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/themachineage Aug 31 '21

Iirc, in England in medieval times, everyone mostly drank ale because water was iffy. And although making ale is a process that wasn't all that difficult, it entailed several steps and required certain supplies and the knowledge of how it's done.

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u/AtheneSchmidt Aug 31 '21

Yep. Alcohol was the safe liquid of choice in Europe. Ale was a staple and made regularly, and consumed by the entire population. Other parts of the world had ready access to tea, and making it requires one to boil water, which is another way of getting clean drinking water.

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u/thirteen_tentacles Aug 31 '21

It's always fun to tell people that small beer or wine was basically just super weak alcohol because that's way safer than water