Learn the Cause of 'Cabin Fever'
2020-04-19
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1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
2Today, we are going to talk about being trapped indoors for a long period of time.
3Sometimes we are stuck indoors with others and are unable to go out to usual places, such as restaurants, movie theaters and sporting events.
4Sometimes these restrictions are forced upon us.
5We have little choice in the matter.
6People in this situation may develop "cabin fever."
7Cabin fever is a condition.
8It happens when someone is stuck inside for a long period of time.
9If someone is unable to get outside into fresh air or be around other human beings, they may start to feel closed in, stuck, trapped.
10When people are forced to stay in a remote or confined place, they may feel unhappy, restless and bored.
11We have many other adjectives to describe cabin fever.
12Because our patience is tested, we may feel irritable and short-tempered.
13The smallest thing sets us off or in other words -- makes us angry.
14Every little thing gets on our nerves.
15Word historians say "cabin fever" probably came into use in the late 1800s in North America. Early settlers lived in log cabins.
16They would spend long winters by themselves on the Great Plains.
17Cold, windy weather and great distances from other people created a truly isolating existence for months at a time.
18Documents at the United States Library of Congress (LOC) suggest another origin for the term "cabin fever."
19This one involves the disease typhus.
20In August of 1906, a woman named Mary Mallon began work as a cook in a wealthy home in New York state.
21By September, several people in that household got the disease typhus.
22Health officials traced the cause back to the cook, Mary.
23The LOC documents say that on March 19, 1907, she was "forcibly removed from her home by the health department."
24"Typhoid Mary," as she was called in the press, was first sent to the hospital then to an isolated cabin.
25Mary Mallon fought for her release.
26She had private tests done to prove she did not have typhoid.
27Her story was often reported in many newspapers and she gained sympathy in the press.
28On July 10, 1909, the Richmond Planet ran the story, "Typhus Mary Wants Liberty."
29In it she Mallon says she was forced to live in a house by herself with only a dog for companionship.
30She had been in forced quarantine for about two years.
31Then in February 1910, Typhoid Mary was released on one condition -- that she never work as a cook again.
32However, she broke that condition, this time under a different name - Mary Brown.
33In 1915, typhoid broke out again -- this time at a hospital.
34It turned out that Mary Mallon was again at the center of it.
35And again, officials took her away.
36Typhoid Mary spent the last 23 years of her life in forced isolation.
37And this time, no one felt bad or sided with her.
38The press continued to call her "Typhoid Mary," a name that has stuck.
39The case of Typhoid Mary is a serious example of forced isolation.
40And most likely, she suffered from "cabin fever."
41These days, however, we usually use the term in a more light-hearted way.
42We might say, "I have a serious case of cabin fever. I need to get out of my house!"
43And that's all the time we have for Words and Their Stories.
44Join us again next week for another closer look at the English language.
45Until next time ... I'm Anna Matteo!
1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English. 2Today, we are going to talk about being trapped indoors for a long period of time. 3Sometimes we are stuck indoors with others and are unable to go out to usual places, such as restaurants, movie theaters and sporting events. Sometimes these restrictions are forced upon us. We have little choice in the matter. 4People in this situation may develop "cabin fever." 5Cabin fever is a condition. It happens when someone is stuck inside for a long period of time. If someone is unable to get outside into fresh air or be around other human beings, they may start to feel closed in, stuck, trapped. 6When people are forced to stay in a remote or confined place, they may feel unhappy, restless and bored. 7We have many other adjectives to describe cabin fever. Because our patience is tested, we may feel irritable and short-tempered. The smallest thing sets us off or in other words -- makes us angry. Every little thing gets on our nerves. 8Word historians say "cabin fever" probably came into use in the late 1800s in North America. Early settlers lived in log cabins. They would spend long winters by themselves on the Great Plains. Cold, windy weather and great distances from other people created a truly isolating existence for months at a time. 9Documents at the United States Library of Congress (LOC) suggest another origin for the term "cabin fever." 10This one involves the disease typhus. 11Typhoid Mary 12In August of 1906, a woman named Mary Mallon began work as a cook in a wealthy home in New York state. By September, several people in that household got the disease typhus. Health officials traced the cause back to the cook, Mary. 13The LOC documents say that on March 19, 1907, she was "forcibly removed from her home by the health department." "Typhoid Mary," as she was called in the press, was first sent to the hospital then to an isolated cabin. 14Mary Mallon fought for her release. She had private tests done to prove she did not have typhoid. Her story was often reported in many newspapers and she gained sympathy in the press. 15On July 10, 1909, the Richmond Planet ran the story, "Typhus Mary Wants Liberty." In it she Mallon says she was forced to live in a house by herself with only a dog for companionship. 16She had been in forced quarantine for about two years. Then in February 1910, Typhoid Mary was released on one condition -- that she never work as a cook again. However, she broke that condition, this time under a different name - Mary Brown. 17In 1915, typhoid broke out again -- this time at a hospital. It turned out that Mary Mallon was again at the center of it. And again, officials took her away. 18Typhoid Mary spent the last 23 years of her life in forced isolation. And this time, no one felt bad or sided with her. The press continued to call her "Typhoid Mary," a name that has stuck. 19The case of Typhoid Mary is a serious example of forced isolation. And most likely, she suffered from "cabin fever." 20These days, however, we usually use the term in a more light-hearted way. We might say, "I have a serious case of cabin fever. I need to get out of my house!" 21And that's all the time we have for Words and Their Stories. Join us again next week for another closer look at the English language. 22Until next time ... I'm Anna Matteo! 23Anna Matteo wrote this story for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. 24_________________________________________________________________ 25Words in This Story 26remote - adj. far away from other people, houses, cities, etc. 27confined - adj. of a space or area : very small 28bored - adj. feeling weary and restless through lack of interest 29irritable - adj. becoming angry or annoyed easily 30short-tempered - adj. having a quick temper : quick to anger 31to get on someone's nerves 32isolating - adj. to set apart from others 33companionship - n. the good feeling that comes from being with someone else