Spanish Flu: a warning from history

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  • Опубліковано 10 лют 2025
  • 100 years ago, celebrations marking the end of the First World War were cut short by the onslaught of a devastating disease - the 1918-19 influenza pandemic. Its early origins and initial geographical starting point still remain a mystery but in the Summer of 1918, there was a second wave of a far more virulent form of the influenza virus than anyone could have anticipated. Soon dubbed ‘Spanish Flu’ after its effects were reported in the country’s newspapers, the virus rapidly spread across much of the globe to become one of the worst natural disasters in human history.
    To mark the centenary and to highlight vital scientific research, the University of Cambridge has made a new film exploring what we have learnt about Spanish Flu, the urgent threat posed by influenza today, and how scientists are preparing for future pandemics.

КОМЕНТАРІ • 813

  • @aarong8633
    @aarong8633 5 років тому +13525

    A healthy person has a million wishes, a sick person has but one.

  • @davidazinger5639
    @davidazinger5639 4 роки тому +4305

    We only learn history in the middle of repeating it.

  • @BarriBarac
    @BarriBarac 4 роки тому +9760

    Who is watching this while locked-down or self-isolating due to Coronavirus?

    • @iamdalal5193
      @iamdalal5193 6 місяців тому +4

      Hi from 2024😊

    • @A_B573
      @A_B573 4 місяці тому +1

      watching this for my geography class!

  • @onewomanslife
    @onewomanslife 4 роки тому +4302

    It did not start I. Spain. They call it “Spanish” because Spain was the only place that did not censor the truth of its existence.

    • @t.michaelbodine4341
      @t.michaelbodine4341 8 місяців тому +4

      That’s right. It started here, in the US, in the Midwest.

    • @Weaselszone
      @Weaselszone 4 місяці тому +2

      She mentioned that in her first 2 minutes

  • @krauser8429
    @krauser8429 6 років тому +12055

    Never take being healthy for granted

  • @hken423
    @hken423 5 років тому +2063

    Wow. Incredible respect for the nurses who continued to take care of the patients through this.

  • @lisalovelylpa
    @lisalovelylpa 5 років тому +2560

    My grandma was alive then , she would breast feed baby’s who had no moms the moms died from flu or who’s moms were sick , she lost an infant baby and a teenage daughter to the flu. This was in New York City.

  • @danmiller2940
    @danmiller2940 5 років тому +8811

    The gamechanger today is the airplane.

  • @michaelterrell2108
    @michaelterrell2108 3 роки тому +623

    "It might be 10 years from now, it might be 20, 30, or 40. We really don't know."
    1 year later, COVID-19 struck.

  • @martinrutkowski9504
    @martinrutkowski9504 5 років тому +1540

    Why is this not a Netflix documentary? With the exact atmosphere this video has... eerie, unsettling, uncanny and even scary, but incredibly informative as well without descending into melodrama. One can only wish or watch on repeat.

  • @emmanueldauteuil756
    @emmanueldauteuil756 4 роки тому +1722

    "It might be 10 years from now", says he.
    Well, that was optimistic.

  • @janetlynch5804
    @janetlynch5804 5 років тому +638

    My G. Aunt died of this flu in 1918. She was in her 30's and had 2 young boys. I never knew her. Her name was Grace May. Very Sad.

  • @ElenaWraithSevatarion
    @ElenaWraithSevatarion 4 роки тому +2621

    We are living history right now. May we survive this

  • @leesimpson1677
    @leesimpson1677 5 років тому +3276

    I can understand how flu is so deadly. I caught the flu when I was at University in the late 60's. I was in my late teens & was extremely fit. The virus put me on my back for over 3 weeks. At the height of the illness, if my house had been set on fire, I would not have been able to get out of bed to save myself I was so weak. I honestly thought I was dying at one point. I am convinced that if I had been the age I am now (68) I would not have survived. In Jan 2020 in light of the new virus in China, this is worrying to say the least.

  • @2HRTS1LOVE
    @2HRTS1LOVE 5 років тому +2092

    My grandpa lived to be almost 100, he had vivid memories of the Spanish Flu from his childhood. Even in his tiny, isolated town, so many people got sick, and nearly everyone lost at least one family member. He recalled so many funerals, and the "burial system" in his small community being overwhelmed. He saw so many amazing things in his lifetime, his first car was a Model T Ford, to two World Wars, to men on the moon, to TV, computers, cell phones, etc. He traveled with his family in a covered wagon as a little kid. It's really incredible when you think about it. But this flu was really horrible for so many, it killed healthy adults, not the sick and elderly, and the ripple effects were devastating.

  • @StevenSiew2
    @StevenSiew2 5 років тому +1196

    How come when I watch this video, I don't feel like I am watching a history channel and I feel like I am watching the six O'clock news.

  • @lawrencerinehart5747
    @lawrencerinehart5747 4 роки тому +149

    A quote that may not be exact but always relevant. "Those that forget the past are doomed to repeat it."

  • @sheilafreeman686
    @sheilafreeman686 6 років тому +1180

    My grandmother died in London of the Spanish flu one hundred years ago today. My aunt also died.

  • @marko11kram
    @marko11kram 5 років тому +641

    My grandmother survived the Spanish Flu. She was 10 years old

  • @danicedanis
    @danicedanis 6 років тому +312

    I appreciate the use of historical photographs in this video.

  • @saphaalta7445
    @saphaalta7445 4 роки тому +84

    one thing to be thankful for in present pandemic I think is how accessible everything is because of internet. I can only imagine how difficult must have been in those times

  • @trustmemysonisadoctor8479
    @trustmemysonisadoctor8479 5 років тому +1428

    My grandmother was 13 when the pandemic hit. Her family were wheat farmers in Canada, her entire family was deathly sick. Her father got up once a day to collect food left on the porch by neighbors and to check if anyone had died. My great grandparents, my grandmother and her 7 siblings survived. My great grandfathers lungs were badly damaged, they sold the farm and moved to New Mexico-all 10 of them in a Model T.

  • @1Cirmag
    @1Cirmag 3 роки тому +69

    We all know why the algorithm sent you here. Been a rough year all around, I hope you're doing well and remember you are not alone in this.

  • @Lifeskeyishappiness
    @Lifeskeyishappiness 3 роки тому +94

    2120:
    COVID-19 pandemic: A warning from history

  • @taylorverrall118
    @taylorverrall118 4 роки тому +2044

    Why does the UA-cam algorithm insist of fuelling my paranoia and anxiety.

  • @bosnianlady10
    @bosnianlady10 4 роки тому +415

    "Experts say it's not if but when"
    2020: How about now?

  • @sadib4782
    @sadib4782 10 місяців тому +4

    this video coming out before covid and being titled “a warning from history” is so eerie

  • @robertedmond6596
    @robertedmond6596 5 років тому +144

    I love sayings like "a warning from history". So eerie

  • @zeegeejay
    @zeegeejay 5 років тому +1474

    I think they forgot to knock on wood after making this video.

  • @Rndmrth3
    @Rndmrth3 5 років тому +7027

    Ended up here to review the coming Wuhan Pandemic

  • @facekidnoise
    @facekidnoise 4 роки тому +1096

    History keeps repeating itself.
    Same movie different actors.

  • @FlyingAlfredoSaucer
    @FlyingAlfredoSaucer 4 роки тому +121

    I wish we had taken the warning.

  • @Rodrigo-tk2fm
    @Rodrigo-tk2fm 5 років тому +2910

    Who's here trying to figure out how serious is Corona virus??

  • @eisteepfirsich3358
    @eisteepfirsich3358 4 роки тому +120

    This aged well

  • @victoriannecastle
    @victoriannecastle 5 років тому +623

    A year after this upload, we have corona

  • @ohmygod3503
    @ohmygod3503 5 років тому +144

    I’ve never heard of the Spanish Flu... I’m learning a lot of new things with COVID-19 going around.

  • @MikeCaffyn1
    @MikeCaffyn1 4 роки тому +464

    At 7:50 "We really don't know why we have never seen another pandemic like that of 1918". Oh Dear - How things can change SO quickly.

  • @mivapusa
    @mivapusa 5 років тому +484

    My oh my, what timing UA-cam's recommendations have...

  • @SincerelySaskia
    @SincerelySaskia 5 років тому +419

    This is incredibly eerie! It seemed to appear incredibly fast, only kill a certain age rage, and then just dissipated! So creepy.

  • @khiFLY
    @khiFLY 4 роки тому +134

    I had the flu before in high school. My neck was stiff I could barely move it, body was on fire, I was hallucinating, weak, room was turning, I was out of school for at least a week or two. Till this day I don't see how Michael Jordan played with the flu. I couldn't even move

  • @sleeks9939
    @sleeks9939 4 роки тому +311

    If you came here because of the corona virus. Stay home. Forget the social distancing. You can video chat, think smart. Wear mask and gloves, minimize your groceries shopping. You and your families are at risk. People’s life matters. God bless.

  • @alexandervastardis4056
    @alexandervastardis4056 4 роки тому +651

    Almost exactly 100 years later we have the Coronavirus hitting us now. I think we are indeed learning Medically, but forget Socially rather quickly.

  • @benfrankog6111
    @benfrankog6111 5 років тому +320

    Here we go again

  • @kareltracy
    @kareltracy 3 роки тому +22

    When I was growing up, there was a pear tree on a grassy hillside. I asked my father about it; he said it was a winter pear tree, and had been planted for three people from one family who had died of the flu. He mentioned that it happened in 1918, and that a lot of people had died of the flu that year. The tree was around 10 or 15 years ago, but I'm not sure if it is still alive.

  • @thereseember2800
    @thereseember2800 5 років тому +204

    My Mom’s uncle died of the Spanish flu. He wrote a letter to his mother from the WWI field: “Everybody’s dying here like flies (from the flu).”

  • @topopops
    @topopops 5 років тому +471

    if you have ever had real flu, I did once when I was about 19 for 4 days straight I couldn’t even walk, turning over on my bed was a mammoth task.

  • @waynemasters
    @waynemasters 3 роки тому +51

    Imagine. This was months before COVID really kicked into high gear. “History proves again and again how Nature points out the folly of men.” -BOC

  • @markm3919
    @markm3919 5 років тому +872

    “It will probably happen again”
    Good guess

  • @BespokeCommentator
    @BespokeCommentator 4 роки тому +138

    7:51 "we really don't know why we haven't seen a pandemic as deadly as the 1918 pandemic..."
    - Nov 2018

  • @oneyoutuber
    @oneyoutuber 4 роки тому +440

    "Is not if but when"... maybe the "when" has arrived.

  • @duongly
    @duongly 5 років тому +1718

    That's it. I'm building a log shack in the mountains. With Wi-Fi.

  • @rainbowbird1986
    @rainbowbird1986 4 роки тому +78

    one year later... and we have a covid 19 pandemic..... it is insane....

  • @annawan2518
    @annawan2518 5 років тому +247

    My Grandmother had the spanish flu and survived.

  • @jpolos841
    @jpolos841 5 років тому +28

    My great grandma died from that flu. Her husband my great grandpa and there 5 sons lived. So random that she succumbed to it but the rest of the family survived it.

  • @jnisrud254
    @jnisrud254 5 років тому +86

    My ancestors survived the spanish flu or I wouldn't be here... this makes me feel a bit stronger.

  • @berenicebauer72
    @berenicebauer72 5 років тому +23

    My grandmother died in 1919 from pneumonia caused by the flu. Nasty stuff. She was only 23.

  • @warl0ck2
    @warl0ck2 3 роки тому +124

    This was made in 2018... if they only knew, two years later... history repeats itself

  • @bibhakumari7227
    @bibhakumari7227 3 роки тому +23

    This video is published on 30 Nov 2018 when covid- 19 was unknown . Cambridge university tell the future of world

  • @bxchicc7799
    @bxchicc7799 4 роки тому +7

    Watching this during the coronavirus pandemic in NYC!
    I pray everyone stays safe during this

  • @chadshultz5717
    @chadshultz5717 4 роки тому +24

    Get this on National TV! This drives home the point to wash your hands and stay away from crowds during these times.

  • @hissonggirlmoni5706
    @hissonggirlmoni5706 4 роки тому +29

    Watching this during covid 19 pandemic. So grateful we’ve had more resources and information now.

  • @nickadz5490
    @nickadz5490 4 роки тому +43

    Who else has been watching tons of these types of videos lately?

  • @mindibear
    @mindibear 4 роки тому +226

    I like the ending statement: “When will this happen again? 10 years from now? 20? 30?” LOL, only one year later!

  • @voidremoved
    @voidremoved 4 роки тому +651

    how did it effect toilet paper sales

  • @tom96281
    @tom96281 6 років тому +39

    Thats a high quality video like I expected it to be! Good job!

  • @azhuntress
    @azhuntress 3 роки тому +15

    you're telling me this was posted TWO YEARS AGO?

  • @gaurav0narwal
    @gaurav0narwal 5 років тому +84

    My grandmother,s brother once told me about this. He was 30 years younger than my grandmother and was probably 10 at that time of Flu. He said People were creamted one after the other and such was the situation that there was a shortage of logs and cow Dungs to burn the bodies. Half of the village Population vanished and almost all of them young and healthy people. After the flu ended only weak and old survived.

  • @haleffect9011
    @haleffect9011 4 роки тому +337

    Well, here we are in 2020, in the middle of the Corona outbreak

  • @fredlandry6170
    @fredlandry6170 4 роки тому +54

    Unbelievable, 50-100 million dead and this was over 100 years ago there was no high speed air travel.

  • @noneimportant5951
    @noneimportant5951 4 роки тому +850

    This Youtbe algorithm has a funny sense of humour......

  • @peterhellyer6916
    @peterhellyer6916 4 роки тому +12

    When a threat isn't visible, it is the greatest threat of all

  • @blondthought5175
    @blondthought5175 5 років тому +27

    My paternal great-grandmother lost her life to this. Having had the flu twenty years ago, I can understand why.

  • @jjpsp12
    @jjpsp12 4 роки тому +182

    It saddens me to say this, but we were not ready for COVID-19

  • @sadib4782
    @sadib4782 10 місяців тому +2

    cambridge needs to make more of these types of mini documentary style videos ❤️

  • @BetterCallSauS
    @BetterCallSauS Рік тому +6

    This video aged well, because fortunately the parallels between the deaths from the Spanish Flu and the number of people who actually died from Covid didn't even come close.

  • @wshtb
    @wshtb 4 роки тому +34

    There is one thing the U.S government didn't forget from the history: blame it on someone else.

  • @Anthony-hu3rj
    @Anthony-hu3rj 5 років тому +178

    My understanding from previous reading is that it began it Kansas and under normal circumstances it would have killed a small amount of people there and ended, but because of advances in transportation (trains, ships, etc.), coupled with the fact that men were being transported and mingling around the world due to an unprecedentedly expansive war that that is why it spread so virulently. Now I'll study some more and see if that is still the correct analysis.

  • @AwoudeX
    @AwoudeX 5 років тому +185

    'it's not if but when' - this pretty much is a given, with the modes of transportation, the high amounts of trade all over the globe and the dense population in various areas.

  • @Simoss13
    @Simoss13 4 роки тому +20

    This is crazy. The video goes on saying we will be better prepared, the next pandemic may happen in 10-100 years from now. It scary because it turned out worse than they expected.
    We were not prepared and happened from 1 year of the video being uploaded

  • @martinsisdead2242
    @martinsisdead2242 4 роки тому +70

    We all here to see how we’ll deal with corona based off other plagues

  • @VarangianOblast
    @VarangianOblast 4 роки тому +265

    "Spanish Flu: a warning from history" - very well put title

  • @1locust1
    @1locust1 5 років тому +45

    During my lifetime the scale of this pandemic was downplayed over the decades. I myself didn't discover it and its impact until I heard it referenced on a tv show (Psi Factor: Chronicles Of The Unknown) in the 1990's. That's when I started reading about it and learned how devastating it truly was.

  • @annalisette5897
    @annalisette5897 5 років тому +7

    This is one of the best presentations I have seen on the subject! Thank you!

  • @iKoper
    @iKoper 5 років тому +557

    perfect timing youtube

  • @ForeverMPH
    @ForeverMPH 5 років тому +51

    It's very eerie that this production was made in 2018 (100 years after the 1918 pandemic), and now here we are experiencing this corona virus spreading across the globe. Are we in a better situation now to handle this? I personally don't think so.

  • @bruely82
    @bruely82 4 роки тому +74

    My grandmother lost her mum, who was pregnant at the moment, due to Spanish flu epidemic in Italy, so sad

  • @itsbrianfogg
    @itsbrianfogg 4 роки тому +19

    Watching this on day 1 lockdown in UK we are so ill prepared for this it's unbelievable. Ignorance was bliss.

  • @sleepup7931
    @sleepup7931 4 роки тому +35

    The virus didn't originate in Spain, but the country was the first to report on the outbreak, so people began calling it the Spanish flu (the Spanish thought it started in France and called it the "French flu")

  • @craftingwithcarter2261
    @craftingwithcarter2261 4 роки тому +21

    I never knew how many videos there are about pandemics until 2020

  • @ddevulders
    @ddevulders 4 роки тому +16

    This video aged very well

  • @sugimuraagato6829
    @sugimuraagato6829 5 років тому +1756

    Come here after Corona virus

  • @cccopycat583
    @cccopycat583 3 роки тому +54

    My mom caught SARS during a flight from Ontario Canada to Newfoundland in 2001. Long before it was a thing. She was back at home less than 24 hours when she had to be rushed to hospital because she was blue. Her doctor asked her if she had been in a different country, she had not, she flew 3 hours to a different province in Canada. It took her 6 months to recover. When I first heard about Covid in Dec. of 2019 I knew it was going to be as big or bigger than the Spanish Flu and SARS, and here we are in one of the biggest pandemics of the modern era. Strap in, its going to a long, and wild ride. Stay safe everyone.

  • @WasabiSniffer
    @WasabiSniffer 3 роки тому +39

    (Watching in 2021) ... welp!

  • @twiggy1021
    @twiggy1021 5 років тому +28

    My grandad had Spanish flu, apparently he was so feverish that he soaked through his mattress. My Nanna nursed him not a hospital.

  • @DavidLopez-gx5hw
    @DavidLopez-gx5hw 4 роки тому +7

    Crazy this should have a billion views by now!!!

  • @enlightenedsoul8897
    @enlightenedsoul8897 3 роки тому +6

    Come back two years later and you will realise that this video needed at least 7 billion views

  • @SuccessforLifester
    @SuccessforLifester 5 років тому +33

    This video was recommended to me today.

  • @livelife5947
    @livelife5947 4 роки тому +22

    I’ve noticed that all the Spanish Flu videos I’ve seen on UA-cam were published in Oct/Nov 2018 👀🤔.

  • @abdullahx8118
    @abdullahx8118 5 років тому +272

    Very comforting the the youtube recommendation system chose 2020 to recommend this video
    Thanks youtube very cool

  • @The_Playlisterz
    @The_Playlisterz 3 роки тому +16

    A warning from history which nobody took seriously.