past & culture
2026
-
the polio epidemic and the discovery of the iron lung: the terrifying summer of 1952
think about this. you wake up in the morning. the sun is out, the weather is beautiful. your child wants to go to the swimming pool. but you can't let them. you can't let them play in the park. you can't arrange a playdate with the neighbor's child. because there's something out there - you can't see it, you can't taste it, you can't even smell it. but it kills. that was america in 1952. and that fear was the kind we can barely even imagine today.
Subscribe with RSS!