Folks in the Middles Ages Were a Little Too Squirrely – IOTW Report

Folks in the Middles Ages Were a Little Too Squirrely

Science Alert

In medieval England, humans lived in much closer quarters with red squirrels than most of us do today. And that’s not just because squirrel fur was the most widely-use for garment trimmings in the High and Late Middle Ages – they were also kept as pets.

But a new study may explain why the two species have fallen out over the years: a deadly disease known as leprosy.

Just who infected who first remains a mystery, but it now appears both humans and red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) living around Winchester, England, between the 9th and 14th century carried the same strain of the leprosy-causing bacterium Mycobacterium leprae. More

17 Comments on Folks in the Middles Ages Were a Little Too Squirrely

  1. I’ve noticed that the owners of yappy, shrill, foul-tempered little dogs¹ are yappy, shrill, and foul-tempered. Has anyone checked to see if there’s a bacterium or virus involved? And if so, who gave it to whom?

    Here in Sarasota County, we generally refer to these nasty creatures as “bait”.

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  2. @Bob, Bob, Bob. I believe people like you are mutants, genetically incapable of incorporating a sense of humor into their stunted personalities. Your comment tells me with high reliability that you are yourself a yappy, shrill, and foul-tempered man with either a yappy, shrill, and foul-tempered bait dog, or a yappy, shrill, and foul-tempered wife with a yappy, shrill, and foul-tempered bait dog. Go dribble your drivel elsewhere. ESD.

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  3. Bob is talking out his ass and it’s dribbling down his chin. I’ll bet Uncle Al gets laid a lot more than poor Bob.

    That’s a genuine shame because Bob needs it.

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  4. Ferd Berfle

    But hopefully you’re smart enough to figure out why and lay blame where it properly belongs. It’s happened to me twice in that many weeks. There’s some really weak minded people out there that absolutely resent strong willed people. Uncle Al fits that description. It’s bull shit. Man up or fuck off.

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  5. A couple of decades ago a pair of weirdos in the UK invented a homosexual calling audio apparatus. They took it to a park and turned it on.

    Only squirrels showed up.

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