I am hoping that this so called “swine flu” scare is over. It is just what people in 1918 thought, too when the 1919 pandemic hit Louisiana. I Googled LAGenWeb with 111 results for flu in the archives.
I found this bit of folklore concerning the pandemic of 1918 in Louisiana.
“One doctor in New Orleans believed sulfur would “kill the germ.” He advised his patients to “put a small amount of sulfur in each shoe each morning, and goodbye influenza.” To make sure the sulfur was “working,” he told his patients to carry a silver dollar in their pockets. According to the doctor, the silver would change color in reaction to the sulfur emitted by the body.” URL
