You know, looking at that little scarring in the context of the vaccine, I’m reminded that I heard that there’s this famous idea that milk maids are historically seen as the very definition of pretty, and that the idea stems from the fact that they tended to get cowpox, which protected them from smallpox.
So, basically, before smallpox vaccines, the typical woman was so badly scarred somewhere visible like her face by smallpox that a woman who simply didn’t have those scars would be considered extremely pretty.
You know, looking at that little scarring in the context of the vaccine, I’m reminded that I heard that there’s this famous idea that milk maids are historically seen as the very definition of pretty, and that the idea stems from the fact that they tended to get cowpox, which protected them from smallpox.
So, basically, before smallpox vaccines, the typical woman was so badly scarred somewhere visible like her face by smallpox that a woman who simply didn’t have those scars would be considered extremely pretty.
The Latin word for cow is “vacca,” which is where the word “vaccine” comes from.
Eight maids a-milking
Seven swans a-swimming
Six geese a-laying
Five golden rings
Four calling birds
Three french hens
Two turtle doves
and a partridge in a pear tree
Aha!
French hens are pretty because they were immune to chickenpox.