England: The Broad Street Pump - 3: Map of the Blue Death - Extra History
Added 2015-11-27 11:32:18 +0000 UTCCholera has foiled John Snow at every turn, but now he has it pinned down at Broad Street... and he won't let it escape again.
Comments
The fact that he, who interviewed these people, and their priest, who sat with them, survived it, also puts the lie to the miasma theory.
Douglas Goldstein
2015-11-28 19:55:54 +0000 UTCThe poor probably didn't waste their time, firewood, gas, coal, etc., boiling every cup of water they drank, and September in London is hot--not exactly tea weather. As the "seepage" confirms, cholera only needs one glass of water to infect someone.
Douglas Goldstein
2015-11-28 19:54:47 +0000 UTCDoes anyone know when tea became the none alcoholic staple drink for England? The boiling of water should have been able to kill the cholera if the people drank nothing but tea and beer.
Parker
2015-11-28 16:04:23 +0000 UTCWith history as broad (no pun intended, though belatedly enjoyed) as it is, I love productions like Extra History for pointing out the areas I wouldn't have thought to look. Thank you for your hard work!
kiranokira
2015-11-28 08:48:34 +0000 UTCI was thinking about this too, and my bet is that he didn't get sick because he knew not to drink the water. And importantly, he knew that BEFORE he began his investigation, so he never exposed himself to the disease.
Chase Denecke
2015-11-28 06:59:24 +0000 UTCAh...
Brian Rose
2015-11-28 06:38:21 +0000 UTCHe did know something Jon Snow!
Michael Jebbett
2015-11-28 03:03:56 +0000 UTCWhy didnt John Snow go to the registrar first?
Kris Price
2015-11-28 01:04:07 +0000 UTCWarpole!
Adam "Lux-Vertas" Youdontneedtoknowmysurname
2015-11-27 21:35:57 +0000 UTCYe Olde Ghost Map
Jeff DigitalAirAire
2015-11-27 21:14:08 +0000 UTCI must thank you for this. I got home late from the office after hours of paperwork and signatures and careful documentation of my experiments, growing somewhat sick of it. And when I watched this, I just realized how important documentations are, maybe not today or tomorrow but farther in the future. I may not become the next John Snow but if I can be the guy that wrote down the data for someone to use years later to better humanity, I am content enough.
Hung Nguyen
2015-11-27 21:06:21 +0000 UTCA very interesting and new (to me) bit of history. What I am surprised at is that Snow never contracted anything himself. Quite often in these types of stories, the doctor fighting the disease runs themselves so ragged that they end up victims of the disease they are fighting or some other malady brought about by the general state of disease.
Kathyrne
2015-11-27 20:44:19 +0000 UTCNext week is a look at the sanitation developments which removed "The Great Stink" and probably put an end to Choleric London. Then a one-off about a figure in British Medical History.
RMS Oceanic
2015-11-27 18:27:38 +0000 UTCAwesome series, but if that's all, then what comes next (after the Lies)?
Veteran of the Mushroom Wars
2015-11-27 18:02:08 +0000 UTCAnother bit of history I'd never really known (combined with a fact of life I've taken for granted) :) I love it when you guys cover relatively obscure bits of history like this, even when I know there's more 'exciting' topics like all 'dem wars :P
The Cayute
2015-11-27 17:00:07 +0000 UTCIt's weird working in the medical industry that we actually thought like this only a hundred or so years ago that disease just sat in the air (they're not wrong there are airborne contagions) but that it took so much for Snow to point out that disease can spread through water. Also, I saw what you did there with the committee.
Sean Sarff
2015-11-27 16:46:09 +0000 UTCI noticed a certain somebody on the health committee...
Bryan (MightyAxeMan)
2015-11-27 15:57:26 +0000 UTCThis was a great series. One of the better ones since the seminal tragedy. Although My european bias is obviously to be taken into account.
Luknai
2015-11-27 14:04:06 +0000 UTCWell duh *showing the actual water pump* :D The guy on the left side of the committee seems familiar :D You are awesome(ness) :*
Martin Ockovsky
2015-11-27 12:19:37 +0000 UTCThis was the episode that really made the music feel appropriate. Awesome. However I'm surprised you didn't mention the anecdote of a cholera death in an otherwise clean area, until it was revealed the victim once lived near the Broad Street Pump and had water from it sent to her hecause she liked it. I recall that anecdote being a powerful argument for John Snow.
RMS Oceanic
2015-11-27 12:03:49 +0000 UTC
