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Talk6 min

Why plague doctors wore beaked masks

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About

The year is 1656. Your body is wracked by violent chills. Your head pounds and you're too weak to sit up. In your feverish state, you see a strange-looking man wearing a beak-like mask, his body covered from head to toe. Without seeing his face, you know: you have the plague. So, where did these iconic outfits come from? Stephanie Honchell Smith explores the history of plague doctors. [Directed by Anton Bogaty, narrated by George Zaidan, music by Samuel Bellingham].

The talk

  1. Why plague doctors wore beaked masks 6 min · TED's player

Credits and licence

Institution
TED
Department
TED-Ed
Speaker
TED-Ed
Year
2022
Level
For everyone
Language
English
Subjects
Medicine and health, History, Teaching and learning
Source
TED
Licence
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, as TED states it. Non-commercial use only, and no changed versions. TED's terms
Attribution
TED Talks are licensed by TED under Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 International and are shown here in TED's own player, as TED's usage policy asks.
Who can watch
TED gives no rating. Invisible Network shows it to Teens profiles and older, judged from what the source says about it. How courses are placed