Al Southwick: Phineas Gage's hole in the head Al Southwick A recent TV program on research on the human brain brought to mind the name of Phineas Gage. Phineas Gage was famous 150 years ago because he had a hole in his head through which observers could see his gray, living brain. He lived for years with that anomaly. He was an expert on blasting, and on Sept. 13, 1848, he was working with a construction gang on a new line for the Rutland and Burlington Railroad in Vermont. He had just drilled the holes for the blasting powder and had started to temp the holes when his crowbar set off a spark. The ensuing explosion drove an iron bar through his head, ripping a piece of his skull away. The bloody remnant was picked up by one of the workers some distance away.