And disease depended on where you lived. Some regions had sort of a ...standoff with smallpox. It would breeze through every decade, killing kids, not adults. The adults had all been survivors as kids. Regions which didn't have this relationship with the virus would have it come through...
and adults which hadn't experienced that culling as kids, welp it slaughtered terribly. And because it was killing adults which run society, it crippled those cities/villages when the adults had a die off. Then as major cities became a thing in various civs, you'd see plagues because travelers
would travel and bring diseases to new places where the virus or bacterium would go BONKERS Good plumbing, vaccines and fluoride in water made the most significant impacts to human health.
And if you didn't die of disease in childhood: good possibility you would following either injury or childbirth. In most wars in history, more people died from disease than from direct wounds. And huge percentages of women died while or immediately after giving birth.
Flouride is the ground water; only heard it added in the USA. Most other places just rely on it in toothpaste. Knowledge of bacteria / washing your hands (sterilized) made a huge impact too. ;)
My contrarian brain was ready to mount an argument but, well, yes. Yes to all the things that you said. The average life expectancy of the period was heavily based on stillborn and infant mortality.
It gives a frankly wacky idea of what an alderman would be. Gary, in his thirties, would not be the wiseman of the town.
There were a lot more death sentences before modern medicine. Getting a really nasty wound and not being able to get someplace to clean it out could be the end. But yes, obviously infant and mother mortality were the biggest stat swingers with epidemics in towns/cities coming next.
Well, now I'm expecting RFK Jr. to go after flush toilets
I wouldn’t worry, he gives every indication of being the kind of person who drinks out of them
He can pry my bidet from my cold dead hand.
Don't give him any ideas!
Im guessing soap or other things he probably doesn’t use
gotta conserve water for the server farms
I would add antibiotics to that list
Europe doesn't have fluoride in water and their life expectancy is higher.
We used to have it, but replaced it with free dental care for children. (though that is disappearing too in many countries, so we'll see how well that goes in the future)
They typically put it in table salt instead. Same goal, different route.
Iodine in table salt, flouride in toothpaste which is used almost universally
Ah, now I get it. Thanks.
Most of Europe also has socialized medicine and a lower cost of living. Your statement is irrelevant.
look this is like the one time in 8 years the NYT is encouraging people to do something beneficial, let's not "um actually" this one.
Oh I'm agreeing