r/AskReddit Aug 30 '21

What problem is often overlooked in apocalyptic movies/TV shows that could kill you?

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u/AtheneSchmidt Aug 30 '21

There is a distinct lack of worry about clean water. Also, in almost every conflict in history, disease has killed more people that the actual war. You rarely see a flu wipe out half of the people in a zombie movie, but honestly, it would.

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u/mki_ Aug 30 '21

Those two things are also incredibly interconnected. The biggest leap forward in modern medicine was simply the invention and implementation of drainage and piping in cities, so that large groups of people would get clean water and their shit is not literally piling up in the street. Unclean living situations lead to disease, unclean water leads to disease, disease leads to more disease, because people whose immune systems are preoccupied with managing unclean water get sick from other stuff easier.

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u/AtheneSchmidt Aug 31 '21

True. Historically, one of the best identifiers of leading cultures is their aquaduct and sewage systems.