Public health messaging doesn’t get more straightforward than this ad, which in plain language told the people of Brooklyn to stop “careless” spitting. (Is there any other kind?)
The Brooklyn Tuberculosis Committee put out the ad, probably in the 1910s. Is it time to bring back this message and add “coronavirus” to the list of diseases that can be spread by spit?
The ad was part of a 2011 Ephemeral New York post on the anti-spitting law passed in New York in 1896, which called for a $500 fine for anyone caught hocking a loogie in public. The aim of the law was to reduce rates of illnesses transmitted by respiratory fluids, many of which were at epidemic levels in poor neighborhoods and often fatal…not unlike the disease New York is trying to get under control in 2020.
[Ad courtesy of J. Warren]
Tags: Anti-Spitting Ad Brooklyn, Anti-Spitting Law 1896, Anti-Spitting Law NYC, Brooklyn Tuberculosis Committee, New York City Epidemics, No Spitting Ad 1910s, Public Health Ads 1910
Ephemeral New York 
March 23, 2020 at 2:25 pm |
Ephemeralnewyork = a Rolodex of appropriate topical observations!
Behind the Puck Building there is a similar but more graphic notice … https://ibb.co/fG0xt2s
March 23, 2020 at 2:43 pm |
Love it!
March 23, 2020 at 5:42 pm |
What is “la grippe”? I’ve heard that term, but don’t know what it is. It sounds like the nickname of a French wrestler.
March 23, 2020 at 8:19 pm |
Influenza. From French.
March 25, 2020 at 2:46 am |
Definition: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/grippe
March 27, 2020 at 12:27 am |
Thanks to you both!
August 17, 2020 at 8:02 am |
[…] 1940s. In the 1900s and 1910s, treatment meant fresh air and sunlight. Prevention efforts included public health campaigns against spitting and building apartments and hospitals that allowed for better ventilation and […]