Month: April 2020

A “paw-city” of truth? Munyan’s Laboratories, makers of “medicinal paw paw products” advertised the following during the 1918 Spanish flu outbreak: “Thousands of lives have been saved from the prevailing epidemic of influenza by the prompt use, upon the first indications of watery eyes or nose, sneezing, coughing, headache, aching bones, tired feeling, or sore throat, of MUNYAN’s Paw Paw Laxatives taken each evening, and Cold Remedy and Grippe Remedy taken alternate hours throughout the day.” Read more about the deadly Spanish flu pandemic a century ago in On the Shore (1917-1925), a tale of conflict between generations in a Lower East Side immigrant family (see NOVELS).

Humans are prone to blame others for a tragedy like a pandemic. In addition to foreigners, people within our community who are considered “other” are targeted. Among religious fanatics, those believed to be “sinners” are stigmatized and often brutalized. However, during the cholera epidemics of the 19th century, Eastern European Jews developed a communal ritual of protection: the “cholera wedding” or “black wedding” in which two of the town’s marginal residents (orphans, beggars, the handicapped) were forcibly married, usually in the cemetery. Some interpreted this as a mitzvah or charitable act; others emphasized its magical aspects as a sacrifice in exchange for divine protection. During the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918, cholera weddings made a comeback among New York City’s Jewish population. Read more about the deadly Spanish flu pandemic a century ago in On the Shore (1917-1925), a tale of conflict between generations in a Lower East Side immigrant family (see NOVELS).

In June 1918, an apparent public notice in the British papers informing people about Spanish flu symptoms was really an advertisement for Formamints, a tablet manufactured by a vitamin company. The ad claimed the mints were the “best means of preventing the infective processes” and that everyone, including children, should suck four or five tablets a day until they felt better. Then, as now, there was money to be made by touting fake “cures.” Read more about the deadly Spanish flu pandemic a century ago in On the Shore (1917-1925), a tale of conflict between generations in a Lower East Side immigrant family (see NOVELS).