{"id":130,"date":"2020-10-10T05:45:01","date_gmt":"2020-10-10T05:45:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eportfolios.capilanou.ca\/claricemah\/?p=130"},"modified":"2020-10-10T05:46:32","modified_gmt":"2020-10-10T05:46:32","slug":"survey-3-the-great-plague-of-london-big-birds-tried-to-save-lives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eportfolios.capilanou.ca\/claricemah\/2020\/10\/10\/survey-3-the-great-plague-of-london-big-birds-tried-to-save-lives\/","title":{"rendered":"Survey 3 : Big Birds Tried to Save Lives"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At the height of a pandemic, we find ourselves trying to live out our daily lives in this \u201cnew normal\u201d.  Going to school, by opening our laptops; taking a trip to the grocery store, but wearing a mask; and spending time with loved ones, as long as it\u2019s at a six foot distance.  There is an underlying panic that threatens our \u201clife must go on\u201d mentality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image 1: Model of Covid-19 https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/03\/31\/health\/what-is-coronavirus-covid-19-wellness\/index.html<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Coronavirus or the Great Plague<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The infectious Coronavirus can be compared to the deadly plague from the 17th century.  In 1665, London was hit with a disastrous outbreak of the bubonic plague.  The number of deaths from this epidemic could possibly have surpassed 100,000 out of an estimated population of 460,000.  Since July 7, 2020, over 535,000 people in the world have died from the Covid-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wearing masks in indoor public spaces is mandatory here in Canada.  At the time of the Great Plague, we see plague doctors also wearing masks.  Although their masks are arguably way cooler.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image 2: Portrait of a woman wearing mask of a plague doctor during the Venetian carnival party in San Marco square https:\/\/wonderopolis.org\/wonder\/why-did-plague-doctors-dress-like-birds<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Hold up – Birds could be Doctors?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It was widely believed in 1665 London that diseases were air-borne.  Any bad smells were suspected to be the culprit of a present disease.  This was called the miasma theory.  Therefore, plague doctors wore beaked masks stuffed with herbs, spices, and dried flowers to protect themselves from the \u201cdisease carrying\u201d odors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But wait, there’s more!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Image 3: Copper engraving of Doctor Schnabel, a plague doctor in seventeenth-century Rome, circa 1656 https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Plague_doctor<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n


If you thought the doctors\u2019 protection was limited to their beaked masks, you are very mistaken.  To complement their big beaks, they wore oiled and waxed, long coats with hoods, hats, and gloves.  Needless to say, the rest of the costume was more effective protection-wise than the face mask;  it would have protected them against flea bites.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thankfully, today we are only required to wear a mask and gloves. I would hate to have to always wear a long coat over the outfit that took me hours to pick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doctors must win your trust<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Personally, I like to accessorize with a cute purse, but I guess the plague doctors weren\u2019t thinking the same way.  The final touch to their costume was a cane.  It was symbolic.  If a doctor could afford a nice cane they were considered successful.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image 4: Plague doctor staff with winged hourglass topper (costume remake) https:\/\/www.etsy.com\/listing\/158686736\/plague-doctor-staff-w-winged-hourglass <\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Not only did it have a professional appearance, but it was also practical.  Canes would be used to keep patients at a distance further than arm\u2019s length.  So, why don\u2019t we learn something from history and pick up some canes?  Sounds much better than carrying around hockey sticks to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image 5: A woman showing off her selfie mask https:\/\/twitter.com\/Newsy\/status\/1283083991881482242\/photo\/1<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n


They say old trends always come back– please, let\u2019s not do that with the beaked masks.  I will never complain about a selfie mask again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sources<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Basham, Peter. \u201cThe ‘Beak Doctors’: RCP Museum.\u201d Homepage<\/em>, history.rcplondon.ac.uk\/blog\/beak-doctors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Catherine Carstairs Professor. \u201cA Brief History of Masks from the 17th-Century Plague to the Ongoing Coronavirus Pandemic.\u201d The Conversation<\/em>, 6 Sept. 2020, theconversation.com\/a-brief-history-of-masks-from-the-17th-century-plague-to-the-ongoing-coronavirus-pandemic-142959.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGreat Plague of London.\u201d Wikipedia<\/em>, Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Sept. 2020, en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Great_Plague_of_London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Morrill, John S. \u201cGreat Plague of London.\u201d Encyclop\u00e6dia Britannica<\/em>, Encyclop\u00e6dia Britannica, Inc., 8 Sept. 2016, www.britannica.com\/event\/Great-Plague-of-London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sewell, Katie. \u201cCoronavirus vs Black Death: Which Is Worse? COVID-19 or the Bubonic Plague?\u201d Express.co.uk<\/em>, Express.co.uk, 7 July 2020, www.express.co.uk\/life-style\/health\/1252395\/coronavirus-vs-black-death-plague-worse-covid-19-news-update-bubonic-plague.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At the height of a pandemic, we find ourselves trying to live out our daily lives in this \u201cnew normal\u201d.  Going to school, by opening our laptops; taking a trip to the grocery store, but wearing a mask; and spending time with loved ones, as long as it\u2019s at a six foot distance.  There is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11581,"featured_media":136,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[54,53,51],"class_list":["post-130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-16","tag-culture","tag-fashion","tag-survey3"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eportfolios.capilanou.ca\/claricemah\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eportfolios.capilanou.ca\/claricemah\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eportfolios.capilanou.ca\/claricemah\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eportfolios.capilanou.ca\/claricemah\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11581"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eportfolios.capilanou.ca\/claricemah\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=130"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/eportfolios.capilanou.ca\/claricemah\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":138,"href":"https:\/\/eportfolios.capilanou.ca\/claricemah\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130\/revisions\/138"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eportfolios.capilanou.ca\/claricemah\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eportfolios.capilanou.ca\/claricemah\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eportfolios.capilanou.ca\/claricemah\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eportfolios.capilanou.ca\/claricemah\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}