From the Jan. 28, 2015, Listverse by Larry Jiminez.
In the 1340s, it killed an estimated 75-200 million people. To humans, it definitely seemed like the end of times. Even with as horrible as it was, there were some good things that grew out of it according to the list.
I'm just listing. For pictures and details, go to the site.
10.. Healthier People
9. Perfume Industry
8. Hospitals
7. Sex Comedies
6. More Functional Homes (The lack of skilled artisans led to simpler building design.)
5. Predominance of English
4. End of Feudalism
3. The Middle Class
2. Freedom of Thought
1. Humanism
Some interesting things in this list.
--Cooter
Showing posts with label Bubonic Plague. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bubonic Plague. Show all posts
Monday, April 20, 2015
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Maybe It Was Gerbils Spreading Black Death
From the Feb. 26, 2015, Chicago Tribune "Oh, rats! Study cites gerbils for Black Death" by Sarah Kaplan, Washington Post.
Scientists now say that it was not the much-maligned black rat that spread that horrible disease across Europe eight centuries ago. They have identified a new culprit, that favorite little pet, the gerbil.
A climate study of 14th-century Europe contradicts the notion that the plague outbreaks were caused by disease-carrying fleas hosted by the continent's rats. In order for the rats to have spread it, you would have needed warm summers with little precipitation.. But, there is no relationship between them.
"Instead, the Black death, as the epidemic was known, seemed to be tied to the climate in Asia. Analysis of 15 tree-ring records, which document yearly weather conditions, shows that Europe always experienced plague outbreaks after central Asia had a wet spring followed by a warm summer -- terrible conditions for black rats, but ideal for Asia's gerbil population."
Numbers of gerbils increased and they carried their bacteria-laden fleas to Europe along the Silk Road arriving a few years later to clobber Europe's population. Over 100 million died in the "Second Plague pandemic" in the mid-14th century. It continued to recur until the 1800s.
Beware the Horrible Gerbil. --DaCoot
Scientists now say that it was not the much-maligned black rat that spread that horrible disease across Europe eight centuries ago. They have identified a new culprit, that favorite little pet, the gerbil.
A climate study of 14th-century Europe contradicts the notion that the plague outbreaks were caused by disease-carrying fleas hosted by the continent's rats. In order for the rats to have spread it, you would have needed warm summers with little precipitation.. But, there is no relationship between them.
"Instead, the Black death, as the epidemic was known, seemed to be tied to the climate in Asia. Analysis of 15 tree-ring records, which document yearly weather conditions, shows that Europe always experienced plague outbreaks after central Asia had a wet spring followed by a warm summer -- terrible conditions for black rats, but ideal for Asia's gerbil population."
Numbers of gerbils increased and they carried their bacteria-laden fleas to Europe along the Silk Road arriving a few years later to clobber Europe's population. Over 100 million died in the "Second Plague pandemic" in the mid-14th century. It continued to recur until the 1800s.
Beware the Horrible Gerbil. --DaCoot
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