In October 1918, newspapers across the United States reported that a troop ship carrying 6,000 soldiers reached Europe with only fifty flu cases and one death, and credited the cloth masks the men wore. The reality was more complicated: the ship's voyage came during a surge that had begun in late August, and the number of infected men was already falling by then. Cloth masks catch some of the droplets people release when they breathe, cough or sneeze, so they reduce spread when worn consistently. Officials combined masks with screening men before boarding, removing anyone with symptoms and isolating their close contacts. Several transports sailing in late September and October had seen hundreds infected, which made the war effort itself vulnerable.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.