> Is Typhoid Mary some common cultural reference, or are you just really familiar with the character I'm thinking of from the old Daredevil comics?
>

As koalamom mentioned, Typhoid Mary (aka Mary Mallon) was a real person and a private cook, who was the first widely-identified carrier of deadly typhoid epidemics. She lived at the turn of the century when health authorities were still disputing, and often scoffed at, the germ theory of diseases. (At that time, illness was likely as not attributed to having a sickly constitution due to "bad blood," daemonic influences, and divine retribution).
There is a more detailed account of Typhoid Mary's unfortunate influence at

http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mtyphoidmary.html


> > Out of all the childhood diseases, isn't that the only one that remains common? I had one friend who had the mumps, but I think that they pretty much have that one eliminated. I could be wrong.
>

I think chicken pox is the most common childhood disease, still remaining, that comes first to mind. The others are probably the common cold, strep throat, pneumonia, and ear/nose/throat- and eye infections. Thanks to vaccination I've never met anyone in my generation, or younger, who's had mumps or rubella measles. And if what Eric says is correct, there's now a vaccine for chicken pox.


> > --Jez"Calamine lotion and oatmeal and getting yelled at when I scratched... childhood memories"zika
>
> Don "Never has anyone been so grateful to me as my friend was the day I agreed to rub calamine lotion on his back. He never tried oatmeal, though." Monkey
>

Oatmeal baths? Do you need a LOT of oatmeal in the water, until it's a porridge consistency, to have the required soothing effect? Maybe they'd work on cases of severe mosquito or flea bite.

Wolf "wonder if using a styptic pen on a pock would cause problems" spirit