Ben Davison, ape 15, of Spokane, Washington, for his question:

How come the doctor symbol has a sword and two snakes?

This symbol is called a caduceus and it dates way back into antiquity. The caduceus of early history was a special wand carried by a herald or messenger. In the days of ancient Greece and Rome, daily life was tied to a belief in super human gods and goddesses. Many common symbols were associated with the appropriate deity. And one of the most picturesque of these super humans was Mercury, alias Hermes, the message carrier of the gods themselves. He was pictured with wings on his fleet feet and it seemed natural that he should carry in his hand the magical caduceus symbol of the herald.

The caduceus symbol used by the Armed Service Medical Corps and the medical profession in general is a staff twined with two serpents and topped with a pair of wings. The staff is not really a dangerous sword but certainly serpents maybe. w hazardous to human health. Archeologists tell us that the original staff of Mercury was twined with olive branches, but somewhere along the line they were transformed into a graceful pair of serpents.