Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm posting this here because the Health & Wellness forum doesn't want the pro and anti vaccine issue.
So I just saw this documentary on smallpox and how the vaccine came about. By the way, I have to put in a plug for fine British ladies who traveled in foreign lands, were keenly observant and brought their knowledge home with them. Also kudos to the Turkish medics for the fine work they did in developing the rudiments of vaccination.
Anyway, I highly recommend this video to those who are leery of vaccines (often with good reason). I realized that it's not so much the idea of vaccines, but how they are formulated and administered in so-called modern times, that turns people off and they get wrongly labeled as "anti-vaxxers". It seems to me that they did it right back in the day. Are there risks associated with vaccines? Yes. Do they have to be as risky as they are today? No.
She helped to popularize variolation in the UK. They would take a Small pox lesion and expose a person to it. Normally, a person would get a mild case and get full immunity. In the future US, Cotton Mather was a major supporter. He learned of the technique from a slave and later saw her writings.
I'm posting this here because the Health & Wellness forum doesn't want the pro and anti vaccine issue.
So I just saw this documentary on smallpox and how the vaccine came about. By the way, I have to put in a plug for fine British ladies who traveled in foreign lands, were keenly observant and brought their knowledge home with them. Also kudos to the Turkish medics for the fine work they did in developing the rudiments of vaccination.
Anyway, I highly recommend this video to those who are leery of vaccines (often with good reason). I realized that it's not so much the idea of vaccines, but how they are formulated and administered in so-called modern times, that turns people off and they get wrongly labeled as "anti-vaxxers". It seems to me that they did it right back in the day. Are there risks associated with vaccines? Yes. Do they have to be as risky as they are today? No.
When someone tells me me about an "excellent documentary," I expect that to mean a professional-looking film with credits involving experts, from a reputable distributor - not a random YouTube posting.
When someone tells me me about an "excellent documentary," I expect that to mean a professional-looking film with credits involving experts, from a reputable distributor - not a random YouTube posting.
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu is on my list of Amazing Women. And not just for her introduction of variolation. She was a pistol.
As for smallpox - I'll never forget the first photo of a smallpox victim I ever saw. It was taken in the 1890s, IIRC, and it was horrific. I don't think you can overestimate the effects it had on human psyches, let alone the actual physical toll it took.
There were times in history when all it took to be considered beautiful or handsome was the lack of smallpox scars. There are portraits of people who look as homely as cow barns to us, but were considered good-looking by their contemporaries.
When someone tells me me about an "excellent documentary," I expect that to mean a professional-looking film with credits involving experts, from a reputable distributor - not a random YouTube posting.
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu is on my list of Amazing Women. And not just for her introduction of variolation. She was a pistol.
As for smallpox - I'll never forget the first photo of a smallpox victim I ever saw. It was taken in the 1890s, IIRC, and it was horrific. I don't think you can overestimate the effects it had on human psyches, let alone the actual physical toll it took.
There were times in history when all it took to be considered beautiful or handsome was the lack of smallpox scars. There are portraits of people who look as homely as cow barns to us, but were considered good-looking by their contemporaries.
I remember reading about Lady Jane Digby, another pistol. I'll have to refresh my memory there, but it seems the Brits had some spirited ladies in their arsenal. Montagu used her connections as a real force for good, in the service of humanity. What impressed me was her powers of observation.
I can't imagine what smallpox must have been like for people in the past. Truly a horror. Speaking of cow barns, I thought the bit about the dairy maids getting immunity through cowpox was fascinating.
I remember reading about Lady Jane Digby, another pistol. I'll have to refresh my memory there, but it seems the Brits had some spirited ladies in their arsenal. Montagu used her connections as a real force for good, in the service of humanity. What impressed me was her powers of observation.
I can't imagine what smallpox must have been like for people in the past. Truly a horror. Speaking of cow barns, I thought the bit about the dairy maids getting immunity through cowpox was fascinating.
People died slowly, essentially being flayed.
There are a lot of old brit folk songs about beautiful dairy maids attracting young lordlings, because they had "fair complexions", "creamy skin" - i.e., no smallpox scars.
There are a lot of old brit folk songs about beautiful dairy maids attracting young lordlings, because they had "fair complexions", "creamy skin" - i.e., no smallpox scars.
The other thing that struck me in the documentary was how some American colonists used smallpox as a biological weapon against the Native Americans. Ugh. Man's inhumanity to man. It brought to mind the passage from James Michener's "Hawaii" where the missionaries inadvertently infected the Hawaiian natives with measles or chicken pox (I forget which) and how horribly they suffered as a result, having no way of fighting the infection. Similar to what you describe above.
The other thing that struck me in the documentary was how some American colonists used smallpox as a biological weapon against the Native Americans. Ugh. Man's inhumanity to man. It brought to mind the passage from James Michener's "Hawaii" where the missionaries inadvertently infected the Hawaiian natives with measles or chicken pox (I forget which) and how horribly they suffered as a result, having no way of fighting the infection. Similar to what you describe above.
I don't agree with the documentary that this was the first use of disease in war. During medieval sieges, both attackers and defenders would catapult freshly deceased victims of the plague or smallpox, if any were available, into the ranks of the opposing army. And of course, fouling wells is an age-old practice. People didn't know WHY some diseases are contagious, but they sure understood what contagious means.
Yes, it's pretty horrible. The same science that leads to the eradication of smallpox in the wild can also lead to weaponizing it. It seems we can't have the one without the other.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
