Happy Friday! This week we're taking a deep dive into the flu pandemic of 1918. Some of you may know it as the Spanish Flu, but scientists believe it actually originated in America and it ultimately killed roughly 20% of the world's population.

Sources:

History.com Editors. “Spanish Flu.” History, updated 28 May 2025, https://www.history.com/articles/1918-flu-pandemic. Accessed 2 July 2025.

Humphreys, Margaret. “The influenza of 1918: Evolutionary perspectives in a historical context.” Evolution, medicine, and public health vol. 2018,1 219-229. 31 Aug. 2018, doi:10.1093/emph/eoy024, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6218637/#abstract1. Accessed 30 June 2025.

World Health Organization 2023 data.who.int, WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) dashboard > Deaths [Dashboard]. https://data.who.int/dashboards/covid19/deaths. Accessed 30 June 2025.

“1918 Influenza Pandemic (Spanish Flu).” The Cleveland Clinic, 24 Oct. 2024, https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21777-spanish-flu. Accessed 30 June 2025.

Music: https://pixabay.com/users/lsmusic-46357977/