Scientist Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen was working on a vacuum tube experiment at his lab in Wurzburg on November 8, 1895, when he became aware of a strange glow coming from a nearby chemically coated screen. Confounded and intrigued, he gave the mysterious new rays causing this glow the name "X-rays" because of their then-unexplained origin. After experimenting with the new rays, he discovered that holding his hand in front of the glow allowed him to see through his skin to his bones, creating the first X-ray picture in history.