Wikipedia's first sentence called it “popular american sex therapist”. Today it says “german and american sex therapist and talk show host”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “German-American sex therapist”. It now reads “German-American sex therapist (1928–2024) Karola”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2005 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2005
Ruth Karola Westheimer , popularly known as Dr. Ruth , (born Karola Ruth Siegel June 4 , 1928 in Frankfurt am Main in Germany ), is a popular American sex therapist . Westheimer was sent without her parents to Switzerland when she was ten years old and spent World War II there. Her parents both perished in the Holocaust , and after the war, she joined the Haganah in Jerusalem . She was trained as a sniper and was wounded in action by a bomb during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War . She subsequently studied psychology at Sorbonne University where she also taught. She emigrated to the United States in 1956 and attended Columbia University , where she earned her Master's in sociology and a PhD in education. She completed post-doctoral work in human sexuality at New York Hospital-Cornell University Medical Center in New York City . Her pioneering show Sexually Speaking aired for the first time in 1980 as a 15-minute taped show. The show has increased in popularity since then and is now broadcast over the entire United States. Its format is noted as being candid, humorous, and respectful. Westheimer has written a number of books on human sexuality, including Dr. Ruth's Encyclopedia of Sex . She has also worked as a lecturer and a professor at New York University and taught a seminar on sex recently at Yale University . She currently has a nationally-syndicated television show and a nationally-syndicated radio show.1
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 16119955.
The opening as it stood in 2010 15 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Ruth Westheimer (born June 4, 1928) is an German - American sex therapist , media personality, and author.Best known as Dr.Ruth , the New York Times described her as a " Sorbonne -trained psychologist who became a kind of cultural icon in the 1980s.The Sister Wendy of sexuality , she ushered in the new age of freer, franker talk about sex on radio and television—and was endlessly parodied for her limitless enthusiasm and for having an accent only a psychologist could have." Barron, James.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 371284507.
The opening as it stood in 2015
Ruth Westheimer (born June 4, 1928) is an American sex therapist , media personality, and author best known as Dr. The New York Times described her as a " Sorbonne -trained psychologist who became a kind of cultural icon in the 1980s.… She ushered in the new age of freer, franker talk about sex on radio and television—and was endlessly parodied for her limitless enthusiasm and for having an accent only a psychologist could have." Barron, James.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 668163506.
The opening as it stood in 2020 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
German-American sex therapist Ruth Westheimer (born June 4, 1928), better known as Dr.Ruth , is a German-American sex therapist , media personality, author, radio, television talk show host, and Holocaust survivor .Her media career began in 1980 with the radio show Sexually Speaking , which continued until 1990.She has hosted several series on the Lifetime Channel and other cable television networks from 1984 to 1993 and is the author of 45 books on sex and sexuality.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 961515705.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
German-American sex therapist (born 1928) Karola Ruth Westheimer ( née Siegel ; born June 4, 1928), better known as Dr.Ruth , is a German-American who is a sex–therapist , talk show host, author, professor, and Holocaust survivor .Westheimer was born in Germany to a Jewish family.As the Nazis came to power, her parents sent the ten-year-old girl to a school in Switzerland for safety, remaining behind themselves because of her elderly grandmother.They were both subsequently sent to concentration camps by the Gestapo , where they were killed.After World War II ended, she immigrated to British-controlled Mandatory Palestine .Despite being only 4 feet 7 inches (1.39 m) tall and 17 years of age, she joined the Haganah , and was trained as a sniper , but never saw combat.On her 20th birthday, Westheimer was seriously wounded in action by an exploding shell during a mortar fire attack on Jerusalem during the 1947–1949 Palestine war , and almost lost both of her feet.Moving to Paris, France two years later, she studied psychology at the Sorbonne .Immigrating to the United States in 1956, she worked as a maid to put herself through graduate school, earned an M.A. degree in sociology from The New School in 1959, and earned a doctorate at 42 years of age from Teachers College, Columbia University , in 1970.Over the next decade, she taught at a number of universities, and had a private sex therapy practice.Westheimer's media career began in 1980 with the radio call-in show Sexually Speaking , which continued until 1990.In 1983 it was the top-rated radio show in the area, in the country's largest radio market.She then launched a television show, The Dr.Ruth Show , which by 1985 attracted 2 million viewers a week.She became known for giving serious advice while being candid, but also warm, cheerful, funny, and respectful, and for her tag phrase; "Get some".The New York Times noted in 1984 that she had risen "from obscurity to almost instant stardom." She hosted several series on the Lifetime Channel and other cable television networks from 1984 to 1993.She became a household name and major cultural figure, appeared on several network TV shows, co-starred in a movie with Gérard Depardieu , appeared on the cover of People , sang on a Tom Chapin album, appeared in several commercials, and hosted Playboy videos. She is the author of 45 books on sex and sexuality. The one-woman 2013 play Becoming Dr.Ruth , written by Mark St.Germain , is about her life, as is the 2019 documentary, Ask Dr.Ruth , directed by Ryan White .Westheimer has been inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame , and awarded the Magnus Hirschfeld Medal , the Ellis Island Medal of Honor , the Leo Baeck Medal , the Planned Parenthood Margaret Sanger Award , and the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1176992395.
The opening as it stood in 2025 5 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Ruth , was a German and American sex therapist and talk show host. Westheimer was born in Germany to a Jewish family. As the Nazis came to power, her parents sent the 10-year-old girl to a school in Switzerland for safety while they remained behind because of her elderly grandmother.Both were killed in concentration camps .At 4 feet 7 inches (140 cm) tall and 17 years of age, she joined the Haganah , and was trained as a sniper .On her 20th birthday, she was wounded in action by an exploding shell during mortar fire on Jerusalem during the 1947–1949 Palestine War , and almost lost both feet.Two years later, Westheimer moved to Paris, France, where she studied psychology at the Sorbonne .Immigrating to the United States in 1956, she worked as a maid to put herself through graduate school, earned a Master of Arts in sociology from The New School in 1959, and earned a doctorate at age 42 from Teachers College, Columbia University , in 1970. Over the next decade, she taught at a number of universities and had a private sex therapy practice. Westheimer's media career began in 1980 with the radio call-in show Sexually Speaking , which continued until 1990. In 1983 it was the top-rated radio show in the country's largest radio market. She then launched a television show, The Dr. Ruth Show , which by 1985 attracted two million viewers a week. She became known for giving serious advice while being candid, but also warm, cheerful, funny, and respectful, and for her tag phrase: "Get some". In 1984 The New York Times noted that she had risen "from obscurity to almost instant stardom." She hosted several series on the Lifetime Channel and other cable television networks from 1984 to 1993. She became a household name and major cultural figure, appeared on several network TV shows, co-starred in a movie with Gérard Depardieu , appeared on the cover of People , sang on a Tom Chapin album, appeared in several commercials, and hosted Playboy videos. She was the author of 45 books on sex and sexuality. The one-woman 2013 play Becoming Dr. Ruth , written by Mark St. Germain , is about Westheimer's life, as is the 2019 documentary, Ask Dr. Ruth , directed by Ryan White . She was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame , and awarded the Magnus Hirschfeld Medal , the Ellis Island Medal of Honor , the Leo Baeck Medal , the Planned Parenthood Margaret Sanger Award , and the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany . The New York Times . Amy Spiro (July 13, 2024), "World famous Jewish sex therapist Dr.Ruth Westheimer dies at 96" , Times of Israel
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1295120614. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “popular american sex therapist”. Today it says “german and american sex therapist and talk show host”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “German-American sex therapist”. It now reads “German-American sex therapist (1928–2024) Karola”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
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What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2005, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
popular american sex therapist
Now
german and american sex therapist and talk show host
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.