Countries like the US, England, France, Spain and Germany are about 9–10 days behind in the COVID-19 progression. For our benefit, the video channel called “A THING BY” asked Italians to record a message they wish had heard 10 days prior. Let’s take careful note of what they have to say.
If you would like to sign up for Open Culture’s free email newsletter, please find it here. Or follow our posts on Threads, Facebook, BlueSky or Mastodon.
If you would like to support the mission of Open Culture, consider making a donation to our site. It’s hard to rely 100% on ads, and your contributions will help us continue providing the best free cultural and educational materials to learners everywhere. You can contribute through PayPal, Patreon, and Venmo (@openculture). Thanks!
Related Content:
Free Courses on the Coronavirus: What You Need to Know About the Emerging Pandemic
Spanish Flu: A Warning from History
I wish there was a transcript to make this content accessible to those who can’t watch video!
France had infections before Italy.… How are they 9–10 days behind?
They didn’t admit to having them. The French actually stated that they took care of the problem, which is why they are not in Italy’s shoes. Well, they were a bit hasty in proclaiming that. I am from Italy and adore France, by the way.
Thank you!
Whoa! Slow that video down!
Thank you so much
Agree. It’s way to fast.
English titles are way too fast! What I could read was hopeful.
How can I share this?
Healing thoughts to Italy and the world.
I think I know you…do you do jiu jitsu?
The print was too small. Too fast as well.
i know its not a joke. I hope this too shall pass
WE MUST LISTEN
WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER
STAY HOME
Mille grazie!
perception matters. relax, its bad flu. once contained, normalcy shall return.
One thing i would like to say is that i hope to see an improve in Italy, USA,China and all of those countries and cities that has been infected that as soon as possible they find that cure. Also i want everyone reading this comment to keep your self clean, secured and most important try to wash your hand as soon as you have a change to keep your self clean and without any bacteria.
Une chose que je voudrais dire, c’est que j’espère voir une amélioration en Italie, aux États-Unis, en Chine et dans tous les pays et villes qui ont été infectés et que dès que possible, ils trouveront ce remède. Aussi, je veux que tout le monde lisant ce commentaire garde votre auto propre, sécurisé et surtout essayez de vous laver les mains dès que vous avez un changement pour garder votre auto propre et sans aucune bactérie.
The second text is for those that leave in Italy i hope everyone be safe.…
I believe GOD IS SENDING A MESSAGE TO THE WORLD. STOP IGNORING ME!!!!!
The least you could do is read what a Corona virus is. It’s not the flu at all.
Annoying clickbait. Theres no article to read, no Italians in quarantine sharing anything. I reloaded the page a couple times. It’s not broken theres just as and no article.
Glad to see Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are case free!!!!
Annoying clickbait. Theres no article to read, no Italians in quarantine sharing anything. I reloaded the page a couple times. It’s not broken theres just ads and no article.
During the upcoming quarantine might I suggest that many of you practice your reading skills so you can keep up with a simple video 🙄
Hi guys! I’ve been seeing the text is going too fast for you guys. So I transcribed the words from the video for those who need help, with video time references at roughly 30 second intervals. I also split up each person’s quote with a hyphen. Hope it helps. Let’s not lose hope guys. In times like this, we have to be kind to each other and stay positive. That’s what will keep us going.
Video:
It is believed that the US, England, and France are 9–10 days behind Italy in COVID19 progression. We asked people from all around Italy to record a message for themselves of 10 days ago.
- Hi Anna. Hi Salvatore. Hello Francesca. Hi Virgil. Hey Daniele-from-10-days-ago.
— Are you afraid. Nah… I am you. Don’t worry… I am you in 10 days.
— I’m speaking to you from the future.
— I know you’re busy but wait a second.
— I wanted to update you on Italy’s latest.
— A huge mess is about to happen.
0:30
— I’m sure you’ve heard about the Coronavirus. And I’m pretty sure you’re underestimating it.
— I even used to make fun of people wearing face masks.
— Stop making fun of mom for telling you to buy face masks, and go buy them.
— Up until 10 days ago, I went to meetings for work, I’d go to dinner with friends, to the gym, to the hairdresser; the usual boring things that have never hurt anybody.
— But in 10 days, life won’t be like this anymore.
— The worst case scenario? That’s exactly what will happen.
1:00
— Yes, cause infections in Italy will continue to increase. Proving you this all wasn’t bull***t like you thought.
— 10 days ago, we had 2000 people infected. Now we’re at 18,000. We already passed 1000 deaths.
— And now you’re working deadly shifts at the hospital.
— We’re currently in a surreal situation.
— Nobody can leave their house unless they have a very serious reason.
— A nice quarantine, the type you only see in movies.
— A whole nation stuck at home. Didn’t see that coming huh?
— Hospitals are literally blowing up. Lots of infections even among young people.
1:30
— There are currently kids our age, who are intubated and in intesive care.
— “It’s just a flu…wait maybe it’s bad…well, I don’t know”. We took it lightly.
— We should always be light in spirit, but not with our gestures.
— If you must go, only do it if indispensible.
— Cause what you’re risking is not a regular “flu”.
— We’ve seen worrisome videos from France and the U.S. of people not taking this thing seriously.
2:00
‑This issue is more serious than most of the world believes.
— This is not unfounded pessimism.
— What is happening is much worse than you thought it was. You’ll realize that even just being able to breathe air in your own house. It’s something you should already be grateful for.
— I know China is far away. But this virus is faster than you think. So maybe re-think your Saturday night plans. And who knows? Maybe had you stayed home, then I wouldn’t have to be home right now.
— At first you’ll feel like you’re going insane
2:30
— and you won’t see the end of the tunnel.
— You’re not alone. You’ll start seeing beauty and ugliness together.
— You’ll live moments of unity you would’ve never imagined. Like yesterday when we all got out on our balconies and the whole neighborhood started singing. Everyone was singing their own song, but somehow we were all one thing.
— So start right away doing your part.
— Tommaso, don’t f**K up.
— Do not f**k up.
— Stay at home.
— It can’t be all that bad.
— You’re not the only person in this world.
— Stay home.
3:00
— You can rest. Read. Watch movies. TV shows. Playing guitar. Actually…learn how to play guitar, cause right now you suck at it.
— And relax, cause it will end soon.
We underestimated this. You don’t have to do the same. Stay at home.
Thank you all xoxo. We are in this together.
May God Bless and Protect us All
Max Rockatanski Your an imbecile!!!
They are not, where did you get that info from … totally not true.
Rather die from a virus than suicide from being alone at home for two weeks good for y’all who enjoy life
JJ Jesus Christ. Do you wanna talk about it? Talk about life? Need to get some things off your chest? I gotchuuuu fam
either that or don’t eat bats
May God be with us all including our whole world. This is scary and when you are u6 and alone the fear just grows. Please call your parents and grandparents. They will appreciate it more than ever now. No one wants to be alone and now we have no choice. God bless you all and please call cause you may be the only human they have talked to in over a week. May the Lord have mercy on our souls anf help find a solution to this viurus. Love one a other and be kind
cool. this was useful like 5 days ago when we were all still doing normal life stuff.
what i wanna know is how are they dealing with now being on lock down.
how are they going to afford to pay for food and pay their bills and rent if they cant go to work?
“government assistance” you say. ok cool. what kind? what are the details of that?
what are people doing that are broke and were looking for a job during this process? who have no savings account to fall back on?
thats my fear. not dying from a virus. but being killed by looters when people cant afford to buy groceries any more and they resort to other means.
how is the crime rate there? do people actually stay home or do they venture out at night?
a million questions, and all this video says is that we should stay home and take it seriously.
Couldn’t watch the video😱😥🤐😷
This appears to be from The Center for Disease Control (CDC).
Italy/Milan had a super spreader through pizza delivery. Made the progression much faster than normal spread
@chris lander — people in the USA have a hard time understanding real social care/support. I understand why you would have these questions but in Europe there won’t be looting. In France for instance there is already talks of a freeze on paying utility bills and rent.
Thank you for your contribution. Now ive got to go sing out the window.
Amen! I agree!!
Judy Sahm! I agree that God is sending a message to the World!!
I really wanted to read/listen to this but it was way to fast for me to understand, I really hate I had to miss this 💔
Judy Sahm, I so agree with your comment. So much evil in society & culture today, God isn’t even thought of. Read His Word, believe it & uphold it. It’s time all eyes turn back to Him for His protection & blessings.
Please supply transcribed copy.
Happy St Patrick’s day to you keep th sun to your face th wind to you back
And a prayer on your tongue as you said throughout th day
Watch the video!!!
This is a time for us to pull together, whether you “believe” in the virus or not. It is amazing how many UNHAPPY people will call each other childish names, suggest things like looting and bogus government help, and generally are inserting all kinds of?negativity. Even if it were true, what good does it do to mention it? Apart from the death and suffering, some small good could comee from this- unity and a United front to move forward for the whole world. Think about it.
Okay, where’s the message? There’s nothing here.
I said to alot people and they laughed..are they still laughing..read bible ur ans is thier..play dont laugh..u have been warned..remember 1940 whooping cough.here we are..think and pray ..gods not laughing…
Thank you for the info.…,. I am a U S citizen living in San Jose, Costa Rica.….. i believe we are probably 3 weeks out before all hell breaks loose.…… the truth is I do not know what this government is going to do.…..but I personally feel that the whole world should go on a lock down at the same time, in that way after a month people who are sick can be helped and the exposed ones can stay in quarantine for another 14 days and the rest of the people can go on with their lives.….I do not see any other choice but a worldwide quarantine ..„, hopefully other people with the power to decide think the same
I wish Americans looked as good as these beautiful Italians. In ten days we will be making the same video except we’re all supersized.
And Christians start acting like I told you and show the love and forgiveness I gave you with the rest of the world. Share the hope we have in Christ and the promise of sins forgiven, and eternal life in Heaven.
Please send me the Italian story thx
That was so great. Thank you to Italy. Maybe I’ll visit some day. Do you allow cats?
😻
Thank you!
It’s a video.
To the whole world. I am especially sorry for the sick and dying all over the world. I am praying for you. We are all one and I think that is our lesson in this. Be well. Stay home and be grateful if you don’t get it. 😞
So true. God is sending a wake up call. The world must love one another, be kind to each other, help those who need help.Amen
Unfortunately, this will not end soon. We have to grasp that idea.
There will be another video message from 30 days after it started. Telling us similar messages.
Thanks for the words everyone.
This is a time of alt of reflection and world unity — my thoughts are: In due respect to others beliefs. ‘‘This is my true belief and many others; God is calling us to wake up before it’s too late. To Stop- Look- and listen. He( God ) is talking to us through all this. May we all be in unity with love and compasión for each other. Not only now, but when all this passes, we continue to show love and compassion no matter what our differences are but learn from each other. We all have our differences , but let’s all seek His Truth. In Jesus Christ I pray. Love and prayers to all. ❤️🙏😊❤️
Grateful to be here in Portland Oregon
I did no such thing. Midgard can deal with this itself.
You say, “… once .…”
With that perception, please do check back in 30 days from now, and tell us if your perception has changed. May God bless you. Sincerely,
How can we all stay home without stocking up on supplies “pandemic buying” ?????
For everyone whining about how fast the video was, you do all realize you can change the playback speed and slow it down under settings, right?
Thank you for doing this. We are at the beginning in St. Pete. We have no idea.
I respect your right to believe in the Bible, and God (howeve4 you see him) BUT
Keep in mind that everyone thinks like you. Please don’t post any comments telling anyone to pray and look to God for answers or whatever. Some of us don’t want to be anywhere near that.
That should say “not everyone thinks like you”
You tube has slow motion variable speed. Click on three vertical dots in upper right hand corner of the video. In the pop up menu choose one of several optional slow motion speeds. Try 75% or 50% first… Don’t forget to rest your speed when finished or your video speeds will remain in slow motion…
I am Italian from USA.. I wish Italy NEVER did business with the Chinese! They took over Italy with all their damn chinese restaurants! makes me sick.
I so appreciate the effort the Italians went to to forewarn us. We, as Americans, like to argue about everything, as the comments above verify. The point is, fear and confusion stirs up all kinds of reactions. The video is trying to direct us towards understanding the wisest of healthy choices must be made immediately. It’s called a heads up.…why all the criticism.
That is awesome transcribing that! Thanks. We can do it if we all help each other and do what comes to hand to do!
There’s a video full of the clips at the top of the page. Maybe it’s just not loading correctly from your phone or computer
to my friends in Italy:
Hang in there and fight. Most of the world, except some heartless arians, are on you side.
We love you.
You will win at the end!
Precisely… we can’t get the information!!!.. y not transcribe, for those of us, who only understands English??????🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔… if ,
In fact, the information is that salient .