The Medieval Cat-astrophe That Invited the Plague Or Did It? While we often imagine war between rival nations fighting over an ideological difference or disputed borders, this is not always the case. Throughout history, wars have started for strange reasons, but one example that stands out occurred in the 13th century. Pope Gregory IX was the highest-ranking official in the Catholic Church from 1227 until 1241. During this period, the church had a group of agents called papal inquisitors who would “investigate” and prosecute instances of heresy. Conrad of Marburg was an inquisitor under Pope Gregory IX who strongly believed cats had ties to Satan. Many of the confessions he presented to the Pope contained evidence that cats were evil, which led the Pope to declare war on cats. As you can imagine, this was completely one-sided. The cats couldn’t possibly fight back, and between 1233 and 1234, those loyal to the church and the Pope committed a mass extermination of cats. While this likely sends shivers down any cat-lover’s spine, it also had unfortunate unintended effects. In the medieval age, cats were primarily responsible for hunting and killing the local rat population. Without cats, rat populations grew unchecked, which could have helped spread the plague throughout Europe and started the Black Death in 1346. However, take this story with a grain of salt. Documents from that time show the Pope never ordered anyone to kill cats or even that cats were satanic. There is no evidence of mass cat exterminations; if it did happen, we have no proof they played any role in the Black Death. It’s another story where the fictitious elements are simply more exciting than the truth.
STRONGER SIGHT, SHARPER FOCUS Greg’s Breakthrough for Better Vision
“My wife had an eye condition, and her optometrist recommended she visit Dr. Scott. As I was also experiencing issues with my eyes, I later made an appointment to see him. “For about 10 years, I had an excess of tissue in my eyelids, which my father also had. The droopiness was severely restricting my vision, especially when looking up. I became acutely aware of the problem in the past two years, when I began competing at a higher level in shooting sports. “I was constantly looking through my eyelashes, and people could barely see my eyes when they looked at me. My eyes had become two very narrow slits and I was eager to improve my peripheral vision and overall vision. “Dr. Scott is a great communicator. He did an excellent job of helping me understand the issue, the potential remedies, and the potential challenges of those remedies. He emphasized making sure the outcome was both aesthetically appealing and would correct my vision issue. I was very at ease with him being my surgeon. “The surgery was performed last July. My eyes’ functionality has been great, and I haven’t experienced any adverse effects from the procedure.
“It was a very straight-line recovery without the need for painkillers. My peripheral vision has significantly improved, which has had an immediate and measurable impact on my shooting scores. “Any patient working with Dr. Scott can expect to be extremely well-informed about the procedure, its results, and what the expected recovery will look like. Based on my experience, following his advice led to a smooth process and an outstanding result.” –Greg Ricketts
2 EyePlasticMD.com
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