Åsmund Laerdal developed a female mannequin by copying the face from the mask of the unknown Parisian woman.

The mannequin would be named Resusci Anne ("Resuscitated Anne"). Thus, the unknown Parisian woman found her name.

Since then, "Anne" has become the model for all such mannequins, and everyone who trains on the mannequin kisses 💋 the "Inconnue de la Seine." There are so many such people that she is often called the MOST KISSED GIRL in the world!!!!