With so many people stuck inside, we're bound to rewatch things we haven't seen in a while.
I don't know about you, but there's something comforting about old shows like The Rockford Files and Sanford and Son.
And if the internet is to be believed, another popular rewatch is Little House on the Prairie.
However, if you were watching the show, hoping for an escape from our modern world and modern problems, I have some bad news. Fans are finding the show has episodes that are eerily reminiscent of our current circumstance.
There are two episodes in the classic series that deal with a deadly disease threatening the Ingalls family.
The episode "Plague" sees a bad case of typhus spread through the little town of Walnut Grove. The family patriarch Charles Ingalls, town pastor Rev. Alden, and local physician Doc Baker work to find the source of the disease as it continuously spreads.
The other episode is fittingly called "Quarantine" where Laura is possibly exposed to a case of a deadly mountain fever. She is forced to isolate from her family and community while the disease runs its course in Mr. Edwards and his adopted daughter, Alicia.
Sure, it's not exactly the same global problem we're currently dealing with.
But if you're watching a show trying to not think of our current situation, these will be absolutely jarring.
Little House on the Prairie is well known to show the difficulty of growing up in late 1800s.
The first of these episodes feels really painful as you see multiple people in the town perish. At one point, Charles Ingalls has to self-isolate from his family because he's unsure if he's been exposed to the possibly contagious disease.
The second of these episodes is very relatable. Since Laura enters a contaminated cabin without knowing the extent of the disease her friend Alicia has, and develops symptoms, she's forced to isolate with the little family.
It does a lot to show how it can feel to stay away from other people while you wait for a disease to runs its course.
Online, people find these episodes eerily prescient.
The fact these episodes do so much to show what happens during a pandemic is not super surprising. Viral outbreaks are a relatively common occurrence in human history, and since the expanded study on the germ theory of disease in the early 1800s, we've learned how to reduce their spread.
Without a vaccine or expanded testing to know who does and does not have the disease, you need to take precautions.
Keep social distancing, wash your hands often, and stay home if you are able.
This has been going on a long time, but maybe you can pass the time with an old television show.
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