There is an old adage , ‘Necessity is the mother of invention.’ I believe that there is a lot of truth to this saying which we have seen throughout history, right up to modern day. Luckily, with necessity comes creativity and with creativity comes problem-solving.
Think of how our forefathers used things available to them in amazing ways to create something needed at the time. Nature was often their resource for making such things as tea ,medicines for various ailments etc. I remember my grandmother using reeds to weave into baskets.
Today, because of COVID 19, once again we are finding ways to use our ingenuity and imagination in creative ways. Businesses refitting their shops to make hand sanitizers, face shields etc. We are also learning new ways to communicate in an environment of social distancing.
Similarly, during the polio epidemic, people found ways to help others. During a hospital stay, while recuperating from polio, Eleanor Abbott, a teacher, realized that the children who were there for therapy were bored, as she probably was as well. So to the delight of the children, she created a game called Candyland. The game became a huge success and a manufacturing company bought it from Eleanor and then sold it in stores. Mothers, were thrilled as they used it to help keep their children occupied indoors.
An iron lung was built out of wood in the basement of Toronto Sick Children’s Hospital when a young child was going to die, as there were no more available at the time. Shipbuilders in the area donated wood and anything else that might be useful. This invention, crude as it might have been, saved that child’s life. As a result more were built to have available in case this situation happened again.
It is difficult going through hard times, especially when we lose someone we love. Despite the sad things, has there been anything good come out of COVID19?
Google to watch and listen to the poem on YouTube by Riya Sokol entitled-Thank You Coronavirus to appreciate the positives of sometimes having to endure the tough things in life.