It was said that tea might have helped the population of urban spaces increase because it has antibacterial properties.  Tea became “a staple of even working class diets by the 1850s” (95).  In addition, there were many people who drank beer, which also has antibacterial properties, although it isn’t too good for the liver.  This would explain why the cholera epidemic died down for a few years, but why did it come back up again in 1853?

Henry Whitehead had visited many homes and he could point out some cases where people would make a dramatic recovery from cholera.  In these cases he noted that they “had consumed large quantities of water from the Broad Street pump since falling ill.  The speed and intensity of their recovery made an impression on Whitehead that would linger in his mind through the coming weeks” (111).  I think it’s interesting how cholera was being spread to people who drank from that pump, but drinking additional, large quantities of water from this source would cure people.  It doesn’t make sense to me because I would think that adding more harmful bacteria into your body would make you more sick.  Maybe they turned the water into tea first.  Also, I thought the history behind the miasma theory was interesting.  I noticed how the part about sharply unpleasant smells was similar to our discussion in class two weeks ago about how the smells do not cause illness, but are a signal to alert us that whatever is producing the smell is.