How times have changed

When I was a kid I would hate to think how much time I spent in e-coli contaminated water. The farm ponds in Iowa would scum over in the summer and cattle would be plopping out their feces right into the ponds. Add to that the fact the ponds were fed by runoff from fields fertilized by manure. Myself and others would be in the same ponds and seemingly with no affect on our health. I remember one time specifically I and two other kids were camping in a tent by a pond in a farm field. We waded into the scum filled pond with the sticky black mud oozing between our toes and washed faces, hair, you name it before turning in for the night and I am sure eating bologna sandwiches or something after leaving the pond.
When fishing for bullheads I would occasionally get “stung” and Dad would always tell me to stick the finger in the mud to help the pain. I would stick my bleeding finger into the cool mucky mud and it did help but talk about bacteria. Nothing seemed to matter back before we knew the dangers.
None of this is to in any way minimize the risks associated with blue-green algae, e-coli, or other contaminates but why weren't we constantly sick from this stuff? How many people have you known who have become sick from lake associated e-coli... any lake? I personally have known not one person. Just rambling.

Ken