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The 1918 spainish flu (A Tale of Two Cities)

Posted on 3/16/20 at 3:12 pm
Posted by JCinBAMA
North of Huntsville
Member since Oct 2009
18321 posts
Posted on 3/16/20 at 3:12 pm
Nice read...

In 1918, the city of Philadelphia threw a parade that killed thousands of people. Ignoring warnings of influenza among soldiers preparing for World War I, the march to support the war effort drew 200,000 people who crammed together to watch the procession.

Three days later, every bed in Philadelphia’s 31 hospitals was filled with sick and dying patients, infected by the Spanish flu.

A different story played out in St. Louis, just 900 miles away. Within two days of detecting its first cases among civilians, the city closed schools, playgrounds, libraries, courtrooms, and even churches.

Work shifts were staggered and streetcar ridership was strictly limited. Public gatherings of more than 20 people were banned.


By the end of the week, more than 4,500 were dead in an outbreak that would claim as many as 100 million people worldwide. By the time Philadelphia’s politicians closed down the city, it was too late.


You can read the rest here
Posted by JohnnyKilroy
Cajun Navy Vice Admiral
Member since Oct 2012
40291 posts
Posted on 3/16/20 at 3:19 pm to
quote:

A different story played out in St. Louis, just 900 miles away. Within two days of detecting its first cases among civilians, the city closed schools, playgrounds, libraries, courtrooms, and even churches.

Work shifts were staggered and streetcar ridership was strictly limited. Public gatherings of more than 20 people were banned.


I was told this never happened
Posted by salty1
Member since Jun 2015
5079 posts
Posted on 3/16/20 at 3:27 pm to
quote:

I was told this never happened


I agree. This comes across as propaganda, being used to help soften the impact of these ridiculous, knee-jerk, restrictions. I would love to see this article fact checked.

If it smells like a duck and walks like a duck...
Posted by jimbeam
University of LSU
Member since Oct 2011
75703 posts
Posted on 3/16/20 at 3:30 pm to
I mean, it’s the internet, so.
Posted by OKtiger
Tulsa, OK
Member since Nov 2014
8697 posts
Posted on 3/16/20 at 3:33 pm to
quote:

I agree. This comes across as propaganda, being used to help soften the impact of these ridiculous, knee-jerk, restrictions. I would love to see this article fact checked.


When are you dolts going to realize that it's probably not a good idea to spread an infection like this? We have literally been seeing with our own eyes what damage it can do to several cities now.. And it's only getting worse.

Yet you're here to bitch that you can't go to the movies. Give me a fricking break
Posted by red sox fan 13
Valley Park
Member since Aug 2018
18424 posts
Posted on 3/16/20 at 3:37 pm to
Man that time period sucked arse. If you weren’t dying in the WW1 meat grinder, you were dying of Spanish flu. Fun fact it actually started in like Kansas or something, but Spain was one of the few neutral countries with a free press that could cover it. Hence, Spanish Flu.
Posted by TheHarahanian
Actually not Harahan as of 6/2023
Member since May 2017
23098 posts
Posted on 3/16/20 at 3:40 pm to
quote:

I would love to see this article fact checked.


Won't happen because we don't have an independent news media.

quote:

We have literally been seeing with our own eyes what damage it can do to several cities now.


Underwhelming. Track deaths related to gang violence in major cities and I bet on average it outpaces corona.
Posted by Bjorn Cyborg
Member since Sep 2016
34080 posts
Posted on 3/16/20 at 3:41 pm to
This has been posted about 20 times and it’s mostly wrong and fully irrelevant
Posted by Number 9 Fan
Baton Rouge
Member since Jan 2020
681 posts
Posted on 3/16/20 at 3:45 pm to
quote:



Underwhelming. Track deaths related to gang violence in major cities and I bet on average it outpaces corona.

Fortunately none of my family is in a gang. Unfortunately I have family that’s at risk. You stop the gang violence, I’m going to try and do my part to stop the flu.
Posted by JCinBAMA
North of Huntsville
Member since Oct 2009
18321 posts
Posted on 3/16/20 at 3:46 pm to
Looking at the timeline that was some scary shite.

1918 Influenza Pandemic: A United States Timeline
Posted by rsb831
Member since Oct 2007
508 posts
Posted on 3/16/20 at 3:46 pm to
quote:

I would love to see this article fact checked.


Here you go - NIH link

Public health interventions and epidemic intensity during the 1918 influenza pandemic
Posted by OceanMan
Member since Mar 2010
22738 posts
Posted on 3/16/20 at 3:48 pm to
quote:

Yet you're here to bitch that you can't go to the movies.


You are posting in nearly every thread with nonsense that makes it loom like you can’t comprehend the economic impact of losing production and cash flow. People aren’t worried they can’t go to the movies.
Posted by RummelTiger
Official TD Sauces Club Member
Member since Aug 2004
92980 posts
Posted on 3/16/20 at 3:55 pm to
My take away from this is...HOW frickING BIG TEXAS IS!!!

Philly to St. Louis - 885 miles

Orange, TX to El Paso, TX - 857 miles.
Posted by Ghost of Colby
Alberta, overlooking B.C.
Member since Jan 2009
15051 posts
Posted on 3/16/20 at 4:07 pm to
The government, under the direction of Woodrow Wilson, was working to actively suppress information. Eventually the Sedition Act was passed that further enabled the government to threaten and silence information.

The parade was to promote war bonds. Simply reporting that it might not be a good idea to have such a gathering would be seen as speaking out against war bonds and the war.

It’s hard to be proactive and cancel events when the full scope and threat of the outbreak wasn’t known. Plus, the federal government was pushing the city to have it.
Posted by TheHarahanian
Actually not Harahan as of 6/2023
Member since May 2017
23098 posts
Posted on 3/16/20 at 4:09 pm to
quote:

Fortunately none of my family is in a gang. Unfortunately I have family that’s at risk. You stop the gang violence, I’m going to try and do my part to stop the flu


Fortunately for you, we’ll never shut down a lot of the country over gang violence or many other causes of death that are more fatal than corona.

And my advice about corona and gang violence would be the same: if you’re in an at-risk group, take precautions to protect yourself, and I’ll go live my life.
This post was edited on 3/16/20 at 4:14 pm
Posted by Mr. Hangover
New Orleans
Member since Sep 2003
34894 posts
Posted on 3/16/20 at 4:15 pm to
quote:

Philly to St. Louis - 885 miles

Orange, TX to El Paso, TX - 857 miles.



Like most stories about Texas, this is exaggerated

It’s only 766 miles from Orange to El Paso, diagonally
Posted by purpgoldblood
stick
Member since Oct 2005
1242 posts
Posted on 3/16/20 at 4:20 pm to
Spanish flu actually killed more people in 18 months than ww1 and ww2 combined worldwide
Of course flu causes pneumonia and this was pre antibiotics, but it was also pre air travel
This post was edited on 3/16/20 at 4:21 pm
Posted by Number 9 Fan
Baton Rouge
Member since Jan 2020
681 posts
Posted on 3/16/20 at 4:23 pm to
quote:


Fortunately for you, we’ll never shut down a lot of the country over gang violence or many other causes of death that are more fatal than corona.


What does gang violence gave to do with a disease caused by a virus? What does gang violence have to do with a deadly virus that you could contract at church, in a nice bar or at a basketball game?
quote:


And my advice about corona and gang violence would be the same: if you’re in an at-risk group, take precautions to protect yourself, and I’ll go live my life

Let’s see, I recommend that people avoid a bad neighborhood, and those in a bad neighborhood move out or demand the cops clean up your neighborhood.

For the Corona virus I think folks should listen to Trump and listen to officials who are advising us how to fight back.
Posted by bbrownso
Member since Mar 2008
8985 posts
Posted on 3/16/20 at 4:26 pm to
quote:

I agree. This comes across as propaganda, being used to help soften the impact of these ridiculous, knee-jerk, restrictions. I would love to see this article fact checked.

I guess this Smithsonian Magazine article from 2017 was just future-proofing for later restrictions?

How the Horrific 1918 Flu Spread Across America - NOVEMBER 2017
quote:

Early in September, a Navy ship from Boston carried influenza to Philadelphia, where the disease erupted in the Navy Yard. The city’s public health director, Wilmer Krusen, declared that he would “confine this disease to its present limits, and in this we are sure to be successful. No fatalities have been recorded. No concern whatever is felt.”
. . .
Philadelphia had scheduled a big Liberty Loan parade for September 28. Doctors urged Krusen to cancel it, fearful that hundreds of thousands jamming the route, crushing against each other for a better view, would spread disease. They convinced reporters to write stories about the danger. But editors refused to run them, and refused to print letters from doctors. The largest parade in Philadelphia’s history proceeded on schedule.

The incubation period of influenza is two to three days. Two days after the parade, Krusen conceded that the epidemic “now present in the civilian population was...assuming the type found in” Army camps. Still, he cautioned not to be “panic stricken over exaggerated reports.”
Posted by TheHarahanian
Actually not Harahan as of 6/2023
Member since May 2017
23098 posts
Posted on 3/16/20 at 4:27 pm to
quote:

For the Corona virus I think folks should listen to Trump and listen to officials who are advising us how to fight back.


Sounds like you’re in an at-risk group. Take precautions to protect yourself, and I’ll go live my life.
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