in 1904, pathologist Samuel Darling, of Baltimore, Maryland, announced that he had discovered the causative agent of mumps; contemporary media reports described it as "twin germs" which "always travel(ed) in pairs". This cartoon depicts a pair of "mumps germs" doing "the Alphonse and Gaston act" as they prepare to "inoculate the youthful victim with mump poison". Dr. Darling's announcement does not appear to have been valid.