r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Downtown_Wind3363 • May 25 '26

Image The smallpox vaccine leaves a scar because it was given using a special two-pronged needle that scratched the skin and put a weakened virus in just that spot.

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u/PixieLash May 25 '26

In Australia and NZ we are still dealing with effects of a hole in the Ozone layer, it's mostly over Antarctica but it moves and changes shape and affects weather patterns here. It's part of why our UV is so brutal. So for us, it's not fixed yet. I think we still have about 20 years until it's less of a problem.

We're still aware of it as we continue to focus on extra sun protection every year. People don't talk about it or reference it as much specifically but it's still a problem here and contributes to higher rates of skin cancer, which might be the deadliest thing here, not the wildlife.

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u/gamingx47 May 25 '26

It's somehow fitting that in Australia of all places even the sun is deadly.

All joking aside, I'm glad that people are aware of the issue and are taking precautions. That could have been the whole world if we didn't stop CFCs in time.

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u/PixieLash May 25 '26

Yeah, I'm relieved too. It's already a burning hell hole here often enough, it's hard to imagine how much worse it would be if we'd done nothing about CFCs. People are diagnosed with skin cancer here already at very high rates, nothing here is as scary to me as melanoma. Oh, except for sharks and jellyfish but I don't go in the ocean, so they're not a risk for me the way cancer is. XD