In the 14th Century, the world was hit by the outbreak of a new form of disease that swept through Aisa and Europe, killing a terrifying number of people. It is estimated that 75 million people succumbed to the Bubonic Plague, or “Black Plague” from the 14th Century to the 18th Century. All told, between a third and two thirds of Europe’s population died of the disease.
In the early parts of the 20th century, a Spanish Flu pandemic swept the world, killing upwards of a hundred million people.
In 2014, Pink Eye took Bob Costas from us. No, he’s not dead. He’s just temporarily off the air due to an eye infection that began in his left eye, prompting thousands of viewers to question why he was wearing glasses and squinting. As the horror of his pink eye infection subsided and a nation breathed a collective sigh of relief, we were faced with another shock: The infection was spreading. As of yesterday, the Pink Eye had spread to his right eye as well. Today, both of Bob Costas’s eyes are afflicted with the horror that is Pink Eye, and he has stepped down as the face of NBC’s Olympic Coverage in Sochi in favor of Matt Lauer until his infection subsides.
I haven’t heard if the Red Cross is mobilizing any relief efforts or if a containment zone has been established around the NBC compound in Sochi by the World Health Organization, but Costas is taking the grim news in a fashion we at ModernThirst.com applaud: he’s drinking. In one of his last segments before stepping down, he did a traditional Russian vodka shot, saying “”I’m not really that much of a vodka guy. I’m looking at it this way, though. My eyes can’t get any redder, no matter what I do.”
I’ll drink to that, Bob. Cheers!
