The reason old NYC buildings have radiators that are so hot, you need to open a window to let in the winter air, is because they were purposely designed that way. Because of the 1918 flu pandemic.[0]

Also, there are a bunch of things that we consider normal that were born of crisis: [1]

[0] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-08-05/the-curio...

[1] https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/war-famine-pestilence...