Could You Have Survived the Black Plague?
By: Ian Fortey
Estimated Completion Time 6 min
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Image: ManuelVelasco / E+ / Getty Images
About This Quiz
Most guesses place the death toll of the Black Plague at somewhere between 75 million and 200 million back in the mid-1300s. If you think that's a lot now, imagine what it would have been like back then when the world population was estimated to be somewhere around 440 million in total. A plague nearly wiped out half the world. That's Thanos-level stuff and it was 100% real. It must have been absolutely terrifying. Luckily it didn't manage to wipe out the human race and those that survived were actually stronger as a result. And nowadays we have all kinds of medicine, including those extremely helpful and lifesaving antibiotics, to help keep us safe from these sorts of diseases. And it's important we do because people literally get the plague still. Not a lot, and if it's caught in time it can be cured, but it still happens.Â
So how do you think you would have handled things back in the day? If you were around as the Plague swept across Europe, would you have been OK or would that have been the end of the line for you? There are a lot of factors that could have made it go one way or the other. Why not take this quiz and find out just how lucky you would have been?
START QUIZ
When's the last time you saw a mouse or a rat roaming around your house?
I think they live in the walls
I don't think I ever have
A good way to avoid sickness is to avoid the sick. How many people do you live with anyway?
There are a few of us here
Hygiene is important, you know. Be honest - do you wash your hands with soap and water every time or do you just go for the quick rinse?
Eh, sometimes I don't even rinse
Soap and hot water, every single time
I'll use soap when I can see my hands are dirty
Speaking of washing your hands, how often do you do it anyway?
Before I eat anything and when I use the bathroom
After I go to the bathroom
When's the last time you took a bite of food someone else had already bitten?
Is that not a good thing?
I mean...I share food sometimes
If you're thirsty and your friend has an open bottle of water, are you going to take a drink?
I can get my own drink. No offense
If you found out the plague was being spread by one super-evil llama, would you fight that llama?
I'm totally fighting that llama
I could probably beat up a llama
But then wouldn't I get the plague? I'm not doing that
I mean...couldn't someone else do it?
Your sheets are supposed to be washed every 2 weeks. How often are you doing yours?
Oh man, every 2 weeks? That seems like a lot
Like...every month or two?
Fleas on rats helped to spread the plague around. Anyway, how many furry pets do you have?
I don't have a furry pet, but I do have a pet
Are you currently living in the country or the city?
I live in the middle of nowhere
Say the news starts telling you that there's a massive disease outbreak in town but it's isolated to one area right now. What do you do?
Someone will fix it, no worries
I am leaving as soon as possible
Your friends invite you to head to this massive bridge nearby for some bungee jumping one weekend. Are you in?
That sounds insane but sure.
I might go to watch, but I don't know if I'd jump
If you were renovating your house and discovered a secret room in the basement you never knew existed, what would you do?
I'm live streaming as I go in
I'm getting a friend to go in first
Yeah, no. That's not happening
I guess I'll get some help and some lights and then go investigate
Is jogging part of your workout routine?
How many people would you say you come within two feet of in an average day?
Barely any if I don't want to
That really depends on the day
If you're looking for something fun to do for a long weekend, how likely are you to go camping?
I might do that once or twice a year
How much time do you have to spend outdoors in the average week?
I spend a lot of time outside
I dunno...a few hours at least
Look out the back window. What's in your yard?
It looks like a bit of a mess
Not much, just the usual yard stuff
Let's get serious for a minute - if someone you loved fell ill, would you still try to take care of them?
I can't care for anyone if I get sick too
Until I could get them help, of course
The area you're in is fully in the middle of an outbreak now. What will you do?
If I'm not quarantined, I'm heading as far away as I can get
I guess it depends on what my options are
If you heard a plague outbreak was happening, what's the first thing you'd do in your home?
Call my friends and freak out
Check the house thoroughly for any signs of rodents and disinfect everything
Is there something I need to do? I'm Googling it and doing it
Someone in your house is showing signs of infection. What do you do with them?
Will those face masks help?
I'm driving them to the hospital asap
They need to be isolated right away in another building or on a different floor until help arrives
If the plague is airborne, how far away from another person do you want to be at all times, just to be safe?
I guess I shouldn't be touching anyone
Honestly? I don't want to even see another person
The CDC says three feet, so I say 4 feet
What kind of place is most likely to be hit by the plague?
Places with bad sanitation
Are you the kind of person who hugs people hello?
So are you a pretty healthy person right now or not?
I could take better care of myself
How often do you get sick with things like a cold or the flu in an average year?
I feel like I'm always sick with something
I guess a couple of times a year
They didn't have cars or even the same understanding of sanitation that we have back in the 1300s. How would you have handled an outbreak in those conditions?
I probably would have had no idea what to do
Running away was fashionable at any time
Are you safer in your house or outside?
Aren't they mostly the same when a disease strikes?
The fleas are outside, so...
Depends on what part of an outbreak we're talking about
What kind of emergency supplies do you think you'd need to have on hand?
Bottled water, canned food, gloves, antibacterial soap, that kind of thing
Same stuff you need for a zombie outbreak
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