Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Nobody Gets Headaches Anymore

I just suddenly realized it's been 25 years since I heard someone say they had a headache. Before 1985 or so, people had headaches all the time.

Two theories:

1. It was one of those contagious hysterias like "the vapors", "nervous exhaustion" or "swooning" which are incredibly popular for a while, then fade.

2. The end of headaches coincided with the beginning of the era of bottled water. We've become a much, much more hydration-conscious society. Could it be that our cranky forebears were all simply dehydrated?

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2 comments:

Adam said...

Cars don't stall, either. Small improvements change things. My question: what were the things that used to happen that we don't know about?

June 25, 2014 at 11:57 AM
Jim Leff said...

True, cars are almost inconceivably more reliable than they were just 30 years ago. But we know why (as you say, it's the sum of small changes). On the other hand, we don't know why people don't get headaches (unless you accept my bottled water theory).

In fact, I've never heard anyone point it out. As you say, such things always well tracked. I've got a few others to mention, and will do so in an article later in the week.

June 25, 2014 at 9:20 PM

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