The Man Who Saved 200,000,000 Lives

The Rise & Fall of the Worst Disease in History
Get your Zhdanov poster today: crowdmade.com/collections/bri...
Follow me: / _britmonkey
Patreon: / britmonkey
Merch (US): crowdmade.com/collections/bri...
Music: pastebin.com/tP9Wacgt
Sources: pastebin.com/YPfAxdyf

[@BritMonkey]

"hurr durr this video aged well" monkeypox and polio are not smallpox

[@aminyt8742]

"But They Have the *pox* in it!!!"

[@mersito3955]

Even if it comes from a really small monkey?

[@motivationallizard1117]

What a great response to some comments

[@dominicking8089]

At around the 6 minute mark you mention the "ottoman Turkish war," was this a mistake or some sort of obscure civil war haha

[@wayne_lambright]

I think only Americans are getting Monkeypox and polio so who cares

[@pattyboi1868]

"Smallpox was" probably some of the greatest words ever spoken

[@mihael64]

It's a luxury that we get to say them like we do

[@giovannicervantes2053]

Hardest line in the video next to him saying "Smallpox the great conqueror of the world has now been reduced to a child's plaything"

[@RECTALBURRITO]

Never thought about it like that.

[@jones_y]

@@giovannicervantes2053not really; its still horrifying

[@ChungusTheLarge]

German Measles be like 👀

[@rogercoppock407]

When I was a preschooler, I was one of the last cases of Smallpox in North America. I caught the disease in Mexico. The disease left more than physical scars. When I entered school, I could not draw faces. Every human I saw during the more than a year I was hospitalized wore a mask. A year or two after I entered Kindergarten, I underwent painful plastic surgery to hide the scars. This left plastic ties in my skin. While I grew up these thin strands plastic began to fall out. When other teenagers where fighting zits, I fought plastic micro-sutures. I found one of last of these in the shower when I was in my late 60s. I am glad my offspring will not have to deal with this disease.

[@aquietwhyme]

That's intense. Thank you for sharing your story.

[@dr.danburritoman1293]

Dang that’s terrible.

[@zoeolsson5683]

So sorry that happened to you.

[@earlysda]

Glad you are still alive with us!

[@eljerc5894]

X to doubt

[@mariekatherine5238]

I was last vaccinated for smallpox in 1971 in the military with my parents. I have the scars on my right arm, kind of on top of one another. I’m turning 73 next month.

[@manavshah8335]

Wow you were in the military? have any cool stories you would like to share with me sir. Also thank you for your service

[@Kobratero]

I just finished watching your "Being alive is good, actually" video and this one and I just want to say that it gave me a much needed boost in positivity. Humanity may be full of horrible people and events but the fight of good against evil and the peoples common enemies is truly inspiring and a real tearjerker.

[@lukethekuya]

Real

[@youtubesucks5080]

How can "being alive" be good, if the opposite can not feel anything at all?

[@LordVader1094]

@@youtubesucks5080 You answered the question while asking it.

[@MezzoForte4]

It's still hopeless though.

[@messi8459]

@@MezzoForte4 yep it's the end times

[@johnpaulcross424]

We really have a nasty habit of forgetting just how awful aspects of the past were, and how much we take their absence for granted.

[@Yezpahr]

There is just one continent that still lives in the past. Africa is far behind in everything. Unpaved roads, wildlife that hunts them for dinner instead of the other way around, running clean water, toilets/toiletpaper/sink/soap, squeaky clean surfaces, "perfect" architecture instead of literal slums, crime/death/murder/poverty rates, lack of medical know-how & surgical tools, lack of governance / abundance of corruption. Sure, each (separate) one of these categories are worse elsewhere but all of these categories are horrible over there.

[@Aldogfelix]

Postmodernity is not without it's flaws, mainly well being at the cost of others suffering. like your phone with cobalt. we have a nasty habit of not seeing the horror that has never been absent.

[@joz6683]

Agreed the death toll for infection before penicillin was as high as 98% for certain infection and areas.

[@pezvonpez]

@@Yezpahr hopefully they'll catch up in the coming decades tho

[@GeneralLiuofBoston1911]

@@youngcapitalists9714 And the political turmoil and civil wars sending nations decades back. If not for some of those wars, they would likely have been on the path to a post industeial nation

[@calamitycanyon9173]

200,000,000? That's cute. I save billions of bacteria by just not showering. Aren't I noble?

[@dodusa5399]

Yes but also stinky

[@gingernutpreacher]

No just a hippie

[@finnvictorsson]

most hygenic BritMonkey viewer

[@hieuthemedic4013]

💀

[@dinonuggiesguy4847]

@@finnvictorsson most hygenic Brit*

[@geisaune793]

Those headlines at 23:40 give me chills and goosebumps. The words "smallpox was" got me choked up a little. When I first discovered that smallpox, or any disease, had been eradicated, I was struck by how I was in my early 20s and had never learned in school and was completely unaware that any disease had been _eradicated._ As in it virtually doesn't exist anymore. I tried to find news reports from the period announcing the official death of a disease, but again, to my surprise, I couldn't find any. Imagine if everyone just forgot that the Moon landings happened. Because this is an achievement _at least_ equal to the Moon landings.

[@anthonybernacchi2732]

Rinderpest was also eliminated, but I believe that was a disease of animals only, and the event was overshadowed because (ironically) it happened during the worst part of COVID.

[@SailorGerry]

Polio is near-eradicated. Apparently there were only 6 cases world-wide last year.

[@waynepierce7305]

God Bless you Zhdanov ...

[@travissekutt]

24:40

[@arthurwintersight7868]

The moon landings didn't save 200 million lives and stop half of the population from being permanently disfigured by smallpox scars.

[@PintoConrad]

This video is so beautifully done. Wonderful work. Viktor Zhdanov is hardly mentioned in whatever articles I've read. But thanks to this video, half a million people now know about him. This line on wiki gets to me - "Search complete. No cases discovered. Ali Maow Maalin is the world's last known smallpox case."

[@Anastasia-nn5fy]

Also just because he was born in the Ukraine republic doesn’t make him Ukrainian He was Russian and was born in an ethnically Russian city

[@phanCAbe]

Man it's such a damn shame we don't celebrate true heroes like this doctor...

[@Aldogfelix]

We would also have to celebrate overpopulation and climate crisis on his name. Idolatry brings forth scrutiny.

[@brown___taki7157]

@@Aldogfelix u wot m8?

[@Snaily]

@@Aldogfelix 🤓

[@matthewheath7839]

What would you call this video?

[@koyba3747]

​@@Aldogfelix overpopulation is a myth and the only reason it's spread is so people have no reason to fix things like the housing crisis

[@bdf1006]

Honestly the most touching part was the resolution to eradicate smallpox being unanimous. Really shows what we as a species are capable of when we all put our differences aside for a greater cause.

[@The_Bird_Bird_Harder]

That was when I started to break down into tears. Good was done.

[@MatthewCobalt]

Which also makes me sad for our current era of mass distrust.

[@rogink]

Quite. So it looks like the Ukrainian guy was pushing at an open door. Nothing wrong with that, but the real hero of the story is Jenner.

[@Nostripe361]

@@MatthewCobalt Part of the problem is that people now a days don't notice the issue or feel that it doesn't affect them so they don't care. Smallpox was something that devastated every corner of the world so it was easy to get everyone to agree. In fact this is the issue with modern day anti-vax. People have been protected from these horrible diseases for so long that many now see them as something that will never affect them so why should they prepare for it. Meanwhile you have mothers in Africa who will hike miles to get to a vaccination site if needed.

[@mireyajones810]

@@MatthewCobalt Dear Matthew, there was NO quality control with the pus and calf lymph used for the first "vaccines." But there was universal acknowledgement of the harm caused by the injections. Also note the rates of deaths in the U.S. military, during WWI, of those who NEVER saw any combat and never even left the U.S. Think about "Gulf War" syndrome. My friend Joyce Riley was injected with 10 shots before being shipped out to the Gulf in 1991. She was bedridden for six months. Ultimately she died of cancer.

[@waggishsagacity7947]

This was absolutely amazing, in the truest sense of the word. I got vaccinated when I was a little boy and still have the scar on my right arm. I knew nothing at all about the history of this vicious enemy, and even less about the efforts and successes of its eradication. This was a Award Winning video. Many, many thanks!

[@CHRB-nn6qp]

It's difficult to doubt the fact that smallpox eradication was the greatest thing humanity has ever achieved. This is one of the only times that people all over the globe came together with a common goal; to save lives, and hopefully more of these endeavours will come.

[@morbidsearch]

The last ever smallpox death was really depressing. A 40 year old medical photographer called Janet Parker caught it in a lab in the UK. Shortly before her death, her father died of cardiac arrest while visiting her, and the head of her department committed suicide.

[@blank1778]

Why did she commit suicide? Did the head of the department feel guilty of janet’s death? Or were they suicided?

[@AltusWasHere]

@@blank1778 Yeah. The head-of-department working at the laboratory that contained the last samples of smallpox worldwide committed suicide because he felt so guilty for her death.

[@RaikoTechnologies]

What a shameful display by her boss. He must've answered for his doing before the Law, and not before something that people think exist after death.

[@hsthatzo8063]

Cardiac arrest is so common these days its crazy

[@hoovy4629]

It’s mostly common in the older generations, who today are mostly alive thanks to medicine, our bodies evolved to live at most, maybe 30-50 years old, but here we are with the indomitable human spirit keeping us going, to where the average age of death is nearly 80, with some people even living past 100. Also, any problem caused by overpopulation is also caused by modern medicine. I say this because mothers no longer die in child birth, we don’t die to diseases nearly as often anymore, and well, we live past 30 and end up seeing up to three generations younger than you still alive. Since people don’t die as much any more, we’ve seen the human population on earth rise quickly.

[@WeibenWang]

Smallpox Eradication Day should be a holiday celebrated worldwide, rather than an unknown factoid we take for granted.

[@MegaDavyk]

The Forgotten History Of Vaccines & Disease THE LESSON OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH ACT Before the passing of the Public Health Act of l875 in this country (England), every succeeding epidemic of smallpox was worse than its predecessor in spite of more and more compulsory vaccination; but with less and less vaccination and more and more sanitation smallpox has become a comparative curiosity. It is only in unsanitary quarters it can gain a hold. Sir Edwin-Chadwick, the veteran sanitarian, has well said: Smallpox, typhus, and other fevers occur in common conditions of foul air, stagnant putrefaction, bad house drainage, sewers of deposit, excrement sodden sites, filthy street surfaces, impure water, and overcrowding, and the entire removal of such conditions is the effectual preventive of diseases of those species, whether in ordinary or extraordinary visitations.

[@hopefulskeptic42]

You know...that is a really good idea!🤗

[@TheJwbooth]

@LockGrinder They already had it, Squanto returned from England to find his tribes' villages almost wiped out, scarred and blinded survivors. He approached the Pilgrims looking for an ally against tribes trying to finish off his people. As they crossed the continent Lewis and Clark found death and disease all the way to the west coast. Same was happening in South and Central America. These people were killed the same way our ancestors were, they are not OUR diseases they are worldwide plagues. Americans would not have remained isolated forever. They did not have domesticated animals..except in the Andes, to introduce new diseases for them to fight off, until Europeans, Africans and Asians brought them.

[@firstnamelastname3335]

(Cackles in killer t cell)

[@alxdava2004]

Germ theory is a stupid one. This should be the Deceiving Day

[@rogerwilliams2902]

The last case of Smallpox in the world occured in a Birmingham UK hospital in 1978 , a research scientist contracted the disease and sadly died. The profesorr in charge of the unit commited suicide believing he caused the release of the virus from the laboritory , but was later completely exonerated .

[@4thalt]

As someone born way after the eradication of Smallpox, I can't imagine a world where I or anyone has to worry about a disease like this at this huge of a scale. Watching this video feels like I'm watching a movie, not a documentary. It's amazing how such a huge threat could be eradicated so quickly, Viktor Zhdanov and the WHO are true heroes.

[@Otek_Nr.3]

Absolutely! It is amazing, that we don't have to worry about many diseases, hunger or thirst. And soon we might not have to worry about cancer either, if research continues at this pace. And who knows, we might be able to eradicate ageing, given enough time and money. But we should never forget, that there are still hundreds of million, who don't have this luxury. And in many cases, we could easily prevent the suffering of entire populations. We might not ever be able to make this world a utopia, free of human suffering, but we should never stop trying. Step by step things can get better, if we really want them to!

[@kathyyoung1774]

It was so scary that I was vaccinated in 1946 at the age of 22 months.

[@randybentley2633]

It's a tragedy that a man so deserving of a Nobel Prize probably wasn't even nominated.

[@bdleo300]

Nobel Prize is a political prize anyway...

[@martin-1965]

@@bdleo300 Sadly yes but sometimes it is awarded to the right people for their work. Regardless of prizes, the name Viktor Zhdanov should be taught in all schools as part of history along with Edward Jenner and many others. I was taught about Jenner but knew nothing of Viktor Zhdanov until I watched this video. Still, you mentioned politics and yes, there are many other great men and women who have not got the recognition they deserve because political motives got in the way. Kinda sad but at least thanks to videos like this one, almost a million more people will know the story and his contribution to the eradication of smallpox. :)

[@dannylojkovic5205]

@@martin-1965yeah, it doesn’t even really matter if you think the USSR was authoritarian as hell. Some great minds came from their that did help the world in irrefutable ways

[@AGripOBabys]

imagine thinking its worth gaining. obama has one for peace when he was sending troops to Afghanistan. wake up duder.

[@ImperadorLucius]

That diplomat wife was more responsible for world peace them Bush. Nobel Prize is political.

[@benjaminsantelices7353]

I love those times in human history where there was some apparently impossible task and humanity’s answer was: “So we sat down, had a good think, got up, and did it.” Truly makes me hopeful for more of those.

[@veramae4098]

"... not because it is easy, but because it is HARD." John Kennedy, proposing landing on the Moon.

[@tikyreol978]

this comment would be better had it mentioned some examples of those moments it refers to

[@JeepnHeel]

Yeah but when we commit to figuring out and achieving something previously thought impossible, it's usually because of how terrible and cruel it is. This was the one good thing, so probably better to root for unified incompetence

[@atlas_19]

The indomitable human spirit.

[@Sasujerk]

@@tikyreol978 The ozone layer is a great example that comes to mind

[@thearcanamodernau8130]

My great grandmother was one of the last people to survive small pox (By last I mean that she caught it in the early 20th century) She lived in a rural community at the south of Mexico and she had no access to a doctor or a hospital. Yet she beat and had little to no sequels afterwards except some scarring on her face. That woman was tough as a rock. I think it's thanks to her genes that I very rarely get sick.

[@Petitmoi74]

What's depressing is that some diseases that were almost eradicated are making a comeback because of antivax.

[@saidi7975]

People really take vaccination for granted.

[@amudeas]

"Politician lie, agents spy, people die" One of the best lines I've heard

[@alexandredesouza3692]

As a Brazilian, I would like to add that we had a violent revolt against vaccination in 1904 - partly because they were barging into people's homes to do it without consent - which was subsequently crushed. The survivors were either imprisoned or exiled to the middle of the Amazon.

[@tannhauserr]

The ends justify the means

[@veryexciteddog963]

most peaceful protest outcome in Brazil

[@amistrophy]

Come to Brazil

[@Aldogfelix]

​@@tannhauserr Hittler would agree with you

[@Aldogfelix]

@@veryexciteddog963 Where are you from? so that I can point out how barbarian your outcomes turned out in similar situations in your countrie's history, you blatant fool.

[@stargost2338]

If Smallpox is capable of such destruction and death, imagine what Bigpox would be capable of.

[@unpredictableninja1719]

😂underrated comment tbh

[@quoccuongtran724]

lmao its just syphillis

[@87dramarama]

Bigcox is worse

[@hippocrates72]

@@87dramarama BBC. Big B.Cox

[@robjohnston1433]

Yup ... the ulcers were "small" in contrast to the "HUGE" ulcers of Syphilis!!!

[@seansingh8862]

When I was a little boy in the 1980s I was with my uncle when he hired a rickshaw wala who had survived smallpox, I remember screaming in pure terror when I saw his face, and needing to be coaxed into the rickshaw. I still feel bad about that now so many decades later.

[@steve6375]

There are many old folk songs in the UK which have lines like 'as pretty as a milk maid'. This was because it was widely known that many milk maids did not get smallpox. It is also why the ladies (and gentlemen) used to use loads of face powder/filler to cover up their pox scars and why fire screens and hand held face screens (which looked like a fan) were used - to stop their makeup from melting when sitting in front of the fire.

[@gladeloy3341]

pox scars & syphilis sores

[@MusicismoreImportant]

I remember a dutch painting of a milk maid Johannes Vermeer??

[@ArkenTheAmerikan]

My dad has a scar on his arm from his smallpox vaccine, and the story he told me as a kid when I asked about it - the story of how humanity straight up eradicated smallpox, and how successful efforts were underway to do the same to diseases like polio - always fascinated me. The things we as a species are capable of when we focus on the bigger picture instead of our pathetic little power struggles, is mind-numbing, both in the sheer scale of it and the sheer stupidity of our not doing it.

[@pebblepod30]

Yeah hang on there. I've know lots of people who are "against vaccinations" and exactly none of them are against vaccination's themselves or the history or science, as they were done in the past. What they don't trust (often quite rationally imo) is the Crony Capitalist aspect of it that claims such business has their health at heart. mRNA technology had to change the definition of "vaccine" to be called that, as it was a totally different technology from a weakened virus, and lots of things that came out later justified the lack of trust in the goodness of business & authorities. The amount of suppression & silencing of medical experts by big tech & media is exactly why myself & others didn't get it. It shows a total lack of trustworthiness & ethics. I personally met doctors & professors who said they would be & were warned of being strongly penalized for not towing the line of Authorities. It wasn't the same as the old fashioned vaccines which were a weaker or similar version of the strong pathogen. It is a massive deception by the corporate media & big privately owned pharma corporations that claims it is the science "skeptics" don't trust, rather than the Crony Capitalists & Authorities in the field with a conflict of interest that money & power have with truth & ethics.

[@falseprophet4927]

its a tragedy of the human species. especially today.

[@jaybee9269]

There was small outbreak of polio in NYC just recently.

[@Davey-Boyd]

@@jaybee9269 Polio has nothing to do with smallpox though.

[@jaybee9269]

@@Davey-Boyd >> Meh. It was mentioned in the original post and it’s another disease we don’t vaccinate for anymore because it’s supposed to be eradicated. I had both vaccines but I’m old.

[@felisd]

I remember as a child seeing the scar on my parents' shoulder, and on the shoulders of my grandparents, aunts and uncles, and older cousins. I wondered why they all had the exact same scar in the exact same spot. I remember my childish logic being that maybe it was a mark of being part of the Older Generation. ^_^ The success of the smallpox vaccine is one of the reasons why I am a staunch vaccine advocate and always will be. We are all here today because of the discoveries of those various doctors (and diplomats) throughout the centuries, and then that doctor who spearheaded this UN initiative. I don't think the UN has ever had another unanimous vote like this.

[@Non-nt5ln]

Good. But do not be an idiot either; the covid "vaccine" was not a real vaccine.

[@jpsned]

I have the vaccination scar on my shoulder (I received it sometime in the 60s), and feel a sense of community when I see someone else with one. I had forgotten exactly which disease it was for, but I'm happy to know now.

[@Kidraver555]

One of the best documentaries on youtube, brilliantly researched and assembled, thanks very much.

[@DayilarinDayisi]

I like his editing style and how he shows additional information within the video without talking about it

[@gideon4942]

This video reminded me a lot of EmpLemon's. And they're getting better. Great job BritMonkey this one was really interesting.

[@Alphoric]

Apart from it not being all true lot of bs in this video and many others from him

[@Graham_Wideman]

@@Alphoric I'm sure readers would appreciate some examples that support your criticism.

[@Alphoric]

@@Graham_Wideman ok one easy word Cowpox

[@Graham_Wideman]

@@Alphoric what do you expect us to infer from this one word response?

[@lukasuhlenkamp9850]

My high school biology teacher grew up in West Africa (idk what country exactly), and her mother was either involved in anti-smallpox campaigns or just lived in a really remote area, and she knew of witch doctors in the area who still had dried smallpox scabs sitting around, for use in curses and other folk magic. Fearing that those samples, even though they were probably too old to have live smallpox, she got her and her family vaccinated against smallpox. She said she was probably among the youngest people to be vaccinated (she’s about 40 I think).

[@joelgottfried5849]

Look up the ONESIMUS and the slave of cotton mathers, theres evidence of innoculation happening in modern day ghana before european introduction

[@lukasuhlenkamp9850]

@@joelgottfried5849 Just looked it up, pretty interesting. I wouldn't be surprised if the practice had been invented independently somewhere in west/central Africa and then spread far enough east to be encountered by the Ottomans.

[@axolotlinabucket1287]

that some cool ass lore

[@3rdalbum]

Those scabs wouldn't have posed a threat to anybody. After a week or so they would barely be able to cause a low-level infection. My wife was born in Indonesia in 1983 and she has a smallpox vaccination scar.

[@ReflectedMiles]

@@lukasuhlenkamp9850 Yeah, Africa being the center of invention and advanced civilization. Both the North Africans and the Ottomans would certainly have had plenty of slaves to experiment on, though.

[@Fenrisson]

Outstanding video, my mate! Thank you so very much for it! Much respect, and Please Come to Brazil.

[@CosmosKramer]

This is, sincerely, one of the best videos I've ever watched! *So* good -- thank you!!

[@szymonorowski4332]

Reading or hearing about how much we've grown in terms of science always makes me feel happy, and as weird as it may sound, proud to be human. We may be bloodthirsty monsters at times, but we can also do great things as a species.

[@tf2scoutpunch175]

gay fortnite feet

[@alicorn3924]

@@tf2scoutpunch175 shut

[@JohnAnber]

​@@alicorn3924 bruh

[@Ttegegg]

@@JohnAnber sup

[@jacobesterson]

This is a thing that people often forget. As humans, we have morality. Morality allows for good, but in contrast it also allows for the greatest of evils. But most animals appear to be almost entirely lacking morality, not caring about consequences and just living in order to continue life. Humans are responsible for some of the greatest tragedies that have ever been committed, sure. But we are also responsible for law and medicine. Anyone who paints humanity as either black or white is a fool, we are very much grey. But it is true that morality itself allows us to choose between good and evil, and other animals can't necessarily do that. I'd argue that a human that actively choses evil is far worse than any morally grey animal.

[@MHX11]

Thank you so much for making such a great video about this event, more people should know about it.

[@aadiden]

This is the best well-researched video documentary I've seen, in 30 years! Awesome Job KZbinr!

[@jonathonl7230]

Medical history is probably my favourite type of history. Cool vid

[@DayilarinDayisi]

How’s your comment 14 hours old when the videos has been uploaded 5 mins ago

[@AAUTOB4HN]

Wtf

[@bonafidemonafide7810]

@@DayilarinDayisi I believe patreon users get the videos earlier?

[@holvingar4375]

@@DayilarinDayisi probably a friend of brit who got given the link

[@peterjerman7549]

@@bonafidemonafide7810 too bad he doesn't have a patreon.

[@gloko9996]

once again another absolutely fascinating video from albion simian the "smallpox was" bit made me tear up a little bit, ngl - same as exurb1a's coverage of a similar topic did. Whilst living in what seems to be a drought of ambitious ideas that border on (educated) lunacy, especially on this little island; watching things like this restore the faith in humanity a smidge. Very well done video, yet again. :)

[@t4t_frotting]

Albion simian lmfao

[@camelopardalis84]

"Exurb1a". Yikes. Do you not know or not care about what a horrible person he is?

[@minhthinle2104]

@@camelopardalis84 what?

[@camelopardalis84]

@@minhthinle2104 He conducted a psychological experiment with a former collaborator and girlfriend without her consent that was meant to mess her up mentally. And he raped her twice. He "admits" to one or both rapes on video. Though I don't remember if it is so much an admittance as a mere casual confirmation that he raped her.

[@camelopardalis84]

@@minhthinle2104 There's a whole criminals case surrounding it, too.

[@kaneo3243]

This doctor deserves a prominent place in history. His contributions should be taught in social studies. Good begets good. He's an inspiration to all freedom loving humanity.

[@heathstjohn6775]

Thank you so much. I was gripped, and shall definitely watch it again.

[@thegamingwarlord6073]

Y’know, sometimes I turn on the TV and watch and learn about all the horrible things humanity has done and continues to do , and I just think “why do we even exist?”. And then I go watch a video like this, and it reminds me that that despite all our problems we’ve done a lot of good, and we’ll continue to do good for the betterment of humanity.

[@dshe8637]

TV collects all the far-spread nasty things and condenses them down to make you think the world is hostile and scary. Mostly, people are kind, cooperative, funny and well-meaning

[@udishomer5852]

News on TV is always about the negative stuff that's happening. The best is to ignore it. Watch KZbin channels or read specific websites/Facebook channels for things that interest you.

[@MezzoForte4]

It'll only get worse from here. Humans are a cancer to the planet and we should've gone extinct ages ago.

[@mihael64]

@@dshe8637 from my experience, i humbly disagree. People _can_ be kind. They often aren't.

[@civotamuaz5781]

Really makes you think how easily can human emotions be manipulated.

[@zusty9589]

Mary Montagu didn't discover Turkish variolation in a bathhouse. It was first described to her by two Turkish doctors; As she describes it in what is perhaps her most known letter on the subject (A 1717 letter to a friend named Sarah Chiswell), it was common that local people would converse with one another in regards to who desired to be variolated that season, and a small party would then be sent to a person, generally an older woman, known to have trained in this practice. The old woman would open multiple veins on each of those sent with a needle, and pile as much smallpox matter as would fit on the needle into each vein before closing them. She describes them as being either children or younger persons; I am not sure where you supposed them being regularly six or eight. And moreover, the practice had nothing to do with batthouses. Once more, as well, this was already known to Turkish doctors, and as such could have been known to those Westerners who conversed with them on the matters supposed; Although it appears as though, in Turkey, it was considered firstly as a folk practice. As regards the prevalence of smallpox in Europe, it should seriously mentioned that the especially high number of mortalities in the 18th century was to some degree new; Numbers began to truly escalate at the end of the 17th century, spurred on by urbanisation, with urban centres in the West being the most deadly. (As a note to this, the Antonine Plague, as being the plague of 165 A.D. mentioned, may well have been smallpox, but I hear that this is still questioned.) I cannot give a full review of smallpox in Europe, and its prevalence and proliferation, before this time, or even during. But its prevalence had waxed and waned in previous centuries. As for the story about "Taoist monks", I imagine that this is meant to be some dramatic affect; But it should be mentioned as such. The form of variolation described was, in a broad sense, known in both India and China since very old times. It should be mentioned that by the time of regular Western European trade with China, the practice had become entirely ritualised, with its forms only being handed down by certain elders. There is more that could be written, but here are some of the matters, and tenuous suppositions, of outstanding import.

[@freewyvern707]

Good job for elabourating and fact checking. It's always good to have this even for small points of the video

[@SwampyPanda3]

Indeed insightful. These are the comments I'm constantly looking for while watching videos

[@sarubet8725]

Huh, this bathhouse story sounded orientalist and I now know why.

[@RandomNooby]

Thank you.

[@rogink]

Thanks for the extra info. I guess the more important point is what happened when the couple returned to England and made this treatment better known. Without out the publicity it's possible that Jenner would still have come up with his treatment, but he might have been dismissed. History is rarely made by individuals who were the only ones that could have changed it. Given the unanimous vote in favour of the smallpox eradication plan, it seems likely that someone else would have proposed it.

[@EIRE55]

What a wonderful video that was! Subscribed, thank you.

[@18geodude]

Thank you. This video was exactly what I needed today.

[@issaaabbeeelaaa]

26:47 is probably my favorite moment in this video. It's so cool that we can look back on history and think "Wow, imagine living with smallpox? Couldn't be me." I only hope we can say the same for many of the other problems in our world.

[@historydoesntrepeatitselfb7818]

Always glued to the screen everytime you do a documentary mate, this one truly gives me a bit of faith back in humanity, sometimes we come together and when we do we can wipe away diseases

[@GameTheGalaxy]

I haven't seen history vids on youtube with such quality and detail in a super long time. Thanks for all the hard work and occasional cynicism ❤

[@BloodScarlet]

SO HAPPY I DISCOVERED YOUR CHANNEL. IT'S AMAZING!

[@mcfarofinha134]

These types of things give me some faith in humanity. The sheer balls on these people to stomp on one of the most persistent demons humanity has faced, and stomp on it again and again and again until we were sure it was dead, and not stop no matter how hard we had to work for it, no matter the petty squabbles of countries making it difficult. THIS is the humanity I feel pride for

[@1mol831]

Yea no I think now people are starting to think of making smallpox like things into weapons. I wonder what would happen if Covid came 100 years earlier, it would probably kill 2 billion people, considering it had a fatality rate of 50% for patient zero strain.

[@eriknorberg6154]

When I was vaccinating children in North Yemen in 1969, I met a girl who had smallpox, but I'm not sure if she got it from the vaccination or not. My father, who was a doctor, and who worked for a couple of years in Taiz, ran on a voluntary basis medical care for lepers, who lived separated from the rest of society a couple of miles outside the city. I was there once and saw the terrible consequences of this disease. According to the WHO, the number of infected people was around 130,000 at the end of 2020, if I understood their information correctly, but measures aimed at eradicating the disease once and for all have been postponed depending on measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19. The last case of leprosy in Sweden was as late as the 50s. In Yemen, I was responsible for the polio vaccination of children up in the mountains and also saw the consequences of this disease, but I also remember the terror that Polio spread in my childhood community in Sweden in the 50s. Sadly, it appears that the disease is making a comeback, so it is up to "us" to take the measures available to stop its progress. The Ukrainian doctor was amazing, as was the Soviet Union's enormous contribution to ending smallpox once and for all in the world. This video was amazingly interesting... one of the best I've seen on YT. Thank you so much for it!❤🙏

[@minorytka3163]

My brother got smallpox after being vaccinated, however, the problem was not the vaccine but the nurse, who injected it in his arm instead of scratching the top of the skin where she would put a drop of a vaccine. He survived, just has an ugly scar in the spot where he was vaccinated and I got away because I was too young to be vaccinated (this was 1961). All my children have been vaccinated for everything they could. I think it's a miracle that we have this way to fight deadly viruses.

[@annalehman93941]

He wasn't "Ukrainian" doctor don't be stupid. Ha has russian name and surname and all his life worked in Russia. Bird born in aquarium don't become a fish

[@alpacaofthemountain8760]

Thank you for your service

[@Leantenant]

Ukrainian? Hmm, he is literally have a russian name.

[@richardschulman8821]

😂😂

[@maxj777]

Brilliant work buddy. I love this video. Love your narration too.

[@matthewexline6589]

Mega kudos for mentioning the scab-dust-nose thing. I've watched more than my fair share of videos on this and related topics, and never learned that before. Good stuff.

[@matthewexline6589]

Also, at 15:33, kudos for using a 49-starred American flag. At first I just stared at it like "wtf?" and paused the video, counted the stars, and then was like "well, I suppose there wasn't always 50 states...".

[@matthewexline6589]

Sorry if I missed something, but how did Ireland and those Scandinavian countries get rid of smallpox so much faster than anyone else?

[@profdc9501]

It's remarkable to think that India went from being largely rural and dealing with a public health crisis like smallpox to becoming a pharmaceutical giant.

[@fumanchu4785]

Still largely rural and dealing with public health crises. Not much has improved.

[@Aldogfelix]

It's not, they where invaded by the brits, the hindis copied a lot of what they do, and got a lot of English speakers witch helped out in learning even more, but to what point is there reason? just look at all the religious conflict going round, not enough as to spell out all magic thinking. Plus they still have rabies and kepp dying of it at an stounding rate... so much for their pharmaceuticals that they can't even avoid 20,000 rabies deaths per year. And let's not get started in the health system that allows this.

[@Fuhrerjehova]

They just "stopped" shiting in the streets and are famous for just stealing IP with regards to medicine. I'm not saying it's wrong of them to steal it. I'm just saying it's not impressive.

[@Aldogfelix]

@@Fuhrerjehova Man that is good (the toilet thing)... next should be the Ganges

[@mohamadazamikhairulanuar8524]

You can argue that the exact reason why they become the pharmaceutical giants today is precisely because they had suffered from their early challenges in dealing with outbreaks and wisely learning from them to further improve themselves. I believe that Asianometry channel did cover the history of Indian phrama industry in one of his videos. Granted, some might argue that India's problem on slums and poverty still exists, but in hindsight, without the same pharmaceutical giants they had today, they will suffer a much, MUCH worse problems once an outbreaks like COVID rear their ugly head, especially given how big and populous they are

[@zhillan_arf]

23:40 is simply beautiful. And speaking of which, someone NEEDS to make a synthwave mix, but commemorating the 20th-century global fight against smallpox, and other diseases. A WHOwave.

[@dIancaster]

Vape-who-wave.

[@effyleven]

Extremely well-made documentary. Thank you for making it. I thought I knew a good deal about the eradication of Smallpox, but now I feel I know a lot more. Thanks again.

[@perpetualjon]

spectacular documentary! Simply jam-packed with historical information formatted to be as entertaining as edifying. Bravo. You have a new subscriber my friend.

[@Poodlestroop]

Mind-blowing to learn that variolation was successfully (relatively at least) practiced for centuries before vaccines as we know them today were ever invented. Never knew about that.

[@postblitz]

China is old. Very, very old. The chinese have done things that the western world, the USA in particular, barely has a clue about. They've repeatedly waged wars that killed tens of millions, had famines that led to widespread cannibalism. Their civil wars, fragmentation, reunification or subjugation were endless. Almost all technologies and food *originated* from China.

[@shaggygabe728]

Its always a good day when BrittMonkey uploads

[@ericdanielski4802]

Absolutely.

[@Waaz732]

On point

[@Sasha-jk6wo]

Your videos should be part of school curriculums. They're so well done and informative. I love that you present the facts and history without bias. Us versus them mentality has been mankind's biggest enemy from the beginning. I wish we could take on all our issues the way we finally did with smallpox.

[@briseboy]

curricula

[@nathanr.9507]

The fact that this nobody had the drive and determination to get all the world to eradicate Smallpox, is something I hope to have myself, the world is a much better place because of him, and I wish that one day my contributions to this plane of existence will be able to have even a fraction of the impact of this doctor.

[@Aldogfelix]

His "contribution" to the world also entails overpopulation and climate change. It would be better to not do anything if it means having some similar outcome.

[@RiveTheRat]

@@Aldogfelix if you’re so concerned with overpopulation being a problem you should make an example and start with yourself

[@theaveragepro1749]

@@Aldogfelix we dont know what the outcome is yet, theres many solutions to overpopulation and climate change, genocide is probably not one we'll use extensively so it will have a different outcome

[@Aldogfelix]

@@theaveragepro1749 Woa, you went from famines and other natural disasters to GENOCIDE, no one has implied that yet, but it sounds psicopathic if you ask me, and it sounds as if you wanted it and wait for it. get out of here you SF.

[@sonicx254shere3]

@@theaveragepro1749 yeah ikr its just the thanos argument really, like ok bruv i aint here to counter that al xilef but like man marvel really r/beatuto that one im gonna kms just made a marvel reference, oh well atleast right atleast al xilefs bouta be proud of me owo

[@yuvalne]

There is a relevant quote that I believe comes from John Green (although I couldn't find the source): Consider, with great relief, the fact that the first two words in the Wikipedia article for smallpox are "smallpox was".

[@serialshitposter186]

Very high quality documentary. Thank you

[@hummit]

Solid documentary! Excellent work!

[@hareecionelson5875]

Not gonna lie, as a Brit I think the Soviets had a point about privatised healthcare: as if a child can't understand what a 'conflict of interest' is.

[@pewpew4545]

Yeah and we still do better than most, Private Healthcare is grim..

[@hareecionelson5875]

@@pewpew4545 some healthcare is better than none. But America acts as if they couldn't develop a better system of socialised medicine if they wanted to. They're the richest country on earth, and yet public healthcare is too hard? You just have to believe in yourself America, you can do it

[@kitmoore9969]

IKR, same as education. Rich people pay for it but don't use it. Awful behaviour.

[@robertkalinic335]

@rickke "i have no clue what tf i am talking about" type of comment. You either dont know what private means or you have right wing brainworms.

[@XOFInfantryman]

@@hareecionelson5875 bla bla And yet Canadians come to US to for healthcare even tho they have their own social medical care....i wonder why Spoiler: Public Healthcare is horrid. You get long visit time, poor quality care because all the money goes to making it affordable for junkies instead of going where it should, providing decent services

[@Torodes23]

thanks for restoring some of my trust in humanity

[@apidas]

🤓

[@mrcocoloco7200]

Yeah the world is crazy. But remember that it also has a good side too.

[@SamBrickell]

That dumbass phrase was tired 5 years ago.

[@EWH2008]

This was beautifully made, well done!

[@henrycgs]

"Cancer was..." "AIDS was..." One day.

[@60x-byugsheladia59]

i sure hope my man

[@PredatoryQQmber]

Well, some Russian scientists claim to have developed AIDS vaccine. But 1) neoliberal Russia is not Soviet Union, so they don't get proper funds and promotion, the oligarchical state itself is not interested in disease prevention; 2) vaccine gives you same antibodies in blood as natural immunity which means that you're indistinguishable from survived patient and AIDS patients are legally persecuted by laws that are written with disregard to existence of immunity.

[@newstartyt3700]

Just to think that this entire generation that is mostly right now here on the internet will never deal with Smallpox their entire lives

[@prussianboi1859]

this includes you too

[@newstartyt3700]

@@prussianboi1859 (ik)

[@jonathanwilliams1065]

Unless the unthinkable happens

[@cpufreak101]

I remember reading a few cases started popping up thanks to the anti-vaxx movement, so...

[@szymonmiosz8551]

These days it's so easy to forget that humanity is accualy capable of doing great things...

[@DrMatey215]

Incredible documentary! I had no idea smallpox was such a scourge.Eradicating a worldwide disease is a monumental achievement!

[@elliottshakal2938]

Just found your channel with this video. This is the kind of quality content YT needs more of. You got yourself a sub lol

[@thacrypt223]

I had never heard Zhdanov's name before, nor did I know the origin of the name "vaccine". He truly is one of the greatest men to ever have lived. Who knows if I would be alive, or this good-looking without his effort?😁😂😂

[@lulumoon6942]

Thank you for typing his name out here. 👍

[@FigaroHey]

Not sure how good-looking... You seem to have some jaundice going on....

[@RaikoTechnologies]

Do not mistake this man for more known Zhdanov, the Stalin's cronie presumably killed by doctors.

[@atomic66]

It's unfortunate we don't talk more about him. It's because it would give and example of a successful Soviet program. The capitalists don't want us to know, on purpose.

[@user-rl8hf8kt1r]

​@@atomic66 the Soviet Union like many countries including the US had its down sides ......but the huge positive way it impacted the world in those short 70 years is much appreciated and Many of its good ideals should be promoted to international standards

[@leonartu3756]

12:17 in this case, the ends definetly justify the means, beucase the means is literally just saying a small lie, and the ends is saving hundreds from disease

[@ASocialistTransGirl]

millions*

[@blessedheavyelements8544]

Wow!! Excellent script, narration, production. Thank you for this gift. Best Regards an Best Wishes!

[@jekylllawrence]

this video is so powerful and smart and witty and well structured i truly applaud you

[@Mooskeet]

11:50 I feel like the fact that cows are sacred should be all the more reason to have supported the vaccine... the cow is literally saving lives lol

[@fumanchu4785]

Well, religion and logic don't go with each other. Also followers are always really dumb people. They must be, it is a core constant in every religion. It doesn't work otherwise.

[@aw2584]

Bruh I thought the same. Your holy animal literally gave you a way to stop the biggest killer in history... they should be first to tske it and praise them cows even more afterwards

[@kitmoore9969]

LOL, it's the only example of a holy "thing" being of any use that I know of.

[@noahhegland9713]

Ya indeed!😅

[@user-xn3js2bw4h]

Well, this has rather restored my hope for the future of humanity for a while, thanks, britmonkey

[@snowballeffect7812]

anti-vaxxers would like to correct that for you.

[@afriendofafriend5766]

Covid.

[@Lord_Of_Aether]

@@snowballeffect7812 It’s called survival of the fittest, let them die

[@MrMoon-hy6pn]

​@@afriendofafriend5766 We have multiple vaccines which were developed super quickly, seem to work and a large majority of people are taking it. It hasn't been great, but this pandemic definitely could of gone worse, WAY worse.

[@The_Bird_Bird_Harder]

@@MrMoon-hy6pn It certainly could have. I've lost family to it, like so many others, but were it not for the efforts of those good people, I may well not have been left with one at all.

[@richardheumann1887]

This is a great video! Thank you for making it!

[@plinid]

Excellent! Thank you for this!

[@nathanseper8738]

It is depressing we as a society care more about reality shows than a man who stopped one of the world’s worst diseases!

[@letsburn00]

What's really scary is that people are more aware now than they were in the past. It used to be even worse, if that's possible to believe. The internet has made the dumbest 20% much louder though.

[@nathanseper8738]

@@letsburn00 Ain't that the truth!

[@dIancaster]

Well, to be fair, that scientist doesn't come out with new episodes weekly.

[@nathanseper8738]

@@dIancaster Fair point. But the man at least deserves a wikipedia page!

[@vaylard9474]

And about politics that leads people to retroactively claim a Soviet doctor for Ukraine and call him Ukrainian.

[@JakobHaq]

One of your best videos mate. Can really appreciate the work that went into this one. Good show! 👊

[@robertsontirado4478]

This lesson is gold, thank you.

[@monke.conjurer]

Damn, for half of the video i was in tears. I am such a sissi. Thank you, BritMonkey, for sharing this example of worldwide cooperation. it gives me hope for a bright future for the all-union planet earth.

[@jacobgorokhovsky4677]

This is such a great video, not just because of the excellent production; but because it shows that humans can achieve great feats, in a time of such uncertainty and pessimism that is a very important thing.

[@PrimalMisfit]

This is proper top quality. It was genuinely uplifting watching this, especially after always receiving barrages of information on negative things going on in the world, and terrible things humans have done and do

[@ethribin4188]

Human history is full of achievements like this. Smallpox erradication and closing the ozone hole are just two of those.

[@benjaminmatanovic748]

Wonderful video!

[@keenan2561]

25:06 Smallpox: No... please don't turn me into a marketable plushie!

[@ExtremeGamer9951]

Im reminded how in the UK Janet Parker died of smallpox in 1978 due to an incident in a lab studying the disease, causing the delay in declaring smallpox eradication.

[@albertn1723]

what a great video, thank you for providing us with such good content

[@dutchy1645]

Great video man, keep it up

[@edwardhilder]

The people who slowly throughout all of history who helped eventually eradicated that awful menace are undoubtedly some of humanities greatest heroes

[@shlubbers1778]

I love how you cover these topics I’ve never heard of before, a lot of KZbin people are talking about the exact same topics. Keep your unique content up!

[@coparaji4616]

I like how you tell stories, your awesome my boy...

[@WizzardTelevision]

In a world where you can get sucked up in the dread of the evils humanity has done and is capable of, its a relieving breath to remember and know that we're more than that. We've unified to defeat enemies, not of countries or people, but against enemies of humanity itself. The human spirit is truly indomitable.

[@RocketRidge]

Great video, It's truly inspiring what man has overcome throughout history, and the ending really got me lol, keep it up.

[@notdody]

Nice After the Flash videos ! I am a fan of your content

[@mrb3958]

Single greatest video I have seen this year. Let alone the story; the narration, the editing everything pays the right level of homage to the story. Stories like these are what keeps us hoping for a better future.

[@margaretgreenwood4243]

Enlightening. Thank you

[@akamai897]

Very well done! Thank you!

[@redroyce4590]

Absolutely amazing video! Hope more of such quality videos will come. I truly hope in the future the same thing will happen for cancer and many more things. But so far the opposite seems to happen, so it seems we will have to work for it to make that happen.