The Kiss... OF DEATH {Sort of a history post}

Never before did I think that there would be a time in my life where I spent $50 on Hershey's kisses.

There's an explanation for it, of course. It's for class tomorrow. And I bought for the whole Social Studies department at school, because tomorrow a good chunk of us are lecturing on THE PLAGUE.

We've been covering the Middle Ages now for almost two weeks, and tomorrow is the dreaded discussion on the Black Death. To be honest, I've been looking forward to the Plague talk for awhile because I'm hoping the students will respond well.

Mass hysteria at the hands of mass illness.

So I've had to brush up a tad on the causes, symptoms, and results of contracting the Plague, especially in the Middle Ages. So I have learned now that it was largely transmitted through rats and small rodents (ick) and killed in a matter of days. It was often called the Black Death because of the black swellings (called BUBOES) that covered the bodies of those afflicted. You can google pictures of this online- but I want people to come back to this site so I am choosing NOT to gross you out with the images.

So why the Hershey's kisses?

There were three major types of Plague that afflicted Europe during Medieval society.

1. The Pneumonic plague: attacked the lungs, killed in less than a week. Mostly transmitted by cough. Does not show buboes on the body, but causes extreme chest pain, uncontrollable sweating, and coughing/throwing up blood.

2. Bubonic plague: Transmitted mostly from fleas or insects. Causes swelling and pain in the lymph nodes. Causes buboes to form on the neck, in the armpits, and on the inner thigh. Eventually the buboes split open and ooze puss and blood (I can just see the looks on the kids faces now). Causes high fever, extreme nausea. Eventually, internal bleeding occurs. Most die within a week of contracting.

3. The (dreaded) Septicemic plague: Rarest form of the Plague illness. Also the most deadly. Carried mainly by rodents, and transmitted through them too. Causes red bumps to form all over the body that look similar to insect bites. Eventually leads to severe abdominal pain, bleeding, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and very low blood pressure. Kills within 24 hours.

Aren't they cute? Just don't get too close.

When my kids walk into the door tomorrow, they will have to grab a holiday themed Hershey's kiss.  Green, Red, or Silver. I will allow the students who DON'T like chocolate to NOT grab a candy.

Anyone that picks a GREEN kiss has "contracted" the Pneumonic plague.

Anyone that picks a RED kiss has the SEPTICEMIC plague.

Anyone that picks SILVER contracts the BUBONIC plague.

The lucky few (I don't even know if anyone will choose NOT to take the candy) who choose not to eat any chocolate? DON'T contract ANY form of the Plague. YAY!

Pick your poison.

This is what my Thursday at school will consist of. A mock trial of contracting the Plague. Invoking the "kiss" of death to illustrate a horrible epidemic that eventually led to the fall of the Middle Ages.

So, what are you doing at work tomorrow?