Episode 456: The Black Death Part I - Stomp a Gerbil, Bribe a Rat
Last Podcast On The Left
00:00
The Plague Doctor Who Survived
One plague doctor in the 17th century survived his infection by lancing and cutting away his own bubos one by one as they popped up by himself for six weeks straight. People like this plague doctor who survived often came away from the experience with deformations, like a permanent crook if the bubo was in the neck or a limp if the infection attacked the thigh. famously these bubos are said to be the inspiration for a nursery rhyme that I assume children are still singing today. But most folklorists believe that this assertion is a bit of balder dash and folder all. Mostly since the rhyme itself wasn't recorded until centuries after the last big plague,. which was like
Transcript
Play full episode
