Vermont railroad worker <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phineas_Gage" id="mwhg" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="Phineas Gage">Phineas Gage</a> survives an iron rod <style about="#mwt11" data-mw='{"name":"templatestyles","attrs":{"src":"Fraction/styles.css"},"body":{"extsrc":""},"parts":[{"template":{"target":{"wt":"convert","href":"./Template:Convert"},"params":{"1":{"wt":"1+1/4"},"2":{"wt":"inch"},"3":{"wt":"cm"}},"i":0}}]}' data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1154941027" id="mwhw" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles mw:Transclusion">.mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);clip-path:polygon(0px 0px,0px 0px,0px 0px);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}</style><span about="#mwt11" class="frac">1<span class="sr-only">+</span><span class="num">1</span><span typeof="mw:Entity">⁄</span><span class="den">4</span></span><span about="#mwt11"> inches (3.2</span><span about="#mwt11" typeof="mw:Entity"> </span><span about="#mwt11">cm)</span> in diameter being driven through his brain; the reported effects on his behavior and personality stimulate discussion of the nature of the brain and its functions.