Roman families would be both recognizable and unrecognizable today. Their strict social classes and lawful human rights violations will make any rational person glad to be alive in the 21st century. On the other hand, their homelier moments are eternal. Like today, children played similar games, the whole family coddled pets, and they enjoyed the finer things in life.

10Marriage Was A Mere Agreement

Girls married during their early teens while men tied the knot in their mid-twenties. Roman marriages were quick and easy and most didn’t flower from romance but from two agreements. The first would be between the couple’s families, who eyeballed each other to see if the proposed spouse’s wealth and social status were acceptable. If satisfied, a formal betrothal took place where a written agreement was signed and the couple kissed.

Unlike modern times, the wedding day didn’t cement a lawful institution (marriage had no legal power) but showed the couple’s intent to live together. A Roman citizen couldn’t marry his favorite prostitute, cousin, or, for the most part, non-Romans. A divorce was granted when the couple declared their intention to separate before seven witnesses. If a divorce carried the accusation that the wife had been unfaithful, she could never marry again. A guilty husband received no such penalty.

9Feast Or Famine

Social position determined how a family ate. Lower classes mostly had simple fare while the wealthy often used elaborate feasts to showcase their status. Bread featured heavily at both breakfast and lunch. While the lower classes added olives, cheese, and wine, the upper class enjoyed a better variety of meat, feast leftovers, and fresh produce. The very poor sometimes just ate porridge or handouts.

Meals were prepared by the women or slaves of the household, and the children served them. Nobody had forks, so food was consumed using their hands, spoons, and knives. Dinner parties of the Roman rich were legendary for their decadence and delicacies. Lasting hours, guests reclined on dining couches while slaves cleaned up the discarded scraps around them. All classes relished a stomach-churning sauce called garum. Basically the fermented guts of fish, it reeked so bad that it was forbidden to make it within city limits.

8The Insulae And Domus

One’s neighborhood pretty much depended on how high up the totem pole you were. Insulae were apartment buildings, but the kind that would make a modern safety inspector hit the roof. The majority of the Roman population lived in these seven-story-plus buildings. They were ripe for fire, collapse, and even flooding. The upper floors were reserved for the poor who had to pay rent daily or weekly.

Eviction was a constant fear for the families living in a one-room affair with no natural light or bathroom facilities. The first two floors of an insulae were reserved for those who had a better income. They paid rent annually and lived in multiple rooms with windows.

Wealthy Romans either lived in country villas or owned a domus in the city. A domus was a large, comfortable home. They were big enough to include the owner’s business shop, libraries, rooms, a kitchen, pool, and garden.

7Marital Sex

Things in the Roman bedroom weren’t exactly even. While women were expected to produce sons, uphold chastity, and remain loyal to their husbands, married men were allowed to wander. He even had a rule book. It was fine to have extramarital sex with partners of both genders, but it had to be with slaves, prostitutes, or a concubine/mistress. Wives could do nothing about it since it was socially acceptable and even expected from a man.

While undoubtedly there were married couples who used passion as an expression of affection for one another, the general unsympathetic view was that women tied the knot to have children and not to enjoy a great sex life. That was for the husband to savor, and some savored it a little too much—slaves had no rights over their own bodies, so the rape of a slave was not legally recognized.

6Legal Infanticide

Fathers held the power of life or death for a newborn, even without the mother’s input. After birth, the baby was placed at his feet. If the father picked it up, the child remained at home. Otherwise, it was abandoned outside for anyone to pick up—or to die of exposure. Roman infants faced rejection if they were born deformed, a daughter, or if a poor family couldn’t support another child. If the father was suspicious about the kid’s real paternity, he or she could be dumped near a refuge area.

The lucky ones were adopted by childless couples and received the family’s name. The rest risked being sold as slaves or prostitutes or being deliberately maimed by beggars who displayed such children to get more sympathy. If older children displeased their father, he also had the legal backing to sell them as slaves or kill them.

5Leisure For The Family

Downtime was a big part of Roman family life. Usually, starting at noon, the upper crust of society dedicated their day to leisure. Most enjoyable activities were public and shared by rich and poor alike, male and female—watching gladiators disembowel each other, cheering chariot races, or attending the theatre.

Citizens also spent a lot of time at public baths, which wasn’t your average tub and towel affair. A Roman bath typically had a gym, pool, and a health center. Certain locales even offered prostitutes. Children had their own favorite pastimes. Boys preferred to be more active, wrestling, flying kites, or playing war games. Girls occupied themselves with things like dolls and board games. Families also enjoyed just relaxing with each other and their pets.

4Education

Education depended on a child’s social status and gender. Formal education was the privilege of high-born boys, while girls from good families were only allowed to learn how to read and write. Schooling in Latin, reading, writing, and arithmetic were usually the mother’s duty until age seven, when boys received a teacher.

Affluent families had private tutors or educated slaves for this role; otherwise, the boys were sent to private schools. Education for male pupils included physical training to prepare them for military service as well as later assuming a masculine role in society. Country folk or children born of slaves received little to no formal education. To them it was more practical that sons learn their trades from their fathers and little girls learn housekeeping. There were no public schools for disadvantaged children to attend. The closest thing was informal get-togethers that were run and taught by freed slaves.

3Coming Of Age

While daughters crossed the threshold of adulthood almost unnoticed, a special ceremony marked a boy’s transition to manhood. Depending on his mental and physical prowess, a father decided when his son was grown (usually around 14–17).

On the chosen morning, the youth discarded his bulla and childhood toga, and a sacrifice was given. His father then dressed him in the white tunic of a man. If the older man had rank, the tunic reflected this—two wide crimson stripes if he was a senator and slim ones for a knight. The last of the new clothing was the toga virilis or toga libera, worn only by adult males. The father then gathered a large crowd to escort his son to the Forum. Once there, the boy’s name was registered, and he officially became a Roman citizen. After that, the new teenage man could expect an apprenticeship for a year in a profession of his father’s choosing.

2Pets

When it comes to ancient Rome’s animal policies, one can be forgiven if the first image that comes to mind is gory slaughter at the Colosseum. However, private citizens cherished their household pets. Dogs were by far the favorite, but cats were not uncommon. House-snakes were appreciated as ratters, and domesticated birds were also delighted in. Nightingales and green Indian parrots were all the rage because they could mimic human words.

Cranes, herons, swans, quail, geese, and ducks were also kept. While the last three proved very popular, Roman fondness and treatment of peacocks was almost on par with dogs. Some cruelty existed in bird fighting, but it wasn’t a widespread sport. Roman pets were so deeply loved that they were immortalized in art and poetry and even buried with their masters. Other pets included hares (a popular gift exchanged by lovers), goats, deer, apes, and fish.

1Women’s Independence

Ancient Rome wasn’t an easy place to be a woman. Any hopes of being able to vote or of following a career was about as possible as a modern person trying to pluck a diamond out of thin air. Girls were sidelined to a life in the home and childbirth, suffering a philandering husband (if he was so inclined), and having little power in the marriage and no legal claim to her children.

However, because child mortality was so high, the state rewarded Roman wives for giving birth. The prize was perhaps what most women dearly wanted: legal independence. If a free-born woman managed three live births (four for a former slave), she was awarded with independent status as a person. Only by surviving this serial-birthing could a woman hope to escape being a man’s property and finally take control over her own affairs and life.

In early 2016 the Zika virus was declared a Public Health Emergency. With unanswered questions outnumbering the facts; panic was quick to set in. People worried that it was another Ebola-like situation.

Classified as a flavivirus, Zika is primarily transmitted by mosquito. Due to its hardy vector, the virus is spread to new geographical locations with ease, making it even more of a threat to global health.

For many 2016 was the first time they had heard of the virus, but data collected dates back to as early as 1947. Today there is still too much unknown about the virus that’s threatening the health of so many people. Zika has been reported in 48 countries, making it an international concern.

10 What you don’t know can hurt you

Ignorance is not bliss in the case of medical and health topics. Seemingly new to most of us, it comes as no surprise that there is not nearly enough known about this virus that is plaguing multiple continents. Almost a year after the World Health Organization declared a Public Health Emergency, we still don’t know as much as we hoped to have learned by now.^[1]

Overshadowed by recent elections, terrorist attacks, and natural disasters, Zika has been kept under wraps by the news outlets. Apart from being mentioned by the CDC, there was not a great deal reported about this mysterious and threatening virus. We can assume that the lack of broadcasting is in part due to the lack of information. Between the time when the news broke about this virus in early 2016 and the present, there wasn’t much to report. Insects=Virus, not many ways newscasters can draw that out into an entire segment.

9 Mosquitos

Small pesky insects are infecting civilians with a dangerous virus sounds like something straight out of a Horror film. Unfortunately, it’s a reality. Mosquitos are survivors, they are hardy, making it even more challenging to contain, prevent and eradicate the deadly viruses that they carry.

Mosquitoes are the leading transmitters of the Zika Virus the particular species that carries it is known as the Aedes Mosquito. There are few places in the world that this insect doesn’t reside.

The Aedes Mosquito has quite the resume, as it is also known for carrying other well-known flaviviruses like dengue and chikungunya. Both are dangerous viruses that claim the lives of thousands each year. The Center for Disease Control estimates that every year approximately 400 million people contract dengue. Cases of dengue are most commonly seen Latin America, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands.

Equally as critical; chikungunya can be found in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas.^[2] This virus causes fever and joint pain that can be disabling. Similar to Zika, there are no vaccines for dengue and chikungunya.

8 Prevention

How do you stop tiny insects from biting you? Most of the time you can’t. Prevention methods that have been released by the Center for Disease Control are not bullet proof. As there is no vaccine at this time for the virus, prevention is all we have. Never leaving home is beginning to sound more and more appealing. However for those brave souls living in Zika ridden areas that venture outside, things such as pre-treated clothing and insect repellant can be a lifesaver.

In Miami-Dade County, Florida schools were urged to implement a long sleeve dress code in efforts to protect their students.^[3] As we all know, doors and windows don’t always stop mosquitoes from getting inside. In areas where Zika has been documented it is important to use door and window screens, as well mosquito netting around beds and used to cover cribs as well.

7 Guillain-Barr syndrome

The World Health Organization announced that a link between the Zika virus and Guillain-Barr syndrome had been confirmed. Researchers have collected data suggesting Zika may even cause this life-altering disorder. GBS is a disorder that causes the body’s immune system to attack part of the peripheral nervous system, often rendering its victims paralyzed.

Some cases, when most severe, are even life threatening. Respiratory failure is another common complication associated with GBS. French Polynesia claims the largest amount of Zika related GBS.^[4] In an uncontrollable outbreak spanning from 2013-2014, forty-two cases of Guillain-Barr syndrome were detected.

6 Symptoms

The symptoms of the Zika virus sound like something off of a commercial for heart medication (“contact your doctor if you encounter; dizziness, heart attack, blood thinning, or death.” YIKES). Fortunately, there have been very few instances of hospitalization and complications due to symptoms.^[5] Only about 1 out of 5 people infected experience any symptom.

Most symptoms of this virus include your general unpleasantries such as fever, rash, headache, joint pain, conjunctivitis, and muscle pain. Zika is thought to remain in the bloodstream of the infected person for about a week. The more critical symptoms are the ones in which are transmitted from mother to child.

5 Treatment

What is scarier than being poked and prodded to obtain treatment? No treatment at all.

Those who have been infected with the virus receive no treatment distinct to the virus. Healthcare providers have been advising victims to merely treat the individual symptoms. For example taking medicines like Tylenol to combat the fever and pain. Sleep is also advised, as well as drinking plenty of fluids. Unfortunately, being a virus with no vaccine or treatment there is not much else to do other than wait it out and take care of one’s body.

The The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has confirmed that they are working on developing an effective Zika vaccine. Researchers have stated that they are “pursuing a DNA-based vaccine.^[6] The West Nile vaccine is also DNA-based and has been proven effective. NIAID researchers are still in the early phases of developing the Zika vaccine, and it looks promising.

4 Transmission

Sex, bugs, blood transfusion and from mother to child are the ways in which Zika gets around the block. Although there are no confirmed cases, it is thought that Zika can be passed through blood transfusion.^[7] The Aedes species of mosquito are active both during the day and at night. These flying terrors become infected when they “feed” on a person that is infected with Zika, and from there the cycle continues.

As if STDs aren’t scary enough, add Zika to your list of things to be paranoid about when having intercourse with some possibly “less than familiar.” Through sex, the virus can be passed before symptoms start, while symptoms are present and even after they concluded. Even more frightening, researchers believe that someone who carries Zika yet never develops symptoms can still pass it along during sex. It is recommended that extra precautions be taken when “gettin it on” with someone who may have Zika—as in just wear the dang condom, or better yet: abstain!

3 Research

With the first confirmed case of the virus only as far back as 1947, researchers haven’t made many groundbreaking discoveries since. Partly due to the time gap in cases, research was put on hold for some number of years. The very first confirmed case of the Zika virus was documented in 1947, but there were few other cases cited until more recent years.^[8] It was difficult for researchers to study an apparently sporadic virus. Not to mention funding for these data collections and studies are more challenging to pin down when the virus isn’t actively taking the lives of thousands of people. (Not to undermine the symptoms or severity of Zika).

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has been concentrating on studying such flaviviruses for years. They have been trying to tackle viruses such as dengue, West Nile virus, and yellow fever. Within the recent years they have added Zika to their list. Aiming to obtain a stronger understanding of things like viral genetics and pathogenesis will be monumental in the fight against Zika and other flaviviruses. They are working to gain a greater understanding of how the virus works. Researchers for NIAID are focusing their efforts on studying animals models, in hopes of discovering the long term effects of Zika.

2 Countries devastated

Forty-eight countries across the globe have been distraught by the impacts of the Zika virus. With travel notices spanning the globe, traveling to some places will never be the same. Mexico, African, Asia, the Caribbean, Central America, the Pacific Islands, and South America are all places that have all been touched by the virus. Some of the countries in which it has hit the hardest as low-resource countries, making treatment and recovery more difficult. In areas like that, it is more likely for victims of the virus to suffer from more severe complications and even death.

With travel notices being publically released, tourism in these areas was stunned, to say the least. The 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro took a hit due to the virus. In light of recent travel notices and cautions, some athletes decided to sit this one out. Attendance was notably lower than past summer olympics.^[9] The World Health Organization released a statement that they had concluded no one had been infected with the virus while at the games, fortunately. They believe that there were no cases during this time due the fact that August is actually Rio de Janeiro’s winter, meaning mosquitos are significantly less active.

Just within the U.S., Texas and Florida were hit hard by the wave of suddenly concerned citizens. It was in December of 2016 that Texas confirmed its first case, shortly after they began to identify cities within the state that the Zika carrying mosquitos has traveled to. Around the same time frame Miami-Dade County, Florida was designated as a Zika cautionary zone.

1 Women and children

One of the most shattering discoveries made is that a pregnant woman can pass Zika to her fetus. In 2016 there were 642 pregnant women diagnosed with the virus in the United States. If a woman is infected with the Zika virus during her pregnancy, it causes microcephaly. Microcephaly is a birth defect that causes the baby’s head to be smaller, meaning they also have significantly smaller brains as a result.^[10] This congenital disability is detrimental to the proper development of the fetus. Congenital Zika Syndrome is what researchers have named the string of birth defects connected with fetuses and babies infected with Zika.

The Center for Disease Control has identified five characteristics of CZS: severe microcephaly that results in partial skull collapse, lack of brain tissue, eye/ vision damage, clubfoot or other joint injuries, and an inappropriately high level of muscle tone. The data collected shows that not all babies born with CZS will have all of the difficulties listed.

Researchers still don’t have enough data to know the impacts of Zika on future pregnancies. The most recent thoughts are that the Zika virus in a woman who is not pregnant would not pose a threat to future pregnancies (once the virus has officially left her blood). Physicians have a big concern especially for children who appear to have no defects at birth, as other congenital infections are known to cause problems years later in apparently unaffected children.

Janet Lyon is a college student striving to be an educated and contributing member of society.

Japan can be an odd place.  No other country in the world has experienced such a confluence of tradition, technology, and circumstance.  Feudal samurai ideals clash with cutting edge computers; aged survivors of the only country which endured the full wrath of the atomic bomb mix with teenagers in Pokemon outfits.  Although it hosts one of the most massive economies on the planet, Japan is extremely insular, and its culture is often misunderstood by outsiders.  Below are ten of the strangest aspects of Japanese culture—from sex, to snacks, to death.

Although Earth’s population is rising at an exponential rate, the Japanese are slowly dying off behind an aging infrastructure.  Compounding the problem is a growing problem: the shut-in “hikikomori.”  To be sure, every society is home to a small number of people who could be described as “reclusive”—though most of these recluses tend to be older individuals, marked with mental illnesses such as depression and agoraphobia.

Japan’s hikikomore hermits, on the other hand, are decidedly young. They’re mostly disaffected teenagers and twenty-somethings, withdrawn almost completely from society.  There is no precise explanation to account for the rise in hikikomori, though there are several known contributing factors, including the rise of the internet, intense academic pressures, and parents willing to shelter their children well into adulthood.  Psychiatrists (many of whom are forced to make house calls to visit their patients), have only recently set upon the task of helping the group dubbed by some as “the missing million.”

Although legends of the Yakuza are prevalent, crime rates are particularly low in Japan.  It is illegal to own a handgun, and even ceremonial swords must be registered with the police.  The country enjoys the second lowest homicide rate in the world, behind only Monaco (a country about half the size of New York’s Central Park).  If you ever have the misfortune of standing trial in Japan, however, you can be almost certain that you’re going to jail; indeed, the conviction rate is said to exceed ninety-nine percent (the career of a judge can suffer greatly for handing out acquittals).

Capital punishment is exercised in Japan, and around two or three inmates are executed every year.  Unlike most other countries, death row inmates are only informed hours beforehand when their time is up.  The family is not informed until the condemned father, sibling, or child is already dead.  Although Japan has a history of rather gruesome and unconventional methods of execution, prisoners are generally executed by hanging today.

As I described in a previous list, the Japanese have a predilection for novelty foods and beverages; indeed, the range of flavors they utilize often seem repellent to Western palates.

Due to a coincidence of language, the Kit Kat chocolate bar is enormously popular in Japan.  “Kit Kat” is remarkably similar to the phrase “kitto katsu” (literally: you shall surely win), which is used as a sentiment of good luck.  Students are often given the candy before an exam as a good luck charm.  Unlike the rest of the world, which features only a milk chocolate version, Japan maintains dozens of exotic flavors, such as grilled corn, miso, camembert cheese, baked potato, and soy sauce.

Although the Japanese are known for their industrious work ethic, the stereotype of the boozy businessman warbling “Margaritaville” in a karaoke bar is not that far from the truth.  Marathon drinking sessions are often seen as a cornerstone of the Japanese business model; corporate relationships are forged over gallons of sake, younger salarymen struggling in vain to keep up with their seasoned bosses.

That said, it’s also relatively easy to nurse a hangover. The Japanese business culture values an employee who naps on the job.  “Inemuri,” as it is known, is a quick cat-nap meant to recharge the batteries.  It is seen as a sign of hard work and commitment.

Nothing appears to be more tragic than dying alone—but it happens in Japan all the time.  One of the unfortunate side effects of maintaining such an elderly population (one in five Japanese are over the age of sixty five, many of them well into their eighties and nineties) is that people tend to die at home.  These people often go undiscovered, sometimes for months or even years—a phenomenon known as “kodokushi”, the lonely deaths.  Thousands of cases occur in Japan each year, especially among men who have few social ties.  Sometimes the bodies are left for so long that they self-mummify.

There are even companies which specialize in cleaning out the apartments of people who have succumbed to such a fate—even dealing with the grisly “kodokushi stains” left behind by a rotting body.  It is estimated that in another twenty years, one in three Japanese will be senior citizens—an estimation which does not bode well for a halt in lonely deaths.

Japan has always been something of a restrictive society, and that prudishness extends all the way to its pornography.  Although hardcore sex acts are allowed to be filmed, the genitalia of the performers is required to be blurred out, in order to uphold moral laws.  This has steered Japanese porn-makers towards a trend called “bukkake”—the prominent display “resultant fluids”—as proof that the actors are really engaging in sex.

Curiously enough, a huge number of Japanese youths have reported that they have very little interest in sex. This is especially true for many males, who are often referred to as soshoku danshi, or “herbivore men.”

Pachinko is a kind of cross between pinball and slot machines; it involves an upright machine, in which players shoot balls which descend through a series of pins.  If the balls land in the right spot, more balls will be produced.  Although gambling is technically illegal in Japan, winners are provided with a token based on their score which can be redeemed elsewhere for cash (a little bit like turning in your tickets at Chuck E. Cheese for a prize).

There is currently a push to legalize pachinko in Japan, with industry insiders estimating a potential gambling revenue that would approach $10 billion a year—nearly double that of Las Vegas.

Anyone who has suffered through the stigma of wearing braces (or any parent who has shelled out thousands for orthodonture) understands the importance of straight, even teeth.  In Japan, however, there is a growing trend among young women for yaeba (literally “double tooth”) caps on the canines, which lends their smile a kind of crowded appearance.  As bizarre beauty trends go, this one is somewhat costly to implement—but at least it’s reversible.

Although homicides in Japan are almost nonexistent, the country has one of the highest suicide rates in the world—in some cases more than twice that of other developed countries.  Although attitudes are changing, suicide was for a long time accepted by the culture as a noble act—a way of protecting honor, and defending the reputation of the family.

One of the most startling suicide trends involves leaping in front of commuter trains.  This has become such an issue that rail companies usually fine surviving family members for the inconvenience.  Japan is also home to the chilling Aokigahara Forest.  Located near Mount Fuji, Aokigahara is often mentioned by  writers, and is well known as a hotspot for suicides.

The typical Japanese diet is quite healthy; daily staples like rice, tofu, and fresh vegetables make them some of the longest-lived people on earth.  But many Japanese people also have a weakness for familiar American comfort food—most notably, fried chicken.  In major cities, there is often a KFC to be found every few blocks, with each restaurant hosting a life-sized statue of Colonel Sanders standing out front.

Although only a small handful of Japanese are Christian, they have adopted KFC as a Christmas Eve tradition.  On December 24, every KFC in Japan features lines out the door.  Many make reservations months in advance.

The KFC legend is not confined only to the holiday season.  In 1985, when the Hanshin Tigers baseball team won the Japan Series, revelers spilled into the streets.  Amid the chaos, a statue of Colonel Sanders was thrown into a canal in Osaka.  In the subsequent years, the Tigers have continually failed to win another championship—felled, supposedly, by the “Curse of the Colonel”.  In 2009, most of the statue was recovered from the river. The glasses and the left hand are still missing, however, and some locals believe that the curse will not lift until the Colonel is whole.

Mike Devlin is an aspiring novelist.  He loves sushi and ninjas.

“Lay your ear close to the hill.
Do you not catch the tiny clamour,
Busy click of an elfin hammer,
Voice of the Lepracaun singing shrill
As he merrily plies his trade?
He’s a span
And a quarter in height.
Get him in sight, hold him tight,
And you’re a made
Man!”

These lines from “The Lepracaun, or Fairy Shoemaker” by Irish poet William Allingham (1824-1889) pretty much sum up the little guy’s stature, shoemaking trade, and the myth that capturing one leads to great wealth. But these mischievous elves have acquired throughout the centuries many other interesting traits and attributes that might well be worth exploring, for as the old saying goes: “Catch hold of a leprechaun and don’t let go, for he will tell you the address of the gold that is unknown…”

10 Leprechauns at One Time Were Thought to Be Water Sprites

The legend of the leprechaun grew out of pre-Christian Irish mythology surrounding an ancient, supernatural race called Tuatha Dé Danann, in which they were first imagined to be mischievous water spirits. As early as the eighth century, The Saga of Fergus mac Léti tells the story of a legendary king of Ulster who was kidnapped and dragged into the sea while sleeping by three tiny water sprites called “lúchorpáin.” After being awakened by the cold water, the good king snatched up the little imps in one hand and demanded three wishes in return for their freedom. However, their trickery and deception in doing so led to his eventual downfall.

Over time, the cultural perception of leprechauns morphed into bearded fairies about three feet tall who lived in underground caves or hollow trees, and their legend and lore became more plentiful. Clad in red (yes, red!) jackets and breeches, with cocked hats atop their wizened heads, they were often depicted in folk tales as industrious cobblers whose fortunes were hidden away within pots of gold. But despite the physical differences from their water-spirit days, tricksters they still remained.

In one version of an ageless, Irish folk tale, a farmer named Jack encounters a leprechaun hidden away in the hedgerow. Following tradition, he forces the elf to reveal where his pot of gold is hidden by keeping him within his gaze. The leprechaun is unable to resist and leads the farmer to a sprawling field of dandelions, where he indicates the particular flower that sits upon his buried crock. But Jack has no spade for digging and must return home to get one.

While the leprechaun is still under his spell, he commands him to leave the gold exactly where it is buried until he returns. Again the little guy is helpless to resist, and Jack places one of his stockings over the flower as a marker before heading home. But when he returns, he finds that the leprechaun has covered each and every one of those thousands of dandelions with identical socks, tricking the greedy farmer and keeping his gold. However, the tale ends on a high note, for the farmer’s wife is delighted at the lifetime supply of stockings that she generally had to knit from scratch.^[1]

9 “Leprechaun” Is a Very Odd Word Indeed!

Let’s start with the etymology. As previously stated, the earliest mention of the creature was in the form of rascally water spirits called “lúchorpáin,” which literally means “little bodies” in Old Irish. Furthermore, scholars attribute the alternate spelling “leithbrágan,” which translates to “half shoemaker,” to the common depiction of leprechauns working on just one solitary shoe. While many linguists attribute the one-shoe theory to folk etymology, which is sort of a play on words, they offer yet a third possibility in the Latin word “Lupercalia,” an ancient Roman festival of debauchery in which young priests called “Luperci” ran about naked. Over the centuries, a medieval Irish legend developed in which the concept of the “Luperci” had morphed into supernatural super-swimmers who had survived the Great Flood, only to haunt the waters of Ireland—which brings us full circle back to the “lúchorpáin” of water-spirit notoriety!

And how exactly do we spell it? This article is entitled with the standard American spelling, but let us remind ourselves that leprechauns come from a land of diverse counties and lordships that reach far back in time. While “leipreachán” seems to be the Irish standard, alternate spellings include “loimreachán,” “lubrican,” “luchramán,” and “lúracán.” He’s called the “logheryman” in many northern counties, the “lurigadawne” in County Tipperary, and the “luricawne” in County Kerry. Heck—it’s almost as if at one time in Old Ireland, every other household had a different spelling for the crafty, little cobblers! But after all, leprechauns are the ultimate and original tricksters in all manners of deception and disguise, which apparently includes vocabulary.^[2]

We could also discuss the many alternate pronunciations, but that would be cruel!

8 Leprechauns Are Mean and Ugly!

Americans tend to think of leprechauns as harbingers of good luck and four-leaf clovers. However, that perception really springs from the combined cultural influences of an old Disney movie, a popular brand of breakfast cereal, and St. Patrick’s Day imagery. If we were to assign a more appropriate observance to the little tricksters, however, it would most likely be April Fool’s Day—possibly Friday the 13th!

In Ireland, the leprechaun is traditionally considered to be a sly, sometimes malicious little elf who enjoys tricking people, especially those interested in stealing his gold. They are the masters of pranks and prevarication, and even if you catch one and demand three wishes, it will certainly not end well. They also like to hit the sauce, either drinking their own brew or perhaps stealing yours. But be careful what you say to them if they do as they’re very proficient at casting curses, and out of spite, they’ve been known to make a household’s milk turn sour.

Leprechauns were also described as being rather untidy in both dress and grooming and were known to carry a repugnant odor. They were considered quite ugly to the point of deformity. They were also accused of having surly manners that matched their ragged appearance. In his 1888 compendium of Celtic lore, writer D. R. McAnally described the leprechaun to be of horrific parentage, with an evil spirit for a father and a degenerate fairy for a mom. And with references like those who could blame the little guys for occasionally hitting the sauce.^[3]

7 There Are No Leprechaun-esses

Have you ever noticed that leprechauns are always male? There have never been female leprechauns in the history of Irish folklore, which might be part of the reason the males are known to be solitary and rather grouchy creatures. Of course, tiny, drunken cobblers probably wouldn’t do well on the dating scene anyway, but then how do these mean little buggers reproduce other mean little buggers without female counterparts?

For one thing, they seem much too clever and ornery to just up and die. Legend has it they’re either extraordinarily long-lived or perhaps even immortal, but all that still doesn’t explain where they come from. One school of thought claims they hatch from eggs, but it’s unclear who or what actually lays these eggs. And according to A History of Irish Fairies by Carolyn White, leprechauns are the deformed children of fairies—their ugliness and bad dispositions probably precluding them from being proper husbands even if she-leprechauns did exist!

Single-gender, supernatural species are common in the folklore of the British Isles. Leprechauns are considered solitary fairies, which are generally ill-tempered and reclusive. Other examples of solitary fairies are the British hobgoblin and the Scottish brownie, both of which are almost always portrayed as being male. Conversely, the Irish banshee, a wailing harbinger of death, is always female. Solitary fairies are distinguishable from trooping fairies, the smaller, more conventional winged pixies and such that come in both genders and who actually smile from time to time—a gesture that seems to do wonders for a fairy’s social life.^[4]

6 Pot O’ Gold Morality

Most fairy tales and fables offer a moral or lesson at the conclusion of the story, and leprechaun lore is no different. Their pots of gold at the end of the rainbow, and the covetous men who try to find them, are working examples of that deadly sin called greed. And in turn, the trickery leprechauns inflict upon such men are examples of comeuppance and reminders that easy money schemes most generally never end well.

Many of these stories follow a certain pattern, starting with a farmer, or some other sort of ordinary fellow, stumbling across a leprechaun caught tapping at a shoe. Following legend, the wizened elf is either frozen by the man’s stare or by his grasp as he demands the location of its gold. In a good number of these tales, the leprechaun is either successful at breaking the man’s stare by cleverly averting his attention or at breaking free from his grasp through some other form of trickery, after which it flees.

In other versions of the story, the man is successful at being brought to the gold, which is always buried deep beneath some type of flower or weed. He then departs to retrieve a spade or shovel from home, first making the leprechaun promise to leave the bounty right where it is. But when he returns, he finds thousands of those same exact flowers, leaving him clueless about where to start digging. In other manifestations of the tale (such as the one previously told above), there are already thousands of flowers when he arrives with the leprechaun, so he marks the correct one with a stocking or other item of cloth. And always, upon returning with the spade, he finds each one of those flowers marked with identical items. Thus the punishment for his greed and arrogance!

Another legend warns against inhospitable behavior, at least when there’s a leprechaun in need. The crafty cobblers are known to earn their gold by making shoes for other fairies. However, when business is slow and they’re short on cash, they resort to knocking on the doors of human homes peddling their trade. If you hire one, you’ll get a great pair of shoes, plus you’ll be off the hook because if you turn one away, he’s likely to cast a curse on your household. And anything from spoiled milk to a broken leg will be looming on your horizon. Disgruntled leprechauns can get pretty darn mean and cantankerous, and most especially after dark.^[5]

5 The Contemptible Clurichaun (aka Leprechaun After Hours)

There is a lesser-known creature in Irish folklore called the clurichaun—a cantankerous, drunken cur whose manners are absolutely deplorable! Interestingly enough, it looks like a leprechaun, dresses like a leprechaun, and even hides its gold like a leprechaun. The only difference between the two is that leprechauns seem to have boundaries to their malicious nature. In contrast, clurichauns are downright evil—and generally at night! Many folklorists think the two types of elves are actually regional variations of the same creature, with the daytime leprechaun showing attributes of hard work, frugality, and clever trickery, whereas the nighttime version (the clurichaun) parties hearty, raiding wine cellars while pranking both lords and maidservants alike.

One of the main differences between the two is that after a leprechaun curses a household, he makes a quick exit, unlike the clurichaun who actually moves in and sets up camp in the cellar, attic, or wherever the booze is stored away. A frequent theme in clurichaun lore is of afflicted gentlemen moving out of their homes to escape the conniving, little beast, only to have it follow them to the new house. Clurichauns are actually capable of paying allegiance to worthy hosts if they so choose, faithfully guarding their wine and beer, but disloyal servants, especially ones who steal a sip here and there, get haunted, harassed, and occasionally beaten up.

Another similarity the two ornery elves share is the fear of being caught and having to hand over their gold. However, this seems to happen much more frequently with the much less acerbic leprechaun. When a clurichaun is captured, the tales follow the same template patterns as the ones of the captured leprechauns detailed above; another reason many folklorists believe the two pranksters to be one and the same. As a matter of fact, many linguists consider the word “clurichaun” to be a dialectal variation of “leprechaun” in certain southern regions of Ireland; either way, the wine cellars toward the north must seem a tad bit cozier and inviting than in the south.

In his 1828 book Fairy Mythology, Thomas Keightley tells the tale of a clurichaun called Little Wildbean who haunts the cellar of a good Quaker named Harris. The creature thoroughly looks after the beer barrels for the master of the house, and in return, his servants feed him nightly. Little Wildbean’s temper flares one evening, however, after being served a shoddy supper, and he assaults the cook severely at midnight. Harris has had enough and flees his home, leaving the clurichaun far behind—or so he thinks! After discovering the little imp hidden in one of his empty barrels, he resignedly returns home with Wildbean, where he shortly thereafter buys the proverbial sheep farm. The conniving clurichaun, however, remains in that house to this day, but as for the cook—all bets are off!^[6]

4 The Americanization of the Leprechaun

During the mid-nineteenth century, the Irish constituted more than one-third of all immigrants to the United States due to the devastation of the 1845 Potato Blight. The concept of St. Patrick’s Day parades was already somewhat present in America at that time, but they only increased in numbers and sentiment as hundreds of thousands of displaced Irish found comfort in a celebration of their culture.

During this period in U.S. history, Irish-Americans were often the victims of ridicule and prejudice, with cartoon depictions of their rumored drunkenness and signs that read “Irish Need Not Apply” being commonplace. But after their participation in the Civil War, Americans started to look upon the Irish with a more generous nature, and St. Patrick’s Day celebrations became popular for people from all backgrounds. But so many of the old traditions brought from overseas quickly became Americanized, perhaps trivialized. The leprechaun was one of the more prominent symbols of the Emerald Isle that soon became tarnished.

Probably the most profound shift in the development of the Americanized leprechaun was its attitude change, having morphed from the status of an ugly, grouchy, wrinkled fairy into a smiling, dashing, little gent holding a four-leaf clover for good luck. And gone is the creature’s tiny, red coat which it wore for centuries (often to mock the British). Instead, it was replaced by an outfit of green, the color that became synonymous with Irish heritage in the U.S.—despite the fact azure blue was traditionally Ireland’s most symbolic color. And what’s with the carrot-orange hair and beard? Folkloric descriptions of leprechauns simply describe them as being old as the hills, which implies any hair atop their heads or below their chins should be gray or white. But America already had a Santa, and, after all, many Irish-Americans indeed were redheads.

The typical portrayal of the leprechaun offends many people of Irish heritage as it is a false image purely the creation of American amusement. And whereas modern-day, humorous depictions of the little green elves are meant with good intentions, that hasn’t always been the case in U.S. history. The leprechaun’s excessive drinking and his centuries-old costume were at one time derogatory symbols used against the Irish with such frequency that they have become firmly ingrained within the collective pop-cultural imagery of America.

Ironically, the American version of the leprechaun and other Irish stereotypes have become increasingly popular across the Atlantic by the actual Irish due to television and the internet, through which they see how much fun we have on March 17. In Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day is a church holiday, and up until 1961, pubs were closed for the observance. But since then, the celebrations and parades have grown popular, and in 1995, the Irish government started promoting “Paddy’s Day” as a boon for the tourism industry, which includes a five-day festival in Dublin that in 2019 brought in €73 million (83.4 million USD) to the economy. For the last two years, however, COVID has kept all would-be leprechauns at home, but the festivities are on for 2022—all fingers crossed!^[7]

3 “They’re Magically Delicious!”

In 1964, General Mills came out with a new breakfast cereal called Lucky Charms, the novelty of which included marshmallow bits in clever shapes and a leprechaun on the box. For well over fifty years now, Lucky the Leprechaun has been trying to keep kids from snatching his cereal. His popularity as a brand mascot has put him right up there with Tony the Tiger, Toucan Sam, and Snap, Crackle, and Pop (fellow elves)!

At this point, it’s been almost thirty years since the consumption of cold cereal started to decline due to dietary and lifestyle changes, gluten-free issues, and a slew of alternative breakfast options such as drive-thru fast food, breakfast bars, and microwavable morning meals. And to offset that loss of sales, cold cereal companies have tried marketing new flavors, new shapes, new colors, and new box designs, so much so that it’s almost more confusing these days to choose a box of cereal than it is to buy a car! But Lucky Charms are just as popular as ever, with sales actually increasing. Of course, it helps that there’s a handful of candy in each serving, but Lucky has a “charm” all his own and stands out as a brand mascot in many ways, including a new streaming musical marketing campaign promoted on Spotify.

But mascots beware! The Notre Dame Fighting Irish has had a leprechaun as their official mascot since 1965. But some people are starting to claim that the symbolism of an angry, little Irish elf with his dukes up ready to fight is offensive. In a survey conducted in 2021, the leprechaun was voted the 4th most offensive collegiate sports mascot, which in turn offended both the Indiana university and its team. They argue that the issue is nothing like the Redskins controversy, as Irish individuals have actually had input into the formation of the university; regardless, many people find the leprechaun’s fighting stance to be a stereotypical slur against the Irish.

And similar sentiment has been expressed against the NBA’s Boston Celtics leprechaun mascot, which some people think looks tipsy or at least goofy. Will the forces of political correctness eventually go after the Lucky Charms leprechaun too? If so, look out, Lucky, for whereas leprechauns may have escaped capture for hundreds of years in Ireland, the American PC police might be the ones to actually do you in.^[8]

2 No More Leprechaun Movies—Please!

In 1993 Jennifer Aniston of Friends fame starred in her very first movie, Leprechaun, which was the start of a franchise that currently includes eight movies, the first six featuring Warwick Davis in the title role. And while the general opinion of Aniston is still pretty flattering, the general opinion of the Leprechaun movies is that they royally suck! The first movie got hideous reviews, mainly because the plot was an odd mix of humor and horror in mismatched proportions. Yet, Hollywood came out with the sequel just one year later—another cinematic catastrophe that received even worse reviews. And the sequels just got worse, with such titles as Leprechaun 4 in Space (1996) and Leprechaun in the Hood (2000). Of course, Hollywood came out with a revamp in 2014 called Leprechaun: Origins, an abomination that got a zero Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes—yes, that’s right, the score was ZERO!

But like many B (perhaps C?) movies of the horror genre, over time, Leprechaun has acquired a cult following that faithfully gathers each year to enjoy the carnage on March 17. This cinematic reverence has placed the series of movies amongst other odd horror cult classics such as Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958), Night of the Living Dead (1968), and Attack of the Killer Tomatoes (1978). Though honestly, a better holiday to view Leprechaun might actually be Halloween rather than St. Paddy’s.

Talk has it that there’s yet another sequel and/or revamp being pondered, and considering all the other crappy Hollywood movie franchises that keep re-emerging, it’ll probably happen. Though if another Leprechaun movie does come out, it’s a safe bet that one of the Lucky Charms Spotify music videos mentioned above could rate a better Tomatometer score.^[9]

1 The Naked Leprechaun of Carlingford

The legend of the leprechaun is one the Irish apparently hold dear, at least according to a survey taken in Ireland in 2011 that concluded 1/3 of participants actually believe in leprechauns, while more than half believe they existed in the past. To be fair, the survey was conducted by a whiskey distillery right before an organized, annual leprechaun hunt. However, the elusive elves had already been officially recognized in 2009 when the European Habitats Directive deemed them to be a protected species, at least in one section of County Lough. This is how it all happened:

Back in 1989, a pub owner from Carlingford, County Lough, named P.J. O’Hare, after hearing a horrific scream from up on Slieve Foy (a local mountain), found several small bones among a small green suit, matching hat, and four gold coins. This “absolute proof” of a leprechaun (apparently left naked and missing a few bones) was on display in his establishment for years until he died, after which the pub was sold. Unsurprisingly, the four gold coins went missing.

Several years later, P.J.’s old mate, Kevin “McCoillte” Woods, claims to have found the gold coins hidden away within a stone wall, after which he gained the gift of gab with leprechauns, three of whom he says he stumbled across while hiking through Slieve Foy with his dog. McCoillte asserts that there are exactly 236 leprechauns living in the vicinity, the last of a race that has died off. He added the tiny costume and coins found by his friend P.J. had been left there intentionally.

McCoillte’s story gathered quite a following, and in 2009, after years of lobbying the EU, the leprechauns in Carlingford were granted protected status on the grounds that the European Habitats Directive was unable to prove or disprove their existence. And now, each year, McCoillte sells hundreds of hunting licenses for a ceramic leprechaun hunt held in March on the Sunday that clocks move forward, with proceeds helping out local charities. Tours are also available all year long through the cavern where the leprechauns are rumored to live, with tickets priced at €10 per adult. Talk about a pot o’ gold…

And if you’re questioning the veracity of McCoillte’s tale, or the authenticity of the tiny elf costume, rest assured that this story came straight from the mouths of the fine leprechauns of Slieve Foy in County Lough.^[10]