Things Have Always Been Terrible

A series in which I make you feel less lonely, realizing how much shit humans have lived through. Rio de Janeiro Smallpox Epidemics of 1904 and 1908 A couple years back, I was thinking to myself, no other people on earth are so obsessed with “freedom” that they would demand the freedom to die of […]

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Things Have Always Been Terrible

A series in which I make you feel less lonely, realizing how much shit humans have lived through. Swedish Poliomyelitus Epidemic of 1911 I didn’t know polio and Sweden went together, but in 1911, they did. There were almost 4,000 cases reported in Sweden in that year, and it was the biggest outbreak of polio […]

Read More Things Have Always Been Terrible

Things Have Always Been Terrible

A series in which I make you feel less lonely, realizing how many other awful things humans have lived through. Russian Cholera Epidemic of 1829-31 Who can we blame for this epidemic? This one’s fresh and new: the Kirghiz tribes. It started in India, but it was the Kirghiz people who probably brought it to […]

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Things Have Always Been Terrible

A series in which I make you feel less lonely, realizing how many other pandemics humans have lived through. Roman Plague of AD 590 If you’ve ever seen dragons being flushed out to sea by a flood, you’re going to relate to the people of Rome in 590 AD.  This particular plague, I’m going to […]

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