Things Have Always Been Terrible

A series in which I make you feel less lonely, realizing how many other pandemics humans have lived through. Madagascan Smallpox Epidemic of 1817-18 Are you having a rough day? Well, be grateful you don’t have smallpox in Madagascar under the rule of King Adrianampointimerina (his parents were not kidding around). King Adri’s idea was […]

Things Have Always Been Terrible

A series in which I make you feel less lonely, realizing how many other pandemics humans have lived through. European Malaria Epidemics of 1805-12 and 1823-27 Luck, that tricky bitch, has us looking at an entry adjacent to yesterday’s. Did you get enough of European malaria yesterday? Sorry, but there’s more! Just when you thought […]

Things Have Always Been Terrible

A series in which I make you feel less lonely, realizing how many other pandemics humans have lived through. European Malaria Epidemic of 1678-82 The Encyclopedia of Plague and Pestilence describes some people as being “exhausted to death with recurring episodes of malaria.” I was like, I hear that. Although as an American, I generally […]

Things Have Always Been Terrible

A series in which I make you feel less lonely, realizing how many other pandemics humans have lived through. Somalian Cholera Epidemic of 1998-2000 Today I chose page 353, and there were two options: the Solomon Islands Polio Epidemic of 1951, and the Somalian Cholera Epidemic of 1998. I went with a new geographic area, […]