Producer Pat schools us on 9-1-1 and emergency numbers worldwide after a personal experience dealing with a medical emergency opens his eyes. Cristina finds a way to tie the Toronto Raptors into her segment, when she looks into why bagged milk is a Canuck thing. Finally, while the COVID-19 situation is changing by the minute, Adam gives us a general overview of coronavirus disease and debunks some of the more ubiquitous myths.
Download direct: mp3 file
Does 9-1-1 need 9-1-1?
Mental Floss: How London Tragedy Let to Creation of 911
How To Dial 911 Around The World
Wikipedia: Emergency Telephone Numbers
Wikipedia: List Of Emergency Telephone Numbers
How To Geek: Properly Test 911 Services
Stuff You Should Know: 911 Is Not A Joke
Keeping Up With Coronavirus
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Situation Report – 29 – World Health Organization
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Situation Report ñ 27 – World Health Organization
Disease Burden of Influenza – CDC
Annual Flu Deaths Among Adults and Children – Verywell Health
Advice for the public – World Health Organization
The Wuhan Virus Is Not a Lab-Made Bioweapon – Foreign Policy
Seasonal flu death estimate increases worldwide
How the new coronavirus compares to SARS, MERS, Ebola and other diseases – Global News
Experts Debunk Fringe Theory Linking China’s Coronavirus to Weapons Research – The Washington Post
Why Is Bagged Milk A Canadian Thing?
CBC: Here’s why milk comes in bags in parts of Canada
Mental Floss: Why Do Canadians Drink Milk in Bags?
CBC Archives: A Canadian compromise between metric and imperial
YouTube: Danny Green wants to know why milk is bagged in Canada
The main reason we don’t use milk bags in the U.S. is because too many teenage boys (and teenage men) would be wandering around the dairy aisle giggling, “Milk bags—eheheheheh!” all day long. Also I can think of many reasons why the metric system didn’t catch on in the U.S. …though perhaps that would make an interesting segment and disabuse me of any mistaken ideas.
It’s good to hear that health organizations want to stop naming new diseases/outbreaks after existing entities. I’m sure you remember from Professor Buzzkill & guest’s explanation of how “Spanish flu” got it’s completely-undeserved (even ironic) nickname, plus members of the American Legion must hate that “Legionaires’ disease” seems to be its official name.
Hopefully the diagnosis, treatment, vaccine development for COVID-19 advance quickly.
Also I hope Adam’s little one is feeling better now and that all of you & yours manage to keep the illnesses away. I would guess that one of the biggest dangers at a petting zoo is what other humans leave behind when they pet/hug/sneeze/drool on the critters. Perhaps making hand sanitizer ubiquitously available would be a good precaution – assuming that getting some on the animals’ skin and fur didn’t cause them any problems.
BTW Darren’s recording must be the audio equivalent of seeing Max Headroom break dancing. There’s a fantastic surround-sound effect when the bottles fall over. Special best wishes for Darren & co. for both avoiding the disease and also any disruptions from the precautions.
Thanks again, you very cool people.