[quote musicposy]@MillyA me too; I’m currently reading Daniel Defoe’s Journal of The Plague Year and that sent me down a rabbit hole of reading all about bubonic plague, places, years, death rates etc.
What’s been most fascinating is that there’s nothing new under the sun. There were plague deniers, people who thought it was a disease of “others” and wouldn’t happen to them, people who found any way to circumvent the rules, distancing, lockdowns, the poor losing everything while the rich were largely protected, the better off fleeing to their relatives and second homes in the country - you name it, if it’s happened during Covid it happened all back then. I keep reading bits out to (largely disinterested) family members because I’m so stunned by the similarities. Made me think we should all learn better from history![/quote]
@musicposy I remember making this comparison back in April, as it was noticeable how the behaviour of people doesn't really change. It was such a fascinating read and I reread it then with the pandemic very much in mind. I did the same with reading bits out and being met with apathy - they should be amazed by our insight, the ungrateful wretches! 😆
Not that long ago I remembered the Victorian trend for photographing the family when a member had died, and there were actual set-ups for standing a corpse up and making them look alive for the photo. So I ended up spending an evening staring at grisly and fascinating photos of family groups (and trying to work out who was deceased in some cases) and then on to police photos of murder victims (in the USA). It was strangely impelling for a long while, then I realised that I couldn't take it any more and closed the pc to stagger off for a cup of tea and try to take my mind off it. The murdered gangsters weren't the problem, but there were some women and children victims too and that was hard.
I should look up the police dog profiles, that sounds splendid...