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1870s Horse Flu Epidemic Brought US Economy To Its Knees
Nemo the Magnificent writes with this excerpt from the University of Arizona: "A new study (paywalled) published in the journal Nature provides the most comprehensive analysis to date of the evolutionary relationships of influenza virus across different host species over time... In the 1870s, an immense horse flu outbreak swept across North America. City by city and town by town, horses got sick and perhaps five percent of them died. Half of Boston burned down during the outbreak, because there were no horses to pull the pump wagons. In the West, the U.S. Cavalry was fighting the Apaches on foot because all the horses were sick... The horse flu outbreak pulled the rug out from under the economy.""
That's nothing. Just wait until the ICF hits (internal combustion flu). Tesla will be laughing all the way to the bank.
Better known as 318230.
But I bet a little war during the previous decade had a bit more to do with the economic issues of the time.
All my liberal friends think I'm a conservative, all my conservative friends think I'm a liberal.
The horses are sick, Boston's on fire, we'll fight those Apaches anyway!
It's not true if it doesn't exist in any cowboy movies.
Scroll down right to the very bottom of this page, and click "Slashdot Classic".
Ugh, the new site is just awful, I come to read comments, not stupid summaries. I can get that on any other site. Please revert the site back!
Folks at the time called it the Great Epizootic* of 1872: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E... . In cities where it hit hardest, men were reportedly pulling carts in the streets because of the shortage of horses.
*pronouced ep-eh-zoo-AH-tick
Koans and fables for the software engineer
I've heard of Avian bird flu, the Swine Pig Flu, the Hantavirus Mouse flu and now finally the Equus Bronco Bronchial Tube Flu.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
God was very ANGRY with humans in the 1800s.
God thought to himself: Man is vile and vengeful, how can I kill Man? Ah Ha! The Answer came down to God! And God was grateful!
So be history.
"Half of Boston burned down during the outbreak, because there were no horses to pull fire engines, hose reels, and ladder carts. In the West, the U.S. Cavalry was fighting the Apaches on foot because their horses were sick."
Centuries of horse shit spewing methane into the atmosphere brought about Equine Global Warming, leading to the flu epidemic.
If only we had Al Gore back then...
Fuck systemd. Fuck Redhat. Fuck Soylent, too. Wait, scratch the last one.
If it's behind a paywall, it didn't happen.
News for Nerds?
In the 1800's horses died.
Computers? Internet? Technology? bad laws regarding tech?
Anyone? Some help here?
_ _ _ Go for the eyes Boo! GO FOR THE EYES!
I thought you were talking about the content for a minute.
I mean, seriously, who venerates the genocide of one's native peoples 144 years after the fact? Shame, Slashdot...
Committing genocide on foot is tiring work.
Troll is not a replacement for I disagree.
How long before a software virus cripples a good amount of cars and brings "transportation to a halt"?
Don't use technical terms unless you know their meaning. Peak oil looks like it happened in 2008 because it's the maximum point on the graph of crude oil extraction over time. Gas from shale, coal, whatever is something else.
The term "peak oil" acquired a lot of baggage from people who liked to oversimplify things and pretend that crude oil was the only form of energy. The post above is a good example of being influenced by that baggage.
The Silicon Spotted Fever Epidemic of 2017 is gonna be a bear ...
I mean, seriously, who venerates the genocide of one's native peoples 144 years after the fact? Shame, Slashdot...
I'm not in favor of genocide against any group — what does "native" have to do with it? Technically, we're all out of Africa, right? If you diddle the timeline, no one else is a native.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Every time I hear about peak oil as a concept it gets turned into the idea we'll just run out, all at once.
Why won't the pricing mechanism of markets just raise the price over time and slow consumption, or increase the use of alternatives where they exist, increase research into improving or finding new alternatives? It will also affect choices, so as food prices increase because of fertilizer price increases people will choose food over, say, power boats.
Fracking is kind of the great example as well. AFAIK it was a known technique but not economically viable. As prices increased it was improved as a process and put into use because it was more economically viable at higher price levels.
I have read some arguments that claim significant economic disruption as oil prices cross a certain threshold creating an amplification effect. I think one example is the use of trucks for transportation -- the cost of shipping increases it makes other activities dependent on trucking not economically viable as the transportation costs exceed the marginal value of the thing being transported. I buy this, sort of, but it doesn't take into account the adaptation of the use of localized production or alternative products being used.
Overall I buy the idea that oil is a limited resource, but find the predictions of its increasing scarcity a lot less due to the complexity and sophistication of economies.
Spending under the very non-conservative GWB exploded. Spend money for TSA, spend money for Department of Homeland Security. Start new entitlement program to win Grandma and Grampa's vote by buying their prescription meds. Start unnecessary wars followed by "Nation Building." No need to Veto any bill. That wouldn't be very "compassionate."
Enough said
Ah, remember it like it were yesterday. The ride through at the McDonald's was deserted for years.
and that really impacted the economy.
People call in sickie in mass because their in-car entertainment systems only show a picture of the Guy Fawkes mask. There is no person who dares challenging the rush hour without their in-car entertainment system working.
No, it'll be the electronic car virus. Of course, you will be directed to purchase Norton Antivirus for Cars.
2018 is the all ing car mandate iirc.
Some of you guys are joking about a car virus, but it's not a stretch of the imagination at all.
15 years ago that couldn't happen, but now cars have built in cellular data. Some have built in hotspots. Not just high end cars but cheap cars can get on facebook now either through dedicated cellular data or tethering off your phone. We saw just a few weeks ago that they're trying to make cars that talk to each other for 'safety' reasons. Once they can do that a car to car virus is even easier.
Do not meddle in the affairs of sysadmins, for they are subtle, and quick to anger.
Having problems getting people to take the flu shot now?
Take your infected crap to some other planet.
Peak oil looks like it happened in 2008 because it's the maximum point on the graph of crude oil extraction over time. Gas from shale, coal, whatever is something else.
NO. Peak oil refers to M. King Hubbert's theory about a bell-shaped pattern, and it is inclusive of all fossil fuels.
Which BIO fuel can be used to make plastics? We need to switch before oil isn't available for all of the "other things" we need it for.
Having to work for a living is the root of all evil.
A video as citation? That's a bit insulting if you expect me to take you seriously.
Note it's called peak oil and the likely peak of coal production is probably many decades away.
Let me remind you that you had " it is inclusive of all fossil fuels" of all fossil fuels in the above attempt at petty lecturing. I wonder if you are going to shift your definition every time I point out a stunningly obvious flaw in your silly personal definition such as coal being a fossil fuel.
As for me - I'll go with what the geophysicists call it instead of your gut feeling.