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TED-Ed

Mysteries of vernacular: Quarantine - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel

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Stemming from the days of bubonic plague in Medieval Europe, quarantines were originally used to prevent potentially plague-infested ships from disembarking at a port city. Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel explain how the length of the wait, often 40 days, came to be associated with the word we use today.

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Meet The Creators

Director
Jessica Oreck
Producer
Rachael Teel

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