When the Great Plague Struck One English Community, It Acted Decisively

BBC Global: "The bubonic plague has been identified in the US for the first time in nearly a decade. But, thanks to modern medicine, it is much less deadly than it was in the past. When The Great Plague struck 17th century England, one rural community took decisive action that still fascinates historians centuries later." …

People Did Wear Masks During 1918 Flu Pandemic, But Some Resisted

Below is a meme being circulated on Facebook, with a photo of spectators at a football game in 1918 wearing masks. Many people did "mask up" at public events to some extent. Following new health precautions was widely considered patriotic. Even so, the pandemic killed 50 million people worldwide, out of a worldwide population of …

Yes, Local Governments Can Require Citizens to Get Vaccinated

This meme, popular on Facebook among anti-vaxxers, spreads an untruth. You do not have a constitutional right to endanger other people by refusing vaccinations and spreading disease(s). You may seek an exemption due to firmly-held religious belief(s) or disability but that only applies to a small percentage of the population. Covid-19 vaccine mandates are indeed …

How Do Pandemics Change Us and Societies? We Are Eyewitnesses to History

I've created a little photo essay to preserve my history of the pandemic. Neighbors, unable to communicate in person, communicated by writing messages in chalk on the sidewalk. One neighbor created a rock garden with little messages. The Bynum Bridge in Chatham County, NC over the Haw River, long a place for high school students …

Historical Study Predicts the Future, Revealed Pandemics Were Coming. We Must Prepare

John Green of Crash Course fame, in his weekly video-log podcast with his brother Hank, pointed out that he predicted the covid-19 pandemic, numerous times, because "I read a lot of history." No one should be surprised, he says, by "something as historically routine as pandemics. What we should be is prepared." Specifically, in mid-2019, …

Europe in the Global Age: 1990, 2000s, Today

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UauE2FUQYH0 Crash Course European History: "We "live in a global age, as we've been talking about Europe's role in the gobal community for 47 episodes now. But, pedantry aside, the world is more connected than ever, and that has had effects in Europe. Today we'll investigate how trade, communications, and disease have changed the continent.." …

Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918-20: How Did the World Recover?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0AoRkmj9YM&t=26s This History Time documentary explains how the two-year recession caused by the Spanish Flu pandemic after WWI, from 1918-20, was followed by the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression. At least 675,000 in the US lost their lives during the pandemic and half a billion people world-wide died. This led to a shortage of …

Are We As A Species Going to Become Extinct in Our Lifetimes?

My friend Bruce writes: "This is the first time since the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962 that I have faced the possibility of extinction of the human race. Do you think we are done for? Or do you think maybe at least a few of us will hang on to keep the species going?" …

If Rapid Deforestation Continues, More Pandemics Are Likely, Scientists Say

Scientists say 'promiscuous treatment of nature' will lead to more pandemics such as COVID-19. Habitat destruction forces wildlife into human environments, where new diseases flourish, The (UK) Guardian reports. "Deforestation and other forms of land conversion are driving exotic species out of their evolutionary niches and into manmade environments, where they interact and breed new …

Churchill’s Rhetorical Gifts and Honesty in War: How Battle Against Covid-19 Could Be Fought

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_G8YYuk2Zk&fbclid=IwAR0YAUcmfrdqOFJWsPvtBLLWFTifWv_sGZtvtcdLIzGGiXNVz8vvg9Wi_RQ Lest we forget: May 8, 2020 was the 75th anniversary of the allies' victory against Nazi Germany, V-E Day. The rhetoric of Winston Churchill lifted people up and helped them fight. He was a leader with a powerful command of the English language. BBC: Extracts of Winston Churchill's VE Day speech have been …