The application of fine needle aspiration ­cytology to the management of thyroid disorders has an interesting practical history. The first clinical uses of aspiration cytology evolved from Scandinavia in the 1950s [1]. Martin and Ellis utilized this technique in 1930 to diagnose a variety of masses at Memorial Hospital in New York [2]. Stewart then reported 2,500 tumors in 1933 [3]. Subsequently, other European publications began to emphasize the utility of this method to more accurately characterize thyroid nodules [4–7]. How did the interest in cytology polarize to Scandinavia in those early years? At that time, pathologists in the United States were reluctant to accept this technique due to various reasons.