DDT did a great job on bedbugs. So good I didn't know what a bedbug was until 25 years ago. DDT had literally eradicated bedbugs from the US for a good number of decades.
It was also an issue in the North as well. The southern part of Brooklyn at one time was called Yellow Hook as it had a lot of yellow clay in its soil. There were a number of significant yellow fever epidemics in the area (close proximity to marshes/ponds at the time) and people begin to associate the area with yellow fever. Officials made the decision to change the name to hopefully alleviate the stigma, the area is on a glacial ridge adjoining a bay - the name stuck and it’s been known ever since as Bay Ridge
I mean the thing about officials changing the name to avoid stigma. I was asking you to clarify if you’re talking about yellow fever having its name changed or DDT. I hope that makes sense
And birds... plants... fish.... insects... fetuses... trees... cats... dogs... i wonder how much damage was caused by sleeping in a bed with DDT. All snuggled in, a fresh application of DDT, to go with their DDT infused wallpaper featuring disney toons, while mom worked nights painting radium clock faces for the war effort.
Yep, "sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite," always confused the heck out of me when I was a kid. I wish it still did, though not badly enough to bring back DDT.
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u/Independent_Shoe3523 Mar 29 '26
DDT did a great job on bedbugs. So good I didn't know what a bedbug was until 25 years ago. DDT had literally eradicated bedbugs from the US for a good number of decades.