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History never repeats, but it does rhyme

This single-panel comic meme depicts an office scene: a woman holding a phone looks shocked as she announces that a rodent-borne disease has infected 6 people on a ship and killed 3. A man next to her looks equally shocked as he peels a calendar page marked January 1346 to reveal the current year is 2026. The joke plays on the famous saying that "history never repeats, but it does rhyme", referencing that 1346 marked the start of the spread of the Black Death (bubonic plague, a rodent-borne disease that spread across Europe via trade ships) to imply that a similar pandemic event is repeating in the modern day.
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A rodent-borne disease has infected six people on a ship and killed three

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JANUARY 1346, 2026

Overview

This single-panel comic meme depicts an office scene: a woman holding a phone looks shocked as she announces that a rodent-borne disease has infected 6 people on a ship and killed 3. A man next to her looks equally shocked as he peels a calendar page marked January 1346 to reveal the current year is 2026. The joke plays on the famous saying that "history never repeats, but it does rhyme", referencing that 1346 marked the start of the spread of the Black Death (bubonic plague, a rodent-borne disease that spread across Europe via trade ships) to imply that a similar pandemic event is repeating in the modern day.

Origin notes

This meme originates as an editorial cartoon by artist Gary Varvel, and was shared as a meme on Reddit. It ties to common online discourse comparing modern public health concerns to historical pandemic events, leaning into the popular saying about history rhyming rather than repeating exactly.

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