Typhoid Mary was an asymptomatic carrier of typhoid in the early 1900s who didn't believe she was infected.  She also failed to practice what would now be considered basic hygiene (e.g., hand-washing) and worked as a cook.  She moved from job to job every few months, spreading her disease along the way.  At the time (according to the linked article), typhoid killed roughly 10% of its victims.  Mary wound up quarantined for the last 23 years of her life. Various governors and other political officials are currently instituting quarantines and "shelter in place" orders for the entire population of a city, county, etc.  Hefty fines often accompany the orders, justified on the grounds that each of us may be an asymptomatic carrier of Wuhan Coronavirus and thus a danger to others.  At least in Mary's case, a doctor tested her first and found that she was a carrier before she was quarantined for the rest of her...(Read Full Post)