> There were germ theory skeptics, still are, that ignored the science showing how many deaths doctor hand washing prevented

Don't forget to mention that one of the early proponents was involuntarily committed and killed as a result of social exclusion by his colleagues.

Later history was rewritten and a diagnosis of syphilis was used as justification.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignaz_Semmelweis#Breakdown_and...