From Plague Doctor to PPE: A Brief History of Pandemic Protection Gear
Tasty footnotes & further resources below.
Obviously the particular history of medical dress is not my regular area of expertise, so please accept the information presented in this video as my superficial primary peek into the subject, brought on by a fit of timely curiosity.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] www.roger-pearse.com/weblog/2...
[2] www.nytimes.com/2010/11/01/he...
[3] www.roger-pearse.com/weblog/2...
[4] www.biblica.com/bible/?osis=n...
[5] www.history.com/news/pandemic...
[6] www.sciencefriday.com/article...
[7] www.cppdigitallibrary.org/ite...
[8] An illustration from the 'Romance of Alexander' in the Bodleian Library, Oxford. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images) www.gettyimages.com/detail/ne...
[9] “Journal of the Plague Year” by Daniel Defoe, 1665 www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/376
[10] Christine M. Boeckl, Images of Plague and Pestilence: Iconography and Iconology (Truman State University Press, 2000), pp. 15, 27.
[11] books.google.com/books?id=Kxu...
[12] On Miasma Theory: dc.cod.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cg...
[13] ‘Modern human history’ is defined as ‘History up to the present day, [beginning] from some arbitrary point taken to represent the end of the Middle Ages.’ (www.lexico.com/definition/mod...) Or, beginning roughly from when the English-speaking world graduated from Middle English (‘Whan that Aprill, with his shoures soote the droughte of March hath perced to the roote…’ -The Canterbury Tales, c. 14th c) to what we now recognise today as Modern English. Yes, technically Shakespeare was speaking the same Modern English (ok, ‘Early Modern English’) that we speak today. Basically this is to say that ‘Modern human history’ does not include the 14th century black plague, which likely would have out-killed the 1918 flu pandemic.
[14] www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-reso...
[15] www.britannica.com/science/ge...
[16] www.archives.gov/exhibits/inf...
[17] A period photo of a poster issued by Alberta's Provincial Board of Health alerting the public to the 1918 influenza epidemic. The poster gives information on the Spanish flu, and instructions on how to make a mask.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish...
[18] Soap advertisements from the Manchester Guardian archives www.theguardian.com/world/fro...
[19] authors.library.caltech.edu/5...
[20] nursing.cuanschutz.edu/about/...
[21] Fit test footage © Sewstine, used with permission. Original video: • I sewed and fit tested...
[22] www.researchgate.net/publicat...
[23] www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2020/...
**Due to character cutoff, image and music credits continued at bernadettebanner.co.uk/from-p.... **
Want to get started with hand sewing?
🧵
🕯Check out my Skillshare original course, “Hand Sewing Basics: Working Wonders with Fabric, Needle & Thread”. To sign up for a free trial and take the class, visit skl.sh/bernadettebanner1
This channel is made possible through the generous support of Patreon members. To become a patron, visit / bernadettebanner (although videos will remain free for you here regardless).
Beyond KZhead:
IG @bernadettebanner / bernadettebanner
Management contact for business enquiries:
bernadette@helmtalentgroup.com
bernadettebanner.co.uk/
So this video has been done and listed quietly for a number of days now, but I just haven't felt right releasing it to the public and potentially distracting from the voices of black creators that need to be heard with particular strength. This is to say: do not be alarmed if you see comments dating several days back--these are from early access Patrons; the publication date of this video is correct, and your notifications are probably working fine. :) BUT, just because I've finally decided to publish this video does not mean that the voices of our PoC creator friends do not still need to be heard. Here are a few of my personal favorite black creators/channels, who I would highly encourage you to check out! Feel free to boost your faves below. x This webseries, Black Girl in a Big Dress, follows the story of a black historical costumer and her struggles to engage with 21st century life: kzhead.info/tools/sfdAYPzeQ7kPLZ9-pz2I2Q.html Cheyney of Not Your Momma's History, a black reenactor and living historian striving to educate on the *real* history of American black and enslaved people: kzhead.info/tools/EVpwIpE7PpD2rt1SGtAkJw.html Dandy Wellington on all things vintage menswear and lifestyle. He's so close to monetisation--go give him some watch time! kzhead.info TinyAngryCrafts, who has relatively recently joined the CosTube ranks! kzhead.info If you're into BookTube, I've just discovered NayaReadsandSmiles and have been greatly enjoying her videos! kzhead.info/tools/52OEyEFO3p-5Qkahcv0REg.html
You are so beautiful ^^ yes I know, off topic, but I was about to sleep. Gn ( lol )
Thanks for "posting" either way... It's quite difficult to wrap my head around USAmerican realty (since I have been paying attention in 2015😅) but recent events top the scales! kzhead.info/sun/Z5meqZiinqGumI0/bejne.html is a talk, I found useful by expanding my vocabulary, beyond ways I can question my self.
Bernadette Banner thanks 😊
Ooh I'm definitely checking out their channels!
Some peripheral data - From giss.nasa.gov - Plague and volcanoes. Every volcano is unique depending on its individual chemistry and structure. From Los Alamos National Laboratory - Were the Dark Ages Triggered by Volcano-Related Climate Changes in the 6th Century? by Ken Wohletz Speculation backed by science on the probability of the medieval Krakatoa eruption and 'nuclear winter' conditions that encouraged rat populations to breed more prodigiously in the darkness caused by globally-dispersed volcanic ash. From decadevolcano dot net - The Minoan Eruption The Volcanic Explosivity Index goes up to 8 for the largest eruptions. The 1883 Krakatoa blow was rated a 6 on that scale. Thera (Santorini in modern times) is estimated to have been between 7 and 8. Thera blew up in the mid-first millennium B.C.E. The Aryan expansion into the Middle East (Reference the Amarna letters) and Europe took place in the latter part of that millennium. All the Biblical plagues of Egypt except for the slaying of the firstborn can be explained by volcanic fallout. (Note: There's more than a little speculation that this one, massive event caused a phenomenon known as a Chandler Wobble, a tilting of the Earth's axis. This may have caused the great Egyptian Empire to fail due to the sub-tropical environment drying out and becoming a desert, which is supported by the existence of whale fossils in the Sahara.. It's rather improbable that this ancient dynastic kingdom could have existed and thrived for centuries without a regular, copious water source.) I hope this message finds you well and able to provide many snacks for the King of Cavys. Also - before I forget yet again - I've done a little research and discovered that the Victorians were rather fond of a style of decor called chinoiserie, a kind of European interpretation of Asian art. Perhaps a paper screen or some removable wallpaper or contact paper in such a design would disguise the doors of your Murphy bed and make your sewing space more agreeable. As you have a gift for drafting and art, all you'd really need to purchase is the appropriate type and size paper unless you choose to make due with the materials you have at hand. Watercolors were very common with vintage chinoiserie.
"Sentences by God which cannot be understood or comprehended by human beings," is exactly how I would describe the first draft of any essay I write.
same bro saame
replace that with Is exactly how I would describe my thought process
crying with laughter
This could also describe my drunk texts
Me:hahaha same me internally: WRITE THAT DOWN! WRITE THAT DOWN!
i think my favorite aspect of these is bernadette pointing out the absurdity of copyright laws
this is a hill I will die on
@@bernadettebanner you and eric idle of monty python (thanks to the getty, for example, there is a song he can only sing live--never record.) the absurdity of copyright laws is why i *paid* $100 to make my dissertation available for free to anyone interested in research in my field.
@@ushere5791 also a medical youtuber called Medlife Crisis! Pretty sure he made a whole video talking about how ridiculous medical journals are and he also has a wonderfully sarcastic sense of humor
*whispers the first mistake was going to Getty Images or other image licensing sites for primary sources. you pay for the convenience of having that source located and attributed for you. you are not paying for access to the source itself. because surprise surprise medieval manuscripts are out of copyright because they were never in copyright to begin with. just search for the manuscript itself and you'll probably end up at a digitised manuscript archive where you can look for the page that has the image you want
In summary: When your middle school health teacher said hygiene and cleanliness is important, turns out they meant it.
Did anyone think they didn't mean it?
Sonja Look around...
Although no one will still bring up women's fingernails. Fake and long fingernails were found to be the vector of infection and disease in 50% of all infant mortality in the OKC Children's Hospital study back in 2000. Now it's even more trendy god knows what it'd be up to. We'll destroy the planets economy to stop the spread of this flu - but we won't ask women to abandon a fashion that has a significant death toll higher than COVID's _in children alone._
@@dr.lexwinter8604 but kids don't have covid impact them as bad as well... Everyone else
@@dr.lexwinter8604 How many comments have you left on this video ranting about fake nails?
Are you familiar with Dr. Wu Liande (traditionally spelled as "Wu Lien Tuh" ) ~ the Malaysian born Chinese doctor who invented the 1st variant of the N95 masks? He was a doctor assigned to combat the highly virulent Manchurian Pneumatic Plague of 1910-1911. Because he realized very early on that the extremely contagious plague was spread by exhaled droplets (hence Pneumatic) that he improved the normal surgical masks and made them safe for the wearer in contagious environments. During January there were over 100 daily deaths in various cities of Manchuria. His resolute efforts in containing and eradicating the plague pretty much sent the plague into remission and the plague never left the confines of Manchuria. For his efforts, Wu became the 1st Malaysian and also Chinese born citizen nominated for the Nobel Prize.
That was so very interesting! Never heard of him before, but I just read some things on wikipedia and he seems very accomplished. Thanks for sharing!
I'm Malaysian and I have never heard of him!
More correctly it is called Pneumonic Plague... It caused some confusion when it was carried to France in 1918 with the Chinese labour corps in the midst of the 1918 Flu. A vaccine has existed for plague since 1890 when it was developed in India.
i was just about to comment this!!
Oh this is interesting. I wonder what journeys other cultures went through regarding medical attire.
Totally not on topic but I'm living for this Gibson girl hair, yes!
Frist
i love it to
Exactly what I was thinking!
Same!
good floof levels
Small note: References to isolating diseased individuals is as old as the Torah, such as in Leviticus, effectively finalized in 538-332 BC (if not older). There were a few things done to "purify" those affected, but one of which was moving them out of the community for a set period and a cleansing of them, their clothes, and their home. Presumably, both through natural disease fighting and whatever the cleansing rituals, this worked, as people were able to come back into the fold after a time, and presumably didn't relapse in a short enough period to be banished again.
If only ‘Christianity’ followed the Bible. So many things in (ancient and recent) history would have turned out differently.
@@shelleyocallaghan6260 I'm pretty sure Leviticus was also against wearing fabrics made of more than 1 material. And stoning people is in there too. It's not all logical or nice. But there are a lot of good and positive things in the Bible too, just as there are in many other sources.
@@snazzypazzy one piece of gold in huge pile of shit, I'd say
While you are quite free to harbor your own opinion, as one who believes and attempts to live the Bible as closely as possible...I would greatly appreciate if you made an attempt to be a little less vulgar in your estimation of God's Word. It is often said, and I heartily agree, that the use of such vulgarity is a sign of a weak mind. Therefore, if you wish to express your disagreement with what is contained in God's Word you might wish to do so with a little more forethought and eloquence of speech so you can be seen as the intelligent person I know you must be.
@@bonniehyden962 1 Timothy 2:11-12
"Rather than relying on religious leaders to appeal to God to lighten up the wrath a little..."
GloriousClio Though that wouldn’t be a bad idea in these times 😅 (provided you or anyone else reading this believes in God)
To be fair, we still do that, we have just learned to do the PPE as well 😄
Iridescent Aurora I’ll pass the word along. Already told Him-Who’s-Upstairs that this wasn’t exactly what I meant by ‘people in general are irritating’
@@alessandrahayes8544 AMEN! Both and. "Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you. " - Augustine
i'm jewish and in our town there was a lockdown and prayer from the porches (a few months ago)
My piano teacher (Age 91) said she remembers when she was a little girl, she had been driving a road of farm with her father, and him saying, "I could have bought this farm, and this one, and this one." Becuase their families had all succumbed to the spanish flu. It literally wiped out swaths of families.
My great grandmother lost all four of her brothers to the Spanish flu. However, her parents and her sisters all survived. Like many viruses, this one killed males at a much higher rate. These young men ranged in age from mid teens to mid twenties.
spanish flu is how my great granddad got his farm
@@spiritualtruthseeker1947 Yeah it was actually one of a few viruses which actually more adversely affects healthier individuals (like farmhands who would otherwise have had robust immune systems and at least less malnourished than their city slum dwelling counterparts). Its actually the immune system going into overdrive which is responsible for the quick deaths - it got trigger happy and started killing off healthy cells as well as infected cells. SARS is another which does something similar which is why its lucky that this current strain of SARS (COVID is more correctly known as SARS-CoV-2) doesn't quite do that - yet - as it would be much more deadly than it is currently. Right now its a very good spreader and does so often whilst the person is asymptomatic. The "Spanish Flu" had a much shorter incubation period and due to the war spread like crazy because you can't exactly social distance in the trenches...
Alexa Faie It also happened at the end of the war, so returning soldiers helped the spread.
A friend of a friend of mine has a ridiculously rich aunt. Turns an ancestor of hers inherited all the property from relatives who passed away as the Spanish flu wiped out most of the family. And she inherited the property and money from sold property in return.
Am I the only one that thinks that Bernadette in the future is going to have the company of a small pet called Footnote? It would just make sense. But as usual Bernadette, one fantastic video and I love how you bring this content to us!
This is BRILLIANT and I may or may not steal this for future purposes. 😆
Oh my gosh please
Sounds like His Lordship Cesario needs a friend!
@@bernadettebanner You and Terry Pratchett!
@@marayashinsky770 Wouldn't that be fun. :)
A lot of people are still asking God to “lighten up the wrath a little”.
If it does not get worse, let’s involve everyone on this. Where are Odin and Zeus now? Get your asses here and fix this mess!
Why not though? Unless people slack on the official and recommended protection methods, prayer is an absolutely fine and mostly healthy coping mechanism.
@@Axiniana Not always. When superstitions fail, it can cause harm to the psyche. And since it is purely statistical whether the results are negative or positive, in disease, many people just recover.
Unfortunately.... Also, yeah, there has been research suggesting that prayer does nothing but make people more upset when it doesn't work.
Yep, we're still praying. I thought that after her comment on that lol
It's been a while now since I've been willing to read the comments on a KZhead video, because of how quickly they usually degenerate into name-calling. It's a real compliment to you and your followers that this long string of comments remains so positive. There are still people who know how to have discussions and even to disagree in a polite manner. Thank you to everyone!
This is one of the things I am most grateful for. ♥️♥️
Dorit Bergen Sadly, even This video isn’t immune. There are some long-winded examples of blatant ignorance in a few comments. Science denial... it’s so like when a tiny child think it’s invisible because its eyes are closed.
Another great channel with great fans is "Baumgartner Restoration" an art conservator. He's exactly like Bernadette only completely different. Something my Mom used to say.
"Because desperate times call for desperate fits of curiosity' My new favourite quote! BTW I'm loving bernadette's new hairstyle!
Its gorgeous - I wish my hair would do that!
Simply happy that the old "plague mask" look is now considered "aesthetic".
Functional too!
Yai! I'll have to make one for myself 😍
Although if you wear it in public now you get arrested apparently.
@@dr.lexwinter8604 really
I'll be wearing mine with my Stahlhelm come the boog, will be a bit modded though.
Hi, healthcare worker here~ I loved this look back at 'ppe' through history, and the whole time I was eagerly waiting for you to get to the modern ppe. When you said "Yes, please do tell me all the things I already wear," that was literally me lol
9 year old me would be delighted at this video - I had a massive fight with another kid in my group for our Plague Newspaper (medieval edition) history project about this. He wanted to draw the "creepy bird man", but I objected because I had spotted that all the medieval images were of monks caring for the sick, with zero creepy bird men in sight. I think we ended up going with a sort of collation of all the alleged cures around at the time for our image - with my personal fave, spiders in butter, heavily featured.
Yummy. Do you think it goes better on toasted seeded bread or plain? How crunchy are the spiders? LOL What I find interesting is that we still see cases of plague even today, its never really gone away fully. And they've found that vaccines don't really work well for protecting against it because of course not. Though it can currently be treated with antibiotics meaning that today with treatment it has only a 10% mortality rate, whereas untreated it has a 30 to 90% fatality rate (based on historical cases). So that's fun.
Spiders in butter. Oooh!
@@AlexaFaie - MERS is another modern coronavirus for which there is no vaccine. Fortunately, it doesn't spread nearly as rapidly as COVID-19 and has had only a few localized outbreaks. HOWEVER, it has about a 33% fatality rate! We REALLY NEED the Trump administration to restore the pandemic office and to break open those Obama pandemic manuals. Viruses are out to get us.
That was some grade A shade throwing. Also I know this was a heck of a research hole for you, but I really enjoyed the final video. :)
jxjdhejdkfjfjr idduejdjsjsh-13 years ago 😂IKR
When you asked how many of us where healthcare workers, my hand automatically went up!🙋♀️🤣🤣🤣
Same here!!!
🙋🏼♀️
Thank you for your contribution to public healthcare!
Me too 😄
me too !
Fun fact: in italian we still say "quarantena", for meaning isolation or lockdown, but we lost the correlation with a specific amount of days.
The same happens with its Spanish counterpart "cuarentena"
Whereas in France we just came up with the word "quinzaine" (quinze = 15) for this particular situation, but everybody still uses "quarantaine" 😆
We also use quarantaine in Dutch which is funny because it is not a Latin based language. That being said we might have stolen it from the French since we have a few more French words in our language. It also lost its definition of a certain time span here.
@@laartje24 in German it's "Quarantäne" and I also suspect it to have originated from French, as we have some other originally French words.
@@ClaraCB5 in spanish we've been using "quincena" forever (at least in Colombia). Also, as many workers are paid every two weeks, "quincena" is also used as a synonym of salary or the times of the month when people are paid 😂
Loved this my dear, cannot wait to give you a non-socially distanced hug when this is all over. I know the research you put into this and it’s just totally rad
Health care worker here! Not front line, I work in oncology compounding but we do have to wear the same sort of gear to keep the drugs we are making sterile as well as protect us from any toxic stuff from the drug itself. Chemo ain't no joke, y'all. Love your videos Bernadette, always so well researched and informative.
I was about to say the same thing! Wearing a full-body protective suit (even in an air-conditioned room) is highly uncomfortable. So hats off to those front-line healthcare workers who have to wear this for entire shifts!
Radiology, here! Those overgowns are the bane of my existence, SO HOT.
Oncology nurse here! My unit and staff were repurposed at the peak of COVID season in March, working in hyper-negative pressure units that are still in my hospital now. I did wear the PPE as outlined by Bernadette, though we weren't provided caps (I have a growing collection, now).
Same in veterinary! My area of study is specifically oncoviruses, we wear the same gear, honestly by now thosw gowns should be made officially fashionable
Am I the only one who’s now reaching for a Black Death book to double check all the facts that I was taught wrong in school. No.... just me.... ok. Back to the terrifying Edwardian (and modern) book that’s decorated in skeletons, gravestones and black blobs I go.
wasnt this uploaded to day not 4 days ago?
Willa Bukata if you are on Patreon you get the videos a wee bit earlier.
Not books on the Black Plague, but definitely books on the Spanish Flu/Flu of 1918. Currently on my dresser is a copy of "The Great Influenza." Not a short read by any stretch, even current events that are also pulling me away to other historical pursuits (how my area became so utterly WHITE).
@@aarna6853 the video was upload but kept unlisted until yesterday
I think the worst thing a teacher said about it was this. "The last population crash humanity had was the black plague, because it killed a third of europe" and I was just sitting there like... Sir. What about the rest of the world???? Did they not exist yet or???? XD I mean it was a population crash in biology terms but it also affected all Asia, the middle east , and other parts of Africa.
A curious oddity: there’s a growing body of evidence suggesting that the plague was spread mostly by body lice once in a population rather than by fleas (who seemed to be more apt as transatlantic carrier vessels). This is especially poignant in the case of the village of Eyam in the UK, which turned into an isolated little hotspot in the middle of nowhere after receiving a shipment of fabric from London (possible recycled from plague victims). The tailor then spread it throughout the village, which, rather impressively, self-isolated throughout the following year despite the terrible death toll.
“We can immediately tell this is not the case from the-“ Printing press technology? “Shoes” Well... yes that too.
There was litography in the middle ages (tho mostly just in Asia) and also metal/acid xilography by the 16th century and also printed paper by the 15th century so it wouldnt be a good way to separate the 17th century from the 16th or the 15
felipe daiber you don’t seem like you are college educated in this subject
@@felipedaiber2991 NOVA recently had a two-parter about the development of a modular alphabet and the development of calligraphy, ink, printing, and the substrates: "A to Z: The First Alphabet" and "A to Z: How Writing Changed the World". Enthralling! - www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/a-to-z-how-writing-changed-the-world/
I love how Bernadette misses no opportunity to imprint her wonderful persona. Even in the closed captions! (see 2:23 with CC on)
Haha thank you for pointing that out! I think I'll have to rewatch the videos with captions now!!
I'm giggling at that
(Harpsichord probably) 😂😂 oh captions are a must! Some of the earlier videos have me laughing enough I have to rewind. Is there a modern term for rewind now?
@@Azrielle21 I'd be more interested on an Edwardian term for it 😆
Azrielle21 Scrollback?
Some people did self isolation see: The Decameron was written by Giovanni Boccaccio, an Italian writer who lived from 1313-1375. It is the story of seven young women and three men who flee the city to go to the countryside to escape the deadly effects of the Black Plague, which was tearing through Italy at that time.
I was thinking about the Decameron too! A lot of young Italian people (who have studied the Decameron in literature class) joked at the start of lockdown (when it seemed that it would simply last a couple weeks, boy were we wrong) that we could isolate together and write the next Decameron ourselves. Sadly nobody has done it, as far as I'm aware, but there are already lots of collections of short stories popping up in libraries. Just a fun parallel I thought you might enjoy.
As a doctor myself, I can tell you this is absolutely fascinating lol I was so mistaken with the century in which those masks first appeared. thank u so much!!!
As someone who spent the entirety of college researching pre-modern history and writing papers, thank you so so much for not only putting the research work into this, but for using accurate sources and taking the time to cite them well❤️
Can we all just take a second to admire and appreciate the amount of research and work she did as well as providing it all in order in the description for us? 🥺❤️
Brilliant research, thank you! I personally get a severe case of the miasmas when people don't appropriately social distance.
Knowing that Bernadette and Sewstine are friends makes my heart happy! And we get an excellently written and informative video as well! ^_^
Hi Bernadette. I am actually a healthcare worker watching this! I work in a pharmacy and we all wear gloves, masks, face shields and aprons over our uniforms so this was actually really interesting to see the “beginnings” of pep as we know it today. Your videos are honestly going really far in keeping me sane during all of this so thank you so so so much. With much love from Ireland ❤️❤️❤️
I love the plague doctor, now I want to make that mask just to sit on a balcony, wearing it :D But on a serious note, if humanity even exists 200 or 300 years from now, I wonder how they will look at our methods of protection. Maybe they would think that we were idiots and we could do it completely different. Any time traveller who recently visited future would like to say anything?
yes! plague doctors are amazing! one of my bedroom windows opens to the roof, and I really just want to dress up as a plague doctor and sit on the roof with a sign that says something along the lines of "hear ye, hear ye, practice safe social distancing or else"
There is a sewing pattern and tutorial on Tumblr mctreeleth.tumblr.com/post/615290993946820608/here-it-is-the-instructions-to-make-a-pieced-and which is quilted and another here which isn't quilted so is simpler mctreeleth.tumblr.com/post/615833339070431232/okay-this-is-the-last-one-i-mean-it-floral-print?is_highlighted_post=1 This isn't my pattern, and all credit goes to mctreeleth, I just thought I'd share cause it's in my to do pile :)
People right now can see we mishandled things. I cant imagine people of the future looking back on us. Probably even harsher since we had the resources and technology but didnt use it effectively.
Ah yes I live in the year 2500 and you past timers were very wrong. The pandemics you so call are actually spread by alien wrath.
@@leejiaa LIES! all lies! you 2500'ers are all wrong! try coming to the 52nd century. we have evidence to prove that "pandemics" or "alien wrath" are actually human constructs. people got bored with the state of the world and unknowingly entered a shared dream.
Brilliant research and lots of shade shade! I am invited to a wedding (non-US, so we have different rules here) and I'm planning on an Edwardian outfit with head covering and mask.
I hope Bernadette won't mind if I recommend this video from a rival youtube costumer/historian, showing a chic 1918 face covering & outfit kzhead.info/sun/rKmumturhYeunH0/bejne.html
@@monicasmalley3336 I don't believe their is much rivalry between the costubers so I think you are fine.
"and dive right into a world of plague doctors and iconic bird masks" *dani banner has entered the chat*
Been dying to watch this since the blog! I'm a dentistry student and it never cease to amaze me how granted we take ppe. As for my own teacher's and clinician tutors didn't wore gloves on the time they were studying. And on forward, because of aerosoles dentists may need to adopt covid - 19 protection garments for the general practice maybe for forever. Thank you for the much needed healthy (and educational) distraction. And heck yeah black lives matter so let's raise our voices!!
Don't mind me, just boosting the algorithm by saying I really liked the video.
Samesies.
‘‘Tis a great video
Good job, babe! As usual, I’m around if you need resources to make a video on death, dying, mourning, etc. One note about this one that bugged me a little: you made mention that the notion of isolating the sick goes back to the “Christian Bible,” but it’s actually even older. Those parts are in Leviticus, which are actually not the Bible, but the Torah. A couple thousand years older! Cleanliness and disease prevention are such staples of Jewish culture that, during one of the larger plague outbreaks (I used to know which one forgive me lmao), and Jews were blamed (as per us’ tbh), many left and moved to Poland. As a result of our collective cleanliness, Poland saw waaayyyyyy fewer cases than the rest of Europe at this time.
I had the exact same thought about Bible vs Torah. Thanks for pointing it out!
Oh my goodness, I'm sorry about that! You're right, I think that is Old Testament which is followed by both? I ought not to have specified 'Christian' then! I never expected my dress history to take me back that far 😅
Bernadette Banner it’s all good! But yes, the Torah/Old Testament is a Jewish document, but followed/recognized by Christians as well. Just wanted you to know it’s even older than it seems, is all!
I was thinking about that the other day and was thinking that (in their religious/spritual way) they were following the science and laying down the dictates of a healthy religious life. Yes, early priests were (sort of) scientists.
It *is* in the Bible but you're right that it existed before Christianity. Jesus was, after all, Jewish, and all New Testament figures assume readers have knowledge of the Torah and prophets.
"Wait, how many of you are healthcare workers?" Me: *sweats nervously* This was a fun video to watch and my colleagues loved it
I was just at a thrift store (I'm in the middle of nowhere, they're still open) and I found a hand crank Singer! I know nothing about them outside of your videos, but I really want an electricity free sewing machine to use when I'm on the road. It's $65 and I'm tempted.
Ooh you should get it!
Check the mechanism works and it isn't too rusty. 👍
@@alissameeker your right!! She should get it!
DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT
A treadle drive would be better... (Unfortunately a lot of those were converted to conversation piece tables in the 1990's).
I swear I could listen to Bernadette talk about ANYTHING and enjoy it. 😍
Who else's history/science teacher dropped everything for online school and just spend an entire class talking about the Spanish Influenza?
No. But instead we talked about how school was going to close at some point and the pandemic is happening and is in America. The next day we were closed!
I'm out of school but have gotten very tired of the comparison. When my grandmother told stories about illness the stories ended with convolutions and death. That was the early 1900. Before vaccines, antibiotics, x-ray, ultrasounds, MRI's the list goes on. I hope your history/science teacher remembered to add that!
I was that teacher.
@@robintheparttimesewer6798 Antibiotics don't work against viruses and there is no cure or vaccine for SARS-COV-2 (what COVID 19 is actually called by scientists!) and no cure or vaccine for the previous SARS virus either. Though the first vaccine, developed by Edward Jenner, was in 1796, so 1918 was hardly "before vaccines". The main difference between this current virus and the Spanish Flu is that the flu caused cytokine storms (basically the immune system over-reacts and ends up killing healthy cells, flooding the lungs with blood and mucus and you drown/bleed out). There have only been a few cases so far where this has happened with the current SARS strain, but it was well known to have happened with the previous one too and the more hosts this current virus passes through, the more chance it has to mutate and gain that affect. Which would mean that the comparison would be very fair indeed.
Alexa Faie I don’t think she was particularly saying that antibiotics help with COVID-19 anymore that MRIs do. Her point was more that the modern advances in healthcare have made the treatment of COVID-19 much more effective. “Edward Jenner invented a method to protect against smallpox in 1796. The method involved taking material from a blister of someone infected with cowpox and inoculating it into another person’s skin; this was called arm-to-arm inoculation. However by the late 1940s, scientific knowledge had developed enough, so that large-scale vaccine production was possible and disease control efforts could begin in earnest. The next routinely recommended vaccines were developed early in the 20th century. These included vaccines that protect against pertussis (1914), diphtheria (1926), and tetanus (1938). These three vaccines were combined in 1948 and given as the DTP vaccine” So I think her comment about the Spanish Flu and vaccines is valid. Jenner did not develop a vaccine. He developed a method for inoculation.
Lol, I am an actual doctor working in healthcare. I love your videos and enjoyed your description of the things I actually wear. Excellent work.
I like the way you used music when changing eras, it was a lovely touch!
Love a fun history video from someone I can trust to do the research properly.
AMEN!
Don’t forget varying hygiene levels. Queen Elizabeth 1 bragged that she had a bath once a month “whether she needed it or not”. Also, and I think this is more your purview, I don’t think outer clothes were washed very often, only brushed out, which if course isn’t going to a darn deal to fleas. I think it was the undergarments which were more laundered.
You say it's her purview and the you proceed to do the exact same thing with the: brushed out thingy hahaha At least some sources or something
Who would decide whether or not a queen needed a bath? Was it the queen herself or one of her courtiers, such as Thomas Heneage, a man who checked her dad's poop?
They did do 'sponge bath' wipe downs more often.
Gabriel Oliveira I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to start an argument, only a conversation because this stuff interests me. I only said... “I don’t think outer clothes were washed very often, only brushed out”. I wasn’t stating a fact, merely supposing. I was hoping BB herself would confirm/refute this. I just thought it may be relevant to the whole PPE debate if they weren’t washing their clothes.....or themselves.
Also the phrase "wheter she needed it or not" comes from the fact that back in those days if you got fresh clean water and you boiled it with herbs and then proceeded to take a bath it could cure you of illnesses. That's why when they said that she took a bath needing it or not , it came from the medicinal perspective and not of cleanliness per say. Also the phrase belongs to venetian ambassador talking about the queen.
As a healthcare worker myself, I found this very interesting! I love diving into historical psychology and trying to understand why people did what they did centuries ago. Comparing medical practices to modern knowledge (and of course fashion history), and this kind of research is right up my alley. Thanks Bernadette! ☺️
My great grandmother was a nurse during the 1918 flu pandemic. She was known for her kindness, always heating bed pans before presenting them to her patients. 💕🤗
As a doctor, this was oddly cheering - although I could say that about all of your videos, madam. I like to fell seams while I watch them.
It also helps that we medical types have a rather odd dark sense of humor. ...I mean.. we do .
Is it wrong that I read you talking about felling seams as referring to sutures and human flesh? I was thinking that felling them probably isn't the best method... would leave an awful ridge! Couldn't even iron it flat. ROFL
Kori Emerson I think that’s true - get a roomful of Psychologists together and you’ll end up feeling as though they all need therapy (that as a Psychologist in the UK you get as a part of your training) the humour is as black as a very black thing indeed.
Kori Emerson it’s true.
Merindy Morgenson we see the absolute WORST of what people can do to each other. We see people on the worst day of their lives. I worked in the ER and on a ambulance. I have had to walk away from something take a deep breath, and just keep going. If you don’t have a way with dealing with it.. You will loose more than your keys 🔑 .
Your channel is seriously one of the most interesting channels I’ve found on KZhead. I love your videos so much!
I'm not a comment person, but I have to say that I absolutely loved your exposition. I follow your channel 'couse I appreciate your craftwomanship and impeccable diction, so I was waiting (and ended surprised) for this medley of my favourite things: serious research, medieval shenanigans and medical science. Thank you for sharing your work... ... and for those little gems in the subtitles, like "Typical Vlogger Music", lost it there
I just have to say I totally enjoyed your "history of PPE." I work in an ICU in Canada. I wear a mask, cap, and hospital scrubs, during my 12hr shift. The nurses I work with wear the same but also don an N95, a faceshield, gown, and gloves when doing Covid-19 patient care. Thank you for making the current quarantine seem so much better than the 100s of years for the Plague of Justinian. 👍
Even though stuff like "miasma theory" seems ridiculous, they were clearly on the right track? A lot of old-timey medicine is like that.
And then you hear about the four humors and want to facepalm
The simple “smells like death, probably bad” system isn’t as in-depth as our modern understanding of disease, but it’s a very reasonable logic leap to make, and not wholly inaccurate.
@@pinkwings8036 Same thing with stuff like "Well, if you leg just turns black cut it off lol"
True, like earth, water, fire, air is solid, liquid, plasma, gas. It’s really interesting
But then miasma was blamed for diseases like cholera (a water borne disease) without any scientific enquiry resulting in the deaths of hundreds of Londoners.
Yes for Severus Snape! An incredibly insightful video.
Perceived as quite gory by many I still would like to mention a very special museum in Vienna called Narrenturm - it focuses on particular on the history of infectious diseases and birth defects with countless body bits in jars (yum) as well as wax molds properly painted to show plague blisters and such. Super fascinating, idk why I'm telling you this, you probably know about it already. I just dearly adore your channel
Hi Bernadette. Thank you for your informative video on this subject. My great grandmama was 12 years old during the Spanish Flu (Spain had nothing to do with the nomenclature though) in South Africa. According to her, her family was responsible for feeding a whole city block of very, very ill people. The adults (male and female) use to make huge vats of nourishing soups. These soups were delivered to everyone in their area of Johannesburg. Most often people had to be fed as there was often no-one left standing to do this. It's strange to think that we are the descendants of people that either were immune to this flu, survivors or just plain lucky to not encounter it. So much was lost during this time as many African tribes still used oral tradition to hand down information to the next generation. After the flu, researchers visiting tribes and villages often encountered a 100% death rate.
Wow, what apt timing. I just received grant from my university to do a podcast about the Covid19 Pandemic and I wanted to include a short introduction to the history of pandemics. I was a bit at a loss as to where to start my research, but then you came along with all of your wonderfully sited sources and magnificently clean and concise video. I may take a look at some of the sources myself! Thanks!
Interview @BernadetteBanner & have a flock of BB "groupies" to start your vlog with a 'Bang' ! ;)
I've always *hated* the plague doctor lewk, but this was 12:46 of dress history 🔥 and I loved every minute of it. 😍
I'm a surgical technician, this is my everyday life lol. Honestly its refreshing seeing someone outside of the medical field express and understanding of this. Thanks😁
Great video! It was actually discovered a few years ago, that the very first evidence of the black plague was found during the Neolithic period or younger stone age ca. 5000-4000 BC. Two skeletons found in Russia contained the bacteria, which was even during that time able to be spread to fleas and rats. The Neolithic period was the time when hunter gatherers settled and started farming and animal breeding. This is where bigger and bigger settlements occoured and many infectious deseases that are transfered in between humans began to become more of an issue as community's grew. The very first "metropols" grew in the middle east, with hundreds and thousands of people. Examined Bones from one particular settlement (from which I sadly forgot the name), showed the poor health condition of the population. Archeologists and Paleopathologists assume, that the first bigger epidemics and plagues occoured during the Neolithic period, when people started gathering in big masses. Sadly we don't have written evidence from this time, but the archeological findings are pretty fascinating. So as sad as it is. Human contact and big communities sometimes are our biggest strength but in regards of pests and conficts, also our biggest threat.
Interesting! I'm curious to know how they dated the fossils.
@@alissameeker Thank you. Well not really fossils, just human remains. I am not sure how they dated this specific find, but in archeology methods are used most are combinations of stratigraphy and chronology of objects (at least when we talk about all human made sides). This means if you have a site you document the different layers of sediment. Each layer has its own timeline. You can find something in those layers to carbon date, and know when this layer formed (because once in time it was the "ground layer". It's even easier when you find objects or fossils that are already specific to a certain time period and culture. In archaeology, especially in early periods just like the Neolithic those are often clay pots of specific forms and designs. So if archeologists find the grave of a Neolithic person, they will likely find items with them that are specific for the time and match them up with the layer the grave was in. There is also dendrochonology (matching up the rings of cut wood, from similar climate zones, to determine in which year the tree was cut down, this is done though a database in which very old trees where carbon-dated first), but this is a very long and tedious process XD . With those skeletons in russia they had the luck to find preserved DNA of the plaque bacterium, so the conditions of the bones must have been cuite good. I really need to look the articles up then I could say more.
@@alissameeker 5000-4000 BC isn't really that far back in regards to dating human remains, the really tricky bit with dating comes when you are going back to early hominid species as then you can be out by a much larger degree. Hence why there are multiple dates for the expansions out of Africa into the rest of the world. Some say 1.8 million years ago, some push the date back to 2 million years ago (noone can agree, or decide if there were multiple - most likely - and exact dates are so hard that far back). Neolithic is arguably easy compared to Palaeolithic archaeology as once you get into Palaeolithic, you don't get as much survivability of datable finds (important given that most items used/built with were biodegradable so its hard to find remains of that after so long, flint tools can't be carbon dated as they are made of materials which are millennia older, so can only be dated typologically and stratigraphically) and you have to rely on things like soil core dating (which uses isotope levels to tell you about climate and other neat stuff and can tell you when roughly something happened) and other harder techniques. And by that point bones are more likely to have reached or to be nearing complete fossilisation so you get less info there too sadly. But yeah, the increase of diseases really did kick off when we started living closer together, especially closer together with other animals meaning that all it would take is for an illness affecting the animals to make a cross-species leap for infections to spread rapidly. You see this amongst other animal populations too - the larger they get, the worse their health in general, and the more prone to disease they get. That's one of the reasons why its really important to keep prey species in check by protecting their predators as the predators pick off the few less healthy and help control the population size. (so side note about how important it is to protect wolves and sharks in particular) especially if as humans you want to consume healthy animal products. Small herds are healthy herds. Mass breeding and keeping leads to diseases.
Yersinia pestis is still around too. A few cases per year in Siberia I think and occasionally in the large US nature parks. Thankfully the plague can be treated with antibiotics today.
@@snazzypazzy In the US these days, it's more likely to be spread by squirrels than rats.
"... to lighten up the wrath a little." 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I adore your sense of humour.
Absolutely brilliant! The perfect combination of BB Presentation and Debunking Popular Misinformation, thank you so much for all the research and copious amounts of Bernadette Shade™
I was delighted when on my lunch break from being a healthcare worker I discovered you had posted this much anticipated video. Excellent research and I am happy you are reporting what we are wearing for PPE. I happen to work in dialysis where we are already used to wearing gowns and shields due to the risk of blood splatter (it takes a special person to sign up for this type of thing hah!) It was fascinating to learn how far PPE has come. I for one am very grateful that we have more than thoughts and prayers to protect us!
Nurse here! Fun to watch despite living in PPE since early March. I can only imagine 17th century plague doctors wincing at their depiction as hard as a I do looking at art made during this pandemic. Thank you for acknowledging our current PPE nightmare. Maybe the covid healthcare worker costume of 2120 will include it’s own garbage bag gown, homemade cap, and reused mask in a paper bag?
You explain things so wonderfully; and your voice is so soothing. Thank you BB for all your content and being here to help us keep our old normal! 👸🏼💖
As a med student I consider this topic so fascinating. Religious people were the ones caring/treating for the sick especially if poor. Thats the reason we see so many religious figures next to sick individuals in paintings and representations. Medicine was not what we may think during the medieval times. Great video!! I loved it =)
Bernadette, you are a ray of light in desperate times. I know you are not on the front lines, but we know all the work you do to help people, and spreading education, perspective and light entertainment are so needed right now. We appreciate this video, and all of your others - Harry and M P.S. M has started using your hairstyle as inspiration for her (much shorter) hair with flattering results, so thank you for that tutorial. I see a content binge coming on
*Is a Biomedical Scientist (which means, I work in a medical Lab). Enjoys the accurate detail of "what we wear, PROVIDED the suez canal is not conjested, or general delivery isn't made impossible by the mere simultaneous need from the entire world, for the same thing." So, don't fret, my fellow Bernadette, I applaude you for your wise insights, and for presenting them so eloquently.
A great informative video! There is something pleasurable about good a well-researched piece that makes it equal to a well-cooked meal. Love all the footnotes, too!
Yay! I've been waiting eagerly for this video! My only complaint: I wish it was longer. I would watch an hour of you teaching us about history, Bernadette.
Thank you for this amazing video! Love the shade, love the thorough research, love your reason to delay the publishing! All of it. Love, love, love all around. I will proceed to share this with any and all who will hear me. ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜
front line healthcare worker here ! you explained the N95 mask fitting so well thank you ! I am absolutely going to be showing my coworkers this lovely video. I do so wish I could be dressed as a plague doctor instead though, that would be much more interesting!
Yaaaas! All the nerdy plague info we’ve been waiting for! Love the extra shade thrown around in closed captioning! If you’re looking for more medical history check out the podcasts Sawbones, something I love to listen to while sewing.
Finally, the long awaited, much beloved tale of PPE! I love plague doctor beak masks, but perhaps even more I love explaining the actual history of PPE and how beak masks aren't really medieval. Also, I am loving the Gibson girl hair and the green sweater! That green is such a lovely hue.
Watching this in 2022 with the line about 2020 turning things upside down and thinking "jeez, little did we know..."
this amount of research, this level of scripting, that shade throwing, that video skills, that aesthetically pleasing look of everything That Miss Bernadette Banner
really wishing i was wearing plague doctor gear right now
This is such an informative and interesting video! Thank you for the footnotes as well ❤ EDIT: The Plague of Justinian reminded me of something similar. The small pox outbreak in India was believed by many to be a cause of the wrath of Goddess Śītalā, hence she was worshipped to cure the victims of the small pox.
Both informative and interesting: I learned several things I'd never heard before. During the Spanish flu epidemic, my great grandfather lost his first wife, leaving him with several young children to care for. He hired a young woman to look after them. After some years, they married and had several more children. One of those children was my grandmother.
A new video! I have been waiting for one for ages (really it's only been a few weeks, but still, your videos are always so well thought out and filmed, they're a joy to watch!!)
Silent tears were shed over the frankly disrespectful omission of Cesario from this outro
Keep up all your great work of all kinds - historical research, fashion, teaching, influencing. Stay beautiful and we look forward to the next video!
I have been waiting for this one since you first mentioned it. Loved it! So well researched. Thank you for taking the time to do something really fun and special about an issue that we are all becoming much too well acquainted with.
The breathing apparatus is called a PAPR (powered air purifying respirator). The hazmat suits are lovingly called bunny suits by staff at my hospital. Salutes to your amazing amount of historical research, Ms. Banner.
I very much love the hair! Your a very big inspiration to me, I’ve just started to make my own historical outfits and so your videos help me a great deal. Thank you so much for making these informative videos! Maybe next time you come to England we could meet up haha :D
The moment she mentioned Constantinople I was like: EVEN OLD NEW YORK WAS WAS NEW AMSTERDAM WHY’D THEY CHANGE IT? I CANT SAY. PEOPLE JUST LIKED IT BETTER THAT WAY. SO TAKE ME BACK TO OLD CONSTANTINOPLE. NO YOU CANT GO BACK TO OLD CONSTANTINOPLE. BEEN A LONG TIME GONE CONSTANTINOPLE. WHY DID CONSTANTINOPLE GET THE WORKS?
Kirishima • w • that’s no bodies business but the Turks lol one of my favourites
So if you’ve a date in Constantinople she’ll be waiting in Istanbul!
Sarah Wise if your ever over my way give me a shout regards from the small green bit on the other side of the Atlantic
The fact that you actually linked so many sources is incredible. Splendid job.
I've been super excited for this video ever since you mentioned it in your scheduling vlog!! As a historian by training, this is FASCINATING. I NEED MORE. Excuse me while I fall down the research rabbit hole, your properly cited sources are such enablers.
Being an RN also obsessed with history I found this most fascinating. I absolutely love all of your videos!
“Because desperate time shall for desperate curiosity...” -Bernadette 2020
You’re right, we don’t go out much these days. Thanks for showing Times Square and Columbus Circle, which I have not seen IN MONTHS despite being a Manhattanite. That being said, no sooner had I been thinking about what an absolutely lovely job you’ve done with your videos (yesterday, actually) than you come out with a video including something about your process. Total fan girl here. Kudos!
I'm in awe of humanity throughout history attempting their best to aid the sick and prevent the spread of disease. We have much to learn in the future but can thank past efforts for their contribution for current advances. ❤️
yessss I have been waiting for this video! I really love how the actual surviving plague doctor masks looked, like scuba suits for giant birds?
Luckily we can trust Bernadette to give us the proper information. Seeing your past vlogs showed me how thorough you do your research. 10/10 would recommend this to anyone in a conversation that has nothing to do with this subject 🤣
I love that you typed your own subtitles. Thank you for all of the work you put in!! The Easter egg type comments about the transition music are just delightful.
Healthcare professional here *raises hand excitedly* I'm an ER medical resident and this was absolutely fascinating to watch. We didn't get any hazmat suits where I work, but the "mask + gown + double gloves + cap + faceshield" was spot on ! I would also add shoe covers to the mix, although I did end up throwing them out due to the astonishing amount of sweat it made my feet produce...
Such an informative and light hearted video despite the content. I always love your content! ❤️
I WAS SO EXCITED FOR THIS WHEN YOU MENTIONED IT IN THE VLOG AAAAAAAAA
This is much needed and brilliant. I actually wish it was longer! With more recent pandemic information as well. The final sound as you bop your head at the very end was incredibly comical in a gallows satire sort of cartoonish way and I loved it. As usual your videos are a delight to watch and I look forward to more.
Yey I've been waiting for this video for so long! Also I really appreciate all the research you do + giving us all the footnotes! This really makes your videos exceptionally educational! And the combination of this with beautiful aesthetics just takes it to a completely new level of perfection!