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The Face of Little Annie.

Stephen Benton • Jun 22, 2015

This face is known to millions around the world and been kissed by billions.

But did you know According to his company website, Asmund Laerdal, the founder of Laerdal Medical, based in Stavanger, Norway, based the face on a real person.

The story goes, According to popular myth at the end of the 19th century, a young girl's lifeless body was pulled from Paris's Quai François Mitterrand, which was then called Quai du Louvre.

As no signs of violence could be found on her, it was decided she had committed suicide, with some stories suggesting it was a case of unrequited love that prompted her death.

Because no one could identify her, a plaster mask of her face was made and hung outside a shop door.

Her delicate beauty became popular with artists and writers, who fabricated stories about the cause of her suicide.

Asmund Laerdal, who became a pioneer for making resuscitation aids out of soft plastic, in the 1950s he developed Resusci Annie, otherwise known as Rescue Annie, a life-like mannequin used to train people in mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

His website says he was so moved by the unknown woman's tragic background; he adopted her mask for his first-aid doll.

He was convinced that if a mannequin was life-like, students would be determined to learn the lifesaving procedure.

Millions have been taught how to breathe life into the face of the girl who is believed to have taken her own, making her the most kissed girl in the world.

Since its original introduction, several different versions of Resusci Anne have also been introduced, including ones that simulate other emergency medical conditions, such as severe wounds and trauma.

If the myth is true, then this young girls tragedy has probably lead to saving more life's than any other single person.

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