Ancient Camels Became Today’s Non-Supersonic Commercial Passenger Airplanes

Ancient Camels Became Today’s Non-Supersonic Commercial Passenger Airplanes

Everyone has heard of the Silk Road. But few know much about it other than it enabled camels (and, yes, boats) to carry silk and other high-value goods from ancient China to Europe. Unfortunately, over its 1,600 years (not 250 years, the age of the US) in use, the road also helped spread many highly deadly things.

These ranged from deadly drugs to far more massively deadly diseases (because the latter are spread much more quickly and for free). Ancient camels became today’s non-supersonic commercial passenger airplanes.

These airplanes are up to 200 times faster (three mph vs. 600 mph; the average Spanish Galleon traveled at eight mph) and 700 times more resilient (20 miles per day vs. some 14,400 miles per day).?

When the world returns to supersonic planes (planes that fly over 767 mph), without adequate risk management, the infectious disease spread risks will become even more dangerous to humankind.

So today, no matter where we live in the advanced world (Xinghua, China to Rio Cuarto, Argentina being the farthest at 12,424 miles), a bug can readily reach us in a day, not in some 600 days (roughly two years). And we would be better to take note of that. Of course, these numbers are astronomical and hard to comprehend. But they are real.

Travel inspired by and enabled through this ancient superhighway and its many exits, shortcuts, and tributaries carried with it significant diseases. The most notorious of these was the Bubonic Plague. Again, most people have heard of the Bubonic Plague. But few know how incredibly deadly it was in terms of its direct harm and its easy spreadability.?

Given this disease's enormous spread and direct danger, millions of people of all ages and classes were slaughtered. No one was protected. From kings to servants to workers to farmers to enslaved people, they all died. In the seven years, from 1346 to 1352, more than 50 million people within reach of the road died a horrible death—or spread the disease to others who then died a terrible death.

Today’s non-supersonic airplanes have created an even more massive (now airborne) highway that can and will do the same and create far more deaths (perhaps as many as 100M or even 200M, especially if the spread begins with or is aided by an act of war) unless we prepare now for the next pandemic, the next, and the next. This is a serious matter—100 times more than anyone is taking.

But it is estimated that governments, companies, public-service organizations, and households have yet to do more than 1% of what they need to do to fully prepare us for the inevitable, both in terms of disease and in terms of war. There is always a next world war.?

A predominantly disease-spread-based war (bio war) would not destroy buildings or crops, so it has distinct advantages over chemical or nuclear wars initiated or waged by hostile nations looking for resource acquisition.

Plus, bio wars are more susceptible to sneak attacks or delayed actions that are not readily detected by the attacked nation or retaliated against the hostile country until it is too late to do so in any meaningful way.

If the vast deserts and the stormy waters were insufficient barriers in 1346, what chance do we have now if we are unprepared? So where do we start? First, governments and companies must lead the way.

More to follow. I have written many articles and notes regarding the overwhelming need for preparedness to risk manage the dangers of infectious disease spread within workplaces and from workplaces to homes or vice versa.

Best,

John

Dr. John Norris, JD, MBA

[email protected]

Web: Safely2Prosperity.com.

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? 2023 Safely2Prosperity LLC and Dr. John Norris, JD, MBA