They were much more savvy and clever than we give them credit for! They had a lot of smart and effective tools and chemicals at their disposal! They did not know about germs but they *absolutely* knew that keeping things clean was imperative to controlling disease!
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This is later but ventilationq of big spaces before widespread electrification is also really cool. They knew their shit without any computers or digital models to help.
And canning wasn’t just about vegetables. Everything was canned, including meats. My great aunts always canned a lot of sausage.
(Hint: no)
They canned certain kinds of potatoes. They canned carrots. They canned meat. They were terrified of getting snowed in for 3 straight months. My grandfather was
My German great grandparents probably had some sense of germ theory, but still, these were home management practices that were generations old and certainly predated germ theory themselves.