Did 90,000 people in Chicago die of typhoid fever and cholera in 1885? I’m asking because the Chicago Tribune Magazine, which made this claim recently, later published a letter from a reader challenging the story. The Tribune’s reply was remarkably lame, even by their low standards: “If it’s an urban legend, it’s an amazingly pervasive one.” Cecil, I know you can do better than that. What’s the Straight Dope on the typhoid and cholera outbreak of 1885? –Mark Gleaves, Westmont, Illinois
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You remember Barry: New York City parking-ticket judge by day, relentless word bloodhound by–well, pretty much all the rest of the time. Barry made his bones in etymological circles by establishing that New York’s nickname “the Big Apple” had been popularized by horse-racing writer John J. Fitz Gerald, who first heard it in New Orleans on–how’s this for precision?–January 13 or 14, 1920.
OK, the guy can be a little dramatic. You still have to admire his tenacity. I do my bit to eradicate ignorance too, but journalism being the flighty business it is, I take my best shot and move on. Barry, in contrast, hammers away till the bastards cave, no matter how long it takes. Since he’s got the Windy City thing covered, I figure the least I can do is open a second front.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): illustration/Slug Signorino.
