What was the deadliest plague in history?

Both the Black Death and the Spanish Flu are generally accepted as killing 25 million to 50 million people. However as the world had a smaller population at the time of the Black Death, it hit a greater percentage of the population and therefore is considered more devastating.

Pretty sure that's where the Nursery Rhyme "Ring O, Ring O Roses" comes from

Player #92723922, In The UK the nursery rhyme is ring a ring a roses, a pocket full of posies atichoo atichoo we all fall down. because sneezing was one of the symptoms

Jevo, it's ring around the rosies, a pocket full of posies, ashes ashes, we all fall down.

Jevo, Dead correct...

That it happened during the Dark Ages made it worse. Ignorance and superstition fed acts like killing cats, which could have helped curb the rat population.

That Cøunt, Ray Bumpkin, Thank You for making this more understandable!

It is from this time in history that the phrase of God bless you after a person sneezes. The LAST thing a body exibited was a fit of SNEEZING

The "ring of rosies" were the blush in the cheeks from the fever. The "posies" were flower petals. Then sneezing, and "all fall down" was the dying.

Dancer, nursery rhymes and fairy tales are rather dark

RushMama2112, Cats are vulnerable to yersinia pestis, too, and the infection looks much like the human form of bubonic plague. They get the disease from the bite of an infected flea or from eating an infected animal. It causes a bubo that is horribly painful. The bubo eventually opens and drains, mouth ulcers and skin abscesses form that fill with pus and drain. Since the symptoms are so similar, perhaps the people thought that the sickness was coming from the cats.

Dancer, "Posies" is a reference to the bags of herbs they wore around their necks to stave off illness and/or stench.

The Deadliest thing is the black Death.

Graeme, pocket full of roses because the stech was so bad people carried flowers in their

Claren Reando, In my studies of the origins of superstitions, God bless you predates the plague to early Christianity. People believed that when you sneeze your spirit leaves your body & God bless you prevents an evil spirit from possessing your body before your own spirit can return.

RushMama2112, An astute observation.

RushMama2112, but wouldn't infected cats also die or infect humans as well

a documentary about the Black Death said lice and bed bugs could of helped spread it too, not just fleas sad rats.

Player #92723922, Thanks for pointing that out, Graeme. Now I can go back to the game.

flr, even in the 18oo and 1900s cowboys took a bath only on Saturday, in North America.

Player #92723922, thought I was losing it Never heard of their nursery rhymes

Apparently the latest research also indicates that lice spread the disease as well as fleas. And in those days of people rarely bathing. everyone had both lice and fleas. Very itchy!

Player #92723922, you are wrong, the UK Way is what Graeme said. The nursery rhyme you said is American, I think

What do you mean ' black dead ' ?