"A Brief History of Medical Face Masks" Topic

"If you happened to find yourself in 17th-century Naples, you were in for a rough time. The Plague of 1656 was in full swing and would claim an estimated 300,000 lives in Naples alone. If you were one of the unlucky souls to come down with the buboes and high fever symptomatic of the disease, a visit from the plague doctor may have been in your future.

The plague doctors' uniform didn't exactly inspire a sense of calm. They wore a head-to-toe leather overcoat paired with leather gloves, breeches, boots, and a wide-brimmed hat. (Take a second to appreciate just how stifling this outfit would be in a hot Neapolitan summer.) The doctors were armed with a wand that, along with the rest of the getup, would indicate the doctor's profession and could be used to poke and prod patients. The whole outfit was modeled after a soldier's suit of armor. Fitting, when you consider that far more people died of plague than combat in the 17th century…"

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Amicalement
Armand

Is that a new style covid face covering? Nice, need some for my 30yw forces.

(smile)

Amicalement
Armand

A couple of months ago there was a joker wandering around England in that outfit.

Apparently the national health emergency had rendered the situation so dire that public satire had been declared illegal: the police were said to be keen to interview him.