281–290 of 303 posts
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Victorian English drank that shit https://www.google.com/amp/pictorial.jezebel.com/some-fun-na...
There's a pretty good show on life during the era, one of the jobs they feature is people scowering the shit in the streets to find dog shit because it has different useful properties than horse shit. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIjBywdLcgI&list=PL72jhKwank...
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They literally don't have a toilet. Are they going to conjure one if they become smart enough? I understand there's an issue of people not using them once they have one, but step one is getting a toilet, and step two is educating people enough to want to use them.
> They literally don't have a toilet. Are they going to conjure one if they become smart enough? Yes, exactly! Do you know what "smart" (or rather, appropriately educated, which higher literacy helps) people can do? They can build things. They can design systems more complex than the default "shit -> river" and execute them. And have them working for years. So yes, education is the problem. There are many DIY solutio…
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It's a little more complicated than digging a hole in the ground. You have to ensure you don't poison the water table with run off or monsoons. Protect them from pests. Aerobic composting is simple when liquids are removed (urine separator and no black water). Pumping air through toilet chambers can help remove smells. I live in the UK, and as I age, I seem to be loosing control of certain physical faculties. And we…
The UK used to have public toilets. Then it had Conservatives. Councils can't fund facilities with money they no longer have. "But you can use the loo in Costa" says the Tory. Nope, not if you're homeless or poor or it's after closing time.
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>> In many places there is no connection between 'germs' and illness because germs are not a concrete concept to them. > People understand just fine what "illness" is. Every culture has a long tradition of medical practice since long before anyone knew what a germ was, and people in many civilizations (this isn't some eurocentric western-world thing) have known for hundreds or thousands of years to keep feces away fr…
You have Indians invent small-pox vaccination techniques which clearly shows, at least to some level, an understanding and acceptance of the idea of "germs" albeit something more basic. Furthermore trying to tie everything to caste related issues will cause more harm than good, as it is popular and easy to blame a simple demon the truth is often more nuanced.
How true that is, and I agonized over how to word the end of my comment to avoid overstating/ misstating / offending / hitting peoples' hot buttons (pro or con). However I think there's an essential truth somewhere in there, and I chose the word "fastidious" because it is more clear than incorrect (and emotionally laden) words like "better" / "cleaner" etc. In fact "fastidious" can even have some slightly negative implications.
But to be realistic: my Brahmin grandparents and great grandparents (born in 1800s!) & family all lived well into their 90s as long as they survived childhood. My anglo grandparents and great grandparents (also born in 1800s) were lucky to survive childhood and make it to their 50s, much less past that.
The note I was responding to claimed that Europeans had the germ theory and anyone who did something bad for their health was willfully ignorant and stupid.
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Part of the problem is also because of lack of education. Unlike in the west, literacy rate is not as high, hence they miss out on the knowledge and awareness that can come from being able to read. But, India is making progress even on that front, so eventually I think both these improvements will complement one another nicely and things may be much different 10 years down the line. I am originally from India(now I l…
I think this has to do more with the fact that Apples do not naturally grow in most of India. And I wouldn't doubt it if the whole An Apple a day was started by the US to help their agricultural exports. Westernisation of our palates has killed/reduced a lot of local foods. For example in the state of Karnataka, Wheat was unheard of a few decades ago, but now it's the primary consumed grain. Millets are making a come…
India is currently the #5 grower of apples worldwide at 2.2 Tg. The US is #2, with 4.1 Tg. China is #1 with 37 Tg. Apple cultivation in India is in the northernmost states Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Arunachal Pradesh.
"An apple a day keeps the doctor away" possibly originated in 1866, in Pembrokeshire, Wales, with the current phrasing stabilizing in the 1920s. Previous expressions extolling the health virtues of apples also exist, but cannot be verifiably linked to later expressions. We don't actually know whether that expression derives from a mention in Ayurvedic medicine that is 1500 years old.
If you doubt, do research. Indians have been eating apples for centuries before Americans started growing them.
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"(Where did they get the ice?)" That is a fantastic question ... Many different cities around the world have an "icehouse" street - the origin of the name being obvious. However, I know of an "icehouse" street in Hong Kong and I always wonder "when the icehouse was here, and this street was named for it, where in the world were they getting ice?" I know you can pack ice in sawdust and straw, etc., and keep it for the…
They got the ice from the east coast of the US and from Norway. Ice used to be big business. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_trade
Can any Filipino reader comment on whether snow ever falls there? I didn't see any snowcaps on Google Satellite View, but that's not the best of sources...
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China, India, Korea, and Japan all used pig toilets. In some places, usage was 22.7% as of 2003. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pig_toilet
That's disgusting honestly. Doesn't that pose a health hazard to the people who consume that meat? I don't eat pork so I never knew how filthy pigs can be!
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That's disgusting honestly. Doesn't that pose a health hazard to the people who consume that meat? I don't eat pork so I never knew how filthy pigs can be!
A Jewish friend once commented that it's the reason for kosher laws. I'm not sure if he was trying to justify an ancient custom with modern insights.
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The first or second chapter of Diffusion of Innovation covers a case where a health organization official tried to convince people to boil their water. No one did it. The concept of "germs" was so foreign to them, and their beliefs about water were already so ingrained. It was a complete failure. It seems obvious to say "if you drink dirty water you will get sick" but you're assuming that people can make so many conn…
People understand just fine what "illness" is. Every culture has a long tradition of medical practice since long before anyone knew what a germ was, and people in many civilizations (this isn't some eurocentric western-world thing) have known for hundreds or thousands of years to keep feces away from their food and water. It seems obvious because it is obvious and has been, in India and practically everywhere else, f…
It wasn't that long ago that Chicago had to raise all their buildings a couple meters, to help keep feces away from the people. And in the next generation had to reverse the course of a river, to keep feces away from their drinking water.
So it's certainly not that ingrained, or not since so long ago, or, as most things in life, easier said than done.