Spanish Flu Cartoon
May 1, 2009 – 9:41 pm
It is easy to get riled up by the manic urgency that the 24 hour cable news channels live in. The Walter Allman cartoon makes light of the situation but in 1918 the Spanish Influenza was not a joke. Next week’s posts will cover what happened.
Links to other stories in the series:
4 Responses to “Spanish Flu Cartoon”
I agree. Scary as they are, today’s disease outbreaks cannot compare to the horrific damage wrought by Spanish influenza, cholera, etc.
By Sarah on May 4, 2009
Just curious, do you know the date that this cartoon was published in the newspaper?
By Grace on Jul 7, 2009
Apologies, I try to include the publication date in every post.
This was published Wednesday, October 23, 1918 in the Daily Telegram of San Luis Obispo.
By David Middlecamp on Jul 21, 2009
Sarah, just so you know, if a flu as deadly as the 1918 one hit today, we’d still be at a loss. Our prevention methods are better, as is our hygiene, but we cannot prevent the particular strain of flu when it comes (H1N1!). The vaccine will not be ready in the quantity necessary. People will get sick, and if as many are infected as in 1918, the world will be severely affected. Deaths ought to be lower, because we have better medicine, but we cannot cure the flu. Hospitals may be overrun — people may stay home from work — production could stop for days. It won’t be as bad, but it won’t be cake.
By Helen on Sep 3, 2009