On the morning of 2 July 1951 in the United States, a postman wanted to deliver a letter to Mary Reeser, an elderly woman who lived alone in an apartment block. when the postman received no response, a neighbour of mrs reeser's offered to hand it to her. after knocking on the door several times' she tried turning the doorknob. it was so hot that she cried out in pain. fearing what might have happened she asked two house painters' who were working on the same seventh floor' to break into the apartment.
the men put their shoulders to the door and pushed it open