Trivia

The Spanish-flu epidemic of 1918-1919 was a misnomer. It did not begin in Spain. Although some historians say it began in China, there is no agreement on where it started although its beginnings as a pandemic began in Kansas between January and March 1918, infecting the military post at Fort Riley. Americcan soldiers brought it to Europe during World War I, where it quickly spread throughout the world - even to remote Eskimo villages in Alaska. Because countries censored news during wartime, Spain, which was neutral during the War, was the first country to publicize it. Initially it was not particularly contagious but a second wave in August struck young adults harder than younger or older age groups because the new strains reacted negatively to their more advanced immune systems. Earliest estimates claimed it killed 20 to 40 million worldwide but current experts now say 50 - 100 million is possible. More died from the flu in one year than in four years of the War or the four years of the Bubonic Plague. Estimates claim it lowered the U.S. life expectancy by 10+ years. Fortunately by the end of 1919 the virus had mutated enough that it was no longer a significant threat. Curiously in Episode 2, which takes place in 1934, a flu epidemic plays a role, and it is also referred to as Spanish Flu, although such a reference would have been an anachronism in 1934.