Helping the sick
An interesting yet unnerving fact about the world 100 years ago was that it was also going through an incredibly difficult time. World War I lasted from 1914 to 1918, and then an influenza epidemic struck the globe in 1918. Here, an influenza sufferer receives a spoonful of food, or perhaps medicine, from a pair of medical professionals at New Orleans’ U.S. Naval Hospital. This photo may be from 1918, but the protective gear that the caregivers are wearing, including face coverings, certainly looks familiar. Here’s another glimpse at how past epidemics changed life in America.