Book News: In A Far Off Land
2020 is full of uncertainty, but at least one thing is for sure: 2021 has to be better. One reason for me is that…
Historic Epidemics: the Dancing Plague of 1518
As my last post on the Historic Epidemic series, this one is a little less serious. And yes, the Dancing Plague of 1518 was…
Historic Epidemics: The "New Normal" after the Black Death
How could any good come from a pandemic that devastated the known world? Hard to believe, but in the aftermath of the Great Pestilence…
Historic Epidemics: Sweden and the Black Death
This isn't the first time Sweden has reacted differently to a pandemic
Historic Epidemics: the Plague Doctor
The Black Death. The Bubonic plague. The Great Pestilence. The Great Mortality. Whatever name you choose, 60% of the world's population died from it…
Historic Epidemics: The Face-Mask Mandates of 1918
Are masks the answer to getting back to a 'new normal' after COVID19? During the 1918 influenza, the widespread use of masks was a…
Historic Epidemics: The Spanish Flu Didn’t Come From Spain
As we shelter at home and follow the rising numbers of infections and deaths from COVID-19, I have a new understanding and appreciation for…
Historic Epidemics: Malaria in the Vatican 1623
A short-lived illness that left 38 people dead in Italy in 1623 can hardly be called an epidemic of the likes of COVID19 or…
Parrot Fancier’s Fever–Part 2
Bradshaw Crandall, Beautiful Lady with Parrot, circa 1929, Public Domain In my last post, I told about how my youngest daughter contracted an obscure…
Historic Epidemics: Parrot Fancier Fever Part 1
COVID19 isn't the first epidemic to hit our world, and it won't be the last. Since I'm a big believer in learning from history,…