Show notes
In this episode, I share how heroic sled dogs and their mushers achieved the impossible in 1925 to deliver a life saving serum to the children of Nome, Alaska. I'll recount their harrowing journey along the Iditerod Trail in subfreezing whiteout conditions and explore why one dog, Balto, seemed to get all the credit while the real hero of Nome, Togo, was almost forgotten by history.
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Sources:
- Smithsonian National Postal Museum "The Great Nome Gold Rush"
- Encyclopedia Britannica "Nome, Alaska"
- Pan American Health Organization "Purple Death: The Great Flu of 1918"
- CBC "A century ago there was a race against time to fight a deadly outbreak"
- CDC "Diphtheria"
- National Library of Medicine "How did they make diphtheria antitoxin?"
- alaskaweb.org "The 1925 Serum Run to Nome"
- Dog Tails by DogWatch "Four-Legged Hero: The Amazing True Story of Balto the Sled Dog"
- PBS "Balto"
- Sports Illustrated "And You Thought We Have Vaccine Issues?"
- History vs. Hollywood "Togo"
- Wikipedia "Nome, Alaska"
- Wikipedia "1901 diphtheria antitoxin contamination incident"
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