Friday, May 14, 2021

Cowboy Medicine - 14 May 2021 - Plague Journal Day 428

Micah 6:8
Genesis 41:14-36  Exodus 9:1-7
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?



On this date - 14 May - in 1796, the first smallpox vaccination was administered by the British physician, Edward Jenner. Dr. Jenner successfully inoculated an 8-year-old smallpox patient using material from a cowpox lesion. The reason I mention this (admittedly historically important) event is the current widespread vaccination drive you may have noticed. I found it interesting that the word “vaccine” is derived from the Latin word for cow (vacca). Yes, vaquero really does mean cowboy! Vaccaro does too - you've got to love those Romance languages, eh?

I remember reading a story by Harry Turtledove in his Agent of Byzantium series (a bunch of alternate history stories) where this discovery was made in the Eastern (Byzantine) Empire. I can't recall the title, but all of the stories I've read by him have been quite good, so go find one and read it.
You're welcome.

In totally unrelated news, today is also the birthday of Facebook co-founder and current ruler, Mark Zuckerberg. I found it refreshingly appropriate that Zuckerberg was born in 1984. Surveille on, Mark!

Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.

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