kottke.orgAn Astonishing Graph. For most of human history, around 50% of children used to die before they reached the end of puberty. In 2020, that number is 4.3%. (It’s 0.3% in countries like Japan & Norway.) https://kottke.org/25/12/an-astonishing-graph
"Mediocre Bunny" Evelyn@kottke
There's a memoir written by an American woman who lived in a tiny rural village in Iraq for several years c. 1960. She integrated into village society, avoiding men other than her husband except as allowed by custom, and befriending & being largely accepted by the women of the village.
Once when she was preparing to go home for a short visit, one of her friends, who was married but had no living children, took her aside & asked, "When you come back from America, could you please bring some of that thing they have that makes the babies live?"