Sydney Reynolds' Miraculous Recovery from Swallowing Glass
Published October 13, 2026 at 5:32 AM
Contributed by
Millennial Star Research
Sydney Reynolds, a young man in Salt Lake City, accidentally swallowed a piece of glass from an exploded incandescent lamp while eating breakfast in a rush. The glass, which was one inch long and three-quarters of an inch wide, lacerated his esophagus. Medical advice was sought, and he recovered the glass after following a diet of mashed potatoes and linseed tea.
Fuller account of this event (the complete account as preserved in The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 65, No. 25, 18 June 1903, p. 398):
A young man named Sydney Reynolds, of Salt Lake City, while eating his breakfast in a hurry, accidentally swallowed a piece of glass from an exploded incandescent lamp. The piece of glass was one inch long and three-quarters of an inch wide. It lacerated the esophagus, but by following a diet of mashed potatoes and linseed tea, he recovered the glass and is now doing well.
In Their Own Words
“The danger of rapid, careless eating and the risks that can be obtained in bolting food had a unique illustration in Salt Lake City recently. A young man, Sydney Reynolds, rose late one morning and ate his breakfast hastily in order to be on time for work. During the night an incandescent lamp in the pantry had exploded and pieces of glass were scattered everywhere. One of these was swallowed by the youth along with his unchewed food, and being of considerable size it lacerated the esophagus considerably on its way to the stomach. Emetics failed to bring it back, and under medical direction the young man made a diet of mashed potatoes and linseed tea with the result that he recovered the glass. This, when measured, was found to be one inch long and three-quarters of an inch across in its widest parts. — Millennial Star 65:25”
Sources & References
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), 18 June 1903 (Vol. 65, No. 25). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1903-06-18_65_25 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Complete account: The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 65, No. 25, 18 June 1903, p. 398 https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1903-06-18_65_25
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