That old history professor was right about the 1918 flu parallels

Back in 2019, my professor at Kent State kept saying the 1918 pandemic shaped everything from labor laws to trust in government, and I thought he was just cramming a thesis down our throats. Then COVID hit and I found myself digging through his old lecture notes, especially the part about how the second wave in Philadelphia was worse because they allowed that big parade on September 28th. It made me wonder how many other "boring" historical footnotes are actually ticking time bombs we ignore until they repeat. Has anyone else had an academic prediction that aged terrifyingly well?

2 comments

2 Comments

robin5911mo ago

Man, that hits hard. I remember sitting in those same kinds of classes thinking, okay, cool story, but when is this ever gonna matter in my actual life? Then 2020 came and it was like watching a movie I'd already been told the ending to. It's almost kind of scary how patient history is, just sitting there waiting for us to catch up. And you're right about the supply chain thing, we all laughed at the toilet paper shortages but the real cracks showed up later in weird places. I just hope the lessons we're ignoring now are ones we'll actually remember sooner rather than later. It's exhausting having to learn everything the hard way twice.

markh851mo ago

The "big parade" bit got me too. My guy drilled us on the St. Louis vs Philly comparison and I remember zoning out. Fast forward to 2020 and I'm texting my old classmates like, remember that lecture? It’s creepy how those old footnotes just sit there. Makes you wonder what boring thing we're ignoring right now that'll bite us in ten years. Probably something about supply chains or public parks.