Typhoid Mary Mallon : Media Created Pariah? | Well, I Never 

The fact that she left the moment there was an outbreak shows that she knew she was in some way responsible. Also, the fact that she returned to cooking and obviously didn’t wash her hands makes her in part responsable. She knowingly infected people. Makes it hard to feel sorry for her

Totally insane that she knew how to keep from spreading typhoid but didn’t just wash her damn hands and keep her fluids out of peoples food. I cannot imagine finding out I was responsible for people suffering and dying and then being economically forced to breach an agreement of my release, but not taking extreme measures to not kill anyone else. Obviously we can’t know her personally, but I feel she deserved to be permanently quarantined after proving she would not do even minimum hygiene to keep people from dying even after she knew. It’s insane

Interestingly my microbio professor said that even if she had kept up peak hygiene, she would continue to shed the pathogen at high rates because it was so prevalent in her body. So it would’ve been lose-lose either way

I've heard the Story of Typhoid Mary many times and each time I get pissed all over again. I have no sympathy for her whatsoever.

"she was a strong Irish woman however and it took five policemen to subdue her", I see that in my head as a comedic moment haha 😂 "Get her boys!" "we can't, she's a strong Irish woman!"

It's so funny when people have the perfect name for their job.. Dr 'Soaper" the sanitation engineer 😆

I don't feel sorry for her isolation. She knew she was getting people sick and some were even dying, but as soon as the outbreak started, she'd take off for some other place knowing she would only start another outbreak there. Her life in quarantine would have been much better than the lives of others who had similar disregard for human lives and ended up in prison.

You could see why Mary wouldn't listen to doctors: Germ theory was still new, there was widespread prejudice against Irish immigrants in American society at the time, and her financial circumstances required her to move to the higher-paying job of cooking. That said, while Mary's perspective is understandable, I think the authorities did the right thing if she ultimately refused to do even the most basic health precautions, like hand-washing.

One of my grandmother's many stories of life in NYC when she was a young woman. Grandma was scrupulously clean and often insisted we washed our hands before touching anything. Her husband's father died of typhoid.

I mean - she kept getting people sick. All she needed to do was stop getting families and their servants sick. Or would just wash her dang hands. Or not lie about her identity and then skip town after sickening tons of people - including patients at a goshdarn hospital. A MATERNITY hospital at that - I mean screw those babies I guess. Not like they need healthy mothers or anything.

Mary believed she was being singled out because she was Irish, at a time when Irish immigrants were treated very poorly in America. I can't imagine how isolated she must have felt. Love your channel! Thank you for such a well researched program.

I think they reacted correctly, they isolated her the second time only because she went back to getting people sick - and at that time she clearly knew why it happened and what she could do against it. But decided against it. But it was also correct to not jail her but to give her the cottage, the job and "holidays" in the city. If we are honest, she had more than most people back in the day... PS: Pretty sure the other known asymptomatics just did not affect (or infect) the public in the same way!

It seems as though the problem could have been solved by giving her a small stipend. She returned to work as a cook not out of malice, but out of economic need (as it was the only skillset she had that would pay a decent wage). Rather than spending the money to keep her in quarantine (isolating and against her will), they could have spent less supplementing her income, and having her report in on where she was working occasionally. It's easy to judge her in retrospect, but A) as pointed out, germ theory was not widely accepted by the public at the time, she probably didn't believe the doctors, and B) it's a really hard sell to ask someone to live in poverty and suffering themselves in order to theoretically protect others. It's one thing to take it on trust when there are no negative consequences, but hunger is a strong motivator.

If Mary made the effort to make herself scarce EVERY time those she worked for got sick, she must’ve known she had something in her system, even if she didn’t know about typhoid. She tried to get away with it & didn’t care how much lying she had to do or how many people she hurt 😤

I wonder if being exposed to typhoid at birth resulted in her immune system tolerating the bacteria as "self" and wouldn't clear it from her system.

If she had cooperated with them from the beginning and followed their requests then she wouldn't have been isolated. I think they did the right thing in that time when they didn't know how to cure her and she was being completely unreasonable. I personally don't have any sympathy for her because she forced them to isolate her. Also even after knowing she was hurting people she didn't care.

I agree with others - she kept leaving without leaving forwarding addresses the moment an outbreak flared up where she worked. There's caution, and then there's... that. That, and she was specifically told not to work as a cook after being released from quarantine, but went right back to her old ways the moment money got tight. There's only so much sympathy I can have for somebody; if she wasn't intentionally, knowingly endangering others for her own benefit, then it was only because she didn't understand or refused to believe what doctors had told her. If somebody's that eager to discount the words of medical professionals even with so much evidence in their favor, there's little else that can be done but locking them away from the rest of society.

Mary knew she shouldn’t have been a cook. She gambled with so many lives…And I believe ANY cook that doesn’t wash their hands should be held in isolation! Ya know?

I’m glad this popped up in my suggested list. I’ve long been curious about Mary, partly because I’m a carrier for a nasty disease. Not typhoid fever, thankfully, but mad cow disease. I found this out after a sample of blood was sent to London (big medical research program) and because of my diabetes diagnosis date, they ran the MCD test, and found inactive pathogens. So, if mad cow has an outbreak, I’m quarantining myself!

I really appreciate that you keep to older cases where the impact on living relatives is close to non-existent. It’s as close as you can get to ethical consumption of true crime. So many stories of recent crimes being used as RU-vid fodder, full of inaccuracies and wild speculation, and the surviving family reading it online, I cannot imagine the trauma this imparts.

Her continued refusal to work in a safer field, and her criminality after being released absolutely called for isolation. She could have been tried in court.

Again a truly a Amazing story. I often wonder when eating out how many people wash their hands. 🤮🤮

A cook who rarely washes her hands. Ugh 🤢

I'm starting from your oldest videos and working my way to present. You are an amazing presenter!

Outstanding. And fun. And interesting. And your voice makes your channel perfect. Thank you!

YOUR Versions of these Classic stories are by FAR THE BEST !!

I had heard the moniker Typhoid Mary for decades, but i knew nothing about her life, just that she infected people. Thank you for a fascinating education at long last.

Seems like Mary needed to learn the words to happy birthday to me and wash her hands more 🤔 😂 love this one! Keep them coming 👍🏻

She knew exactly what she was doing after she was detained and told about it; knew people were dying when she cooked her 'special Peach Ice Cream', knew and kept working in the kitchen. She was a certain kind of evil - she only cared about herself and not what she was inevitably going to do - those she would kill.

I am obsessed with your programs I'm binge watching them now

Recently discovered your channel and appreciate how clear and balanced you are presenting a subject

I have just recently discovered this channel, and I think it's wonderful, you're a cool guy and you post great content! Thank you so much, subscribed

I love old stories this is great stuff 😊

This story always fascinated me simply because it shows the level of denial she had in her involvement

I love these videos, as well as intersting they are upbeat, so you're not bored.

I'm a recent subscriber ; I very much enjoy your content , and I would like to say how much I appreciate the music you attach with your posts ; it puts me in mind of the music employed in the , Sherlock Holmes films starring , Robert Downey Jr and , Jude Law .

Just watched this video and found it so interesting that I had to order the book. I have subscribed. Wonderful work. Thank you

Great video, definitely subscribed

Thank you for such an interesting historical story. I heard the term Typhoid Mary but never knew the story behind it.

Yes, I feel sorry for Mary, but the pain of losing loved ones is hard also.

How many of the other asymptomatic carriers insisted on going back to a job where the could kill people? If there were a lot, then yes, she was treated unfairly. On the other hand, if she was the only one then it seems she was treated quite fairly.

Great story! And I must add, that bow tie is fabulous!

My friend and I were living in South America as bible teachers when my friend was diagnosed with typhoid. It was some time later that I discovered she had been working as a waitress back at home. We spoke and without delay she quit her waitressing job. She simply was not aware of how dangerous it could have been. No one became ill, but because we are so unfamiliar with such a disease in this country, she thought that once she was cured it would be alright. Once you have typhoid you always have it. It is always dangerous to work with food from then on.

Wow. Absolutely love your channel! You can tell that a great amount of care and research has been put into your videos! And your voice makes it even more interesting 😁

Thank You for this content, Cery interesting and informative

I think the first time she was sent there was borderline. They still weren’t very educated on diseases and illnesses. But Mary fucked up when she went back to being a cook. She knew better this time. You can’t tell me she didn’t see the correlation between her and the deaths that followed her around. Selfish and ignorant of her. Also tho??? WASH UR FUCKING HANDS MARY??? IS THAT SO HARD??? What cook just doesn’t wash their hands when cooking for OTHERS. I understand not if you’re cooking for yourself only. But cmon bruh?

People as far back as the Civil War used to come down with what they would refer to as, "Typho-Malaria fever". But it was actually just Typhoid. There was not actually any such hybrid disease as that. People just assumed it was a blend of the two diseases because the symptoms were similar. While doing some family genealogy, I actually ran across a case (through marriage, not blood related), of a woman that died from Typhoid in the late 1800s. In letters her family referred to her cause of death as "Typho-Malaria fever".

Yeah I think she knew it was her spreading the disease so many jobs were everyone is dropping like flys apart from her and she disappears immediately on to the next job I suppose she had to be quarantined

Worse case of human imprisonment I have ever read. Poor dear.....what she must have gone through I can't even imagine!

Really interesting, I've heard her name but didn't know the story.

Great video.

Oh my, digging the mutton chops. New subscriber here!

I'm just going to say, it's easier to judge when you're not the one in extreme poverty

Very interesting 👍

I think this woman was in denial for much of her life. I think she was also running scared once it was discovered she was a carrier ! She lived a fearsome, lonely life and yes , it was very wrong of her to return to cooking but she paid the price for that as well she should have I I :m curious to see how they controlled Typhoid with 400 asymptomatic carriers in the city at the time of her death. Wonder how they were regulated ,if even ! Sad life !

Go Mary! Nature has given you an academy award!

5:30 Satie playing in the background 😊🎹

Can you imagine having a poo, not washing your hands and then straight to kneading dough, that's why you should never eat free peanuts in a dish on a bar its like a petri dish ....people still go to the loo and walk straight out without washing.

Always wash your hands even if you are not sick I hate public restrooms because people handle everything and don't wash their hands

To the people who comment about occupations and names matching like sanitation official called Soaper…the fact is many family / surnames in the English language actually originally come from a person’s occupation…Miller, Smith, Baker, Gardener, Farmer spring to mind.

I would say that the people she killed, knowing she had typhoid, would be the real victims. Circumstances were an influence, but she was: 1) told she had the disease. 2) got discharged by lying, then infected more, quite knowingly. 3) When they told her taking her gallbladder would cure her and she refused, she CHOSE to be quarantined. She was a victim of birth but she crossed a big line, more than once.

I and my wife have just finished watching your entire selection and look forward to rewatching them and watching new videos to come and have and will enjoy every second of your content keep up the amazing work, we have a few suggestions for future videos. - Mother Teresa - Momo Gaddafi- The Romanov family - The Devil's Footprints -Joan of Arc -Salem witch trial

Sir, I'm not sure if such a show would appeal to your sense of humor... it surely doesn't wind everyone's clock, but you might enjoy Drunk History's Mary Mallon episode. I don't know, maybe not. I just remember laughing myself sore. Your content is marvelous, I'm so glad I found you during my ramblings. A handsome gent you are, to boot. A complimentary observation, free of charge.

So the original track and tracer and an A-symptomatic carrier? Wow so much of this case certainly Sounds familiar

Despicable lady despicable. Even after being told wash your hands your spreading it. She still didn't

This is so sad for the families 😢and Mary herself 😢

Thank you.

What a creepy fate. Poor Mary. ...kudos for her needing 5 police to hold her down!😁

God , that poor girl . What a horror her father was . As the mother of an autistic child who is doing so well at age 18 I can only imagine the happy life Rosemary could have had if it weren't for her father .

Merry merry Quite Contrary where does your garden grow

While I don't blame Mary for being a carrier, I do blame her for recklessly putting others at risk. Initially, I thought that she must have been ignorant of her condition, but after several outbreaks occurred in places where she worked and lived, it had to be obvious, even to her. I'd heard the name "Typhoid Mary" over the years, but I'd never known the story. Cheers!

Mary was a poorly educated immigrant who mistrusted those in authority. One book I read stated she couldn’t understand why only some of those she cooked for got sick or died. She felt that it had to be bad food. This was very common, food hygiene in cities was horrendous. Rather than treating her like a pariah, authorities should have simply paid her not to cook.

I heard her peach desert was to DIE for! :)

At the turn of the 20th century my grandmother lost 7 sons to what was thought to be typhoid from well water that had been contaminated by the nearby river flooding.😔

You know after she was allowed to leave, she wouldn’t have been quarantined again if she hadn’t demonstrated that she would disregard the warning not to cook for others. She was certainly in unfortunate circumstances when she went back to being a cook, but that doesn’t excuse her. There were so many people who suffered so much and died just because she chose that profession. If she had been warned against using arsenic as an ingredient and refused to believe it and poisoned all those people, she would have been in jail. Instead, it was typhoid she refused to believe she had, and she infected them. The suffering was the same either way. So quarantine seems like the only fair thing, when you also take into account justice for the people she unintentionally but nevertheless not unknowingly infected. Regardless of whether other known asymptomatic carriers were quarantined, Mary deserved to be.

It's interesting that we would give her a pass because they didn't realize washing your hands before handling food was such a big deal. But I don't care what year it is....if you see someone pick their nose or scratch inside their pants, how can you not just revolt at the thought of eating the food they touched. They washed the dirt off vegetables didnt they?

Honestly, knowingly infecting people and having some die should have made her go to jail for manslaughter. I suppose the isolation was close, but she knowingly didn't wash her hands and continued to work in places that infect and killed others. While she didn't have the intent to kill people, she knew she had the ability and should have voluntarily gone into isolation. Regardless of germ theory, if I knew I was somehow linked to the death of many people, I'd be asking scientists to help me rather than running from them and more or less killing more people.

I live in Uganda where typhoid is common. But people seem to get it from bad water or other things . She really had to not be clean.

I've watched a couple of videos about her and it seems that a lot of them try to make her into a sympathetic character. Yet she knew that she was spreading that disease and refused to follow anybody's directions and continue to cook for people. So she had the potential to be a serial killer since typhoid could kill people. I'm never going to understand how people can look at themselves in the mirror and brush things like that off. I don't feel one bit sorry for her at all.

Some are saying she must have known before, that's why she kept leaving after the outbreak happened, but would you leave a place that just had a breakout of Typhoid or any other deadly diseases? But, after she was told that it was her causing it, and she went back to working as a cook, well then she did need to be kept away from other people, since she couldn't be trusted to do what she was asked! I mean in some places they might have killed her and the others, rather then bother housing them somewhere else!

JUSTIFIED...They should have never released her the first time.

On an unrelated (to the video topic) note, after noticing your feathered bow tie, I said to myself, well, I never...!

It's too bad that she had to be kept in custody, but she was knowly not being careful and spreading a deadly disease. It seems like she should have been charged with manslaughter for that.

Mary's problem was that she didn't want to do anything except cook... If she'd had the option of lab tech, with a reasonable pay, from the get go, she would have been fine.

“The family clams”… There’s something a little unsettling about that.

The fact that she knew what she had yet continued to expose the public to it, I think she got off easy.

She knew. There’s no way she didn’t. The question is how far were people willing to go to stop potential outbreaks from her in a time when this stuff wasn’t well understood? Tough choice to make.

Well, she was told NOT to cook and went back to that. Obviously she couldnt be trusted. Plus the story i had read said that it was children who became infected at the hospital during her last job in freedom.

There are both sides to this story she had to be isolated for the sake of others even though she was born with the disease sad that she was not given therapy

All who were carriers, should have been sequestered. Til no longer a danger to others. She was singled out.

It is my thought the public would have been better served had Mary been forced to wash her hands under penalty of law before she touched any food.

How does this have so few views?!

👍

At least they gave her a freaking job. I'm a mental patient. I looked for a job for years and I never found one. I never killed anyone either.

I wish you and Bailey Sarian could do a collab

She was a serial killer by other means and did not would not cooperate with the authorities. Justified i would say ❤

WOW

Fun fact: 1% to 6% of all people who get typhoid become asymptomatic carriers. Every mass typhoid breakout creates more carriers to cause more breakouts. Women are more likely to become carriers, which is convenient for typhoid, which spreads through food. Basically, it’s surprising that everybody didn’t have typhoid all the time.

The isolation on North Brother Island was justifiable to protect the public. She refused to believe she was a carrier, and rarely washed her hands. She should've been kept there and not released.

While I think they were justified, I don’t blame her for her actions either. We’re given the perspective of the “victors” after all - the medical community - and not her perspective to be able to say what she was truly thinking. Superstition took the place of science back then - frankly she could have very well thought bad luck was following her wherever she went, and she was leaving to keep herself safe, at least at first. There was a lot of anti-Irish sentiments at the time, and suddenly being told you’re a carrier of a disease when you do not feel ill and have been told you do not have it previously, then being held against your will for it and otherwise told keeping yourself clean when the societal sentiment is you’re dirty because you’re Irish…yeah, I can see not believing it, and actively doing what she could to avoid getting what she may have felt was scapegoating by the authorities. Add insult to injury that they’re saying you can’t do the only job you can effectively make a living on. Frankly, I think she was probably scared and felt she was cornered, and rather than trying to listen to the reason provided, went on her guard and tried to protect her own self. Much to the same sentiment that seems to be carried heavily nowadays during the pandemic. There are people who don’t understand what’s going on, and feel that the changing protocols and overflow of information is reason to believe the science is unreliable. Then, when people try to tell them what they should do and that they’re wrong for believing X, the response is to be defensive rather than to listen. As someone who has put a lot of time into researching the pandemic and the current health protocols, something I’m actively working on myself is taking the time to meet with others on equal footing, and then use that footing as leverage to reach understanding, and educate not only with the general information, but to ease their concerns about certain matters (one thing I’ve found helps a lot is falling back on peoples knowledge of the scientific method, since that’s really exemplified by the changing protocols as they occured). Because at the end of the day, making someone feel attacked and feel the need to attack isn’t helping anyone.