During this lockdown period it is likely your screen time is increasing tremendously. Wonder how that played back in 1918 for the last pandemic when the telephone technology was relatively new. Take a look at this ad:

A new way to stay in touch even in that early day. But not every home had a telephone and households were much larger with many generations in a structure. They knew even then it could be transmitted between people. So the Red Cross came up with this:

Look closely at that glass mouthpiece. It was replaceable and had other qualities. Take a look:

So even then they were aware of community spread and wanted to take steps to prevent it. Today we all carry our own computer in our pocket that happens to include a cell phone. Clean it often. Wash surfaces carefully. Wash your hands often. Maintain safe social distancing. Stay safe and we’ll get back together for parties later. But we won’t go back to a telephone with a party line.

As always you can find more at http://www.walterthinnes.com and on Twitter @walterthinnes