Could You Have Survived the Black Plague?

SCIENCE

By: Ian Fortey

5 Min Quiz

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. 

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?

When's the last time you saw a mouse or a rat roaming around your house?

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A good way to avoid sickness is to avoid the sick. How many people do you live with anyway?

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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?

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Speaking of washing your hands, how often do you do it anyway?

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When's the last time you took a bite of food someone else had already bitten?

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If you're thirsty and your friend has an open bottle of water, are you going to take a drink?

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If you found out the plague was being spread by one super-evil llama, would you fight that llama?

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Your sheets are supposed to be washed every 2 weeks. How often are you doing yours?

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Fleas on rats helped to spread the plague around. Anyway, how many furry pets do you have?

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Are you currently living in the country or the city?

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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?

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Your friends invite you to head to this massive bridge nearby for some bungee jumping one weekend. Are you in?

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If you were renovating your house and discovered a secret room in the basement you never knew existed, what would you do?

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Is jogging part of your workout routine?

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How many people would you say you come within two feet of in an average day?

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If you're looking for something fun to do for a long weekend, how likely are you to go camping?

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How much time do you have to spend outdoors in the average week?

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Look out the back window. What's in your yard?

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Let's get serious for a minute - if someone you loved fell ill, would you still try to take care of them?

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The area you're in is fully in the middle of an outbreak now. What will you do?

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If you heard a plague outbreak was happening, what's the first thing you'd do in your home?

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Someone in your house is showing signs of infection. What do you do with them?

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If the plague is airborne, how far away from another person do you want to be at all times, just to be safe?

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What kind of place is most likely to be hit by the plague?

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Are you the kind of person who hugs people hello?

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So are you a pretty healthy person right now or not?

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How often do you get sick with things like a cold or the flu in an average year?

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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?

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Are you safer in your house or outside?

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What kind of emergency supplies do you think you'd need to have on hand?

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