What were war masks?

# Stuff You Should Know Episode Summary

Josh and Chuck dive into the hidden history of World War One's facial reconstruction pioneers, exploring how the unprecedented carnage of industrial warfare created a sudden crisis of disfigured soldiers that pushed plastic surgery into the modern age. When traditional surgery reached its limits, innovative artists like Francis Derwent Wood and Anna Coleman Ladd stepped in to create remarkably lifelike metal portrait masks that restored not function, but identity and dignity to thousands of traumatized veterans. It's a fascinating and poignant story about how human ingenuity and compassion emerged from the horrors of war, paired with a sobering look at how cruelly society treated these men despite their sacrifice.