How Packaging Helped Save the World

It Spread Worldwide

Everyone in the entire world was affected.
The 1918 Flu Pandemic (also known as the Spanish Flu) spread worldwide.
The CDC estimates that one-third of the world’s population was infected with this virus.
It’s also estimated that at least 50 million worldwide died because of the flu, with about 675,000 occurring in the United States.
So what were some reasons it spread so quickly and how did packaging help save the world?
Keep reading.

How Did it Spread So Easily?

By the end of the late 1800s, science started to embrace the theory of germs.
They started to believe that microscopic organisms were causing sickness.
However, they still were not certain how germs spread.
Prior to the outbreak in 1918, it was common practice for people to use communal drinking cups or buckets.
Schools, factories, offices––they were all drinking from the same water supply, and often times, using the SAME CUP.
This practice caused this strain of influenza to spread like wildfire.
Because of this, unknowingly, the stage was set for a seemingly insignificant packaging invention––a little drink and toss paper cup.

Packaging Helps Save the Day

Smithsonian Magazine called this invention “life-saving technology” because it helped stop the use of these public drinking practices.
There are so many different avenues to pursue in the packaging industry, and it attracts people of various disciplines and backgrounds.
Since the global COVID pandemic, packaging once again has a chance to help save the day.
Maybe you and your team are days away from a piece of packaging technology that can help stop the spread of this virus.
If you want to learn more about packaging or brush-up on your packaging knowledge, maybe you and your team should look into one of our incredible certificate programs.
For more on the subject of how packaging helped save the day and the 1918 Flu Pandemic, watch our video below!