With modern medicine, we often become overconfident, believing we can conquer any ailment. Recent outbreaks indicate that we are not as secure as we believe. Diseases once thought conquered are making a comeback.

Their spread is due to many factors: globalization, technology, and the anti-vaccine movement. These outbreaks are not just found in remote jungle corners. Deadly diseases are also popping up in developed countries—even the United States. These outbreaks indicate that no one is safe from disease.

10 Leptospirosis

In 2009, the Philippines were ravaged twice: once by tropical storm Ketsana and again by “rat fever.” Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease spread through contact with animal urine. The warm floodwaters of post-Ketsana Philippines made an ideal breeding ground.

Leptospirosis killed 157 people there. Symptoms include headaches, fever, kidney failure, and profuse bleeding from the lungs. The mortality rate is 5–10 percent, and things might be getting worse. A 2015 outbreak in Mumbai, India, had a mortality rate of 33 percent.

This is not just a disease of tropical floodwaters. Dogs in the United States are the latest victims. In 2015, there were canine leptospirosis outbreaks in both California and Colorado. In 2009, the disease devastated the sea lions on the Oregon coast. Raccoons are major carriers, and up to 90 percent of urban rats carry the bacteria.

How long before this spreads to the United States’ human population?

9 Syphilis

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas—unless it’s venereal disease. A recent spike in Sin City syphilis infections reveals a new vulnerability to this ancient disease. It is a complex, multistage bacterial disease.

In its early stages, syphilis can easily be treated with penicillin. However, if left untreated, the later stages include a horrific set of symptoms: inability to control muscles, dementia, rashes, blindness, and death.

Researchers blame the rise of syphilis on changing sex behavior. Smartphone-based hookup apps are making anonymous sex easier and more frequent. Due to effective HIV medication, condoms are also being used less often.

Most of the reported cases are coming from gay men. Currently, Vegas has the highest rate of syphilis infection in the western United States. Only Washington, DC, surpasses it nationwide.

8 Measles

In 2000, the United States declared that measles had been “eliminated.” However, in 2014, a massive outbreak started in California’s Disneyland. Eighty-four individuals in 14 states were infected.

As of late 2016, there were 22 confirmed cases in Arizona alone. This doubles the annual rate of infections in the US. This is a grave concern because the disease can lead to encephalitis, blindness, and death.

The comeback is due to two factors: infections from abroad and the anti-vaccine movement. Measles infects 22 million worldwide each year. Epidemiologists traced the epicenter of the latest outbreak to Eloy Detention Center in Arizona. They believe that Patient Zero was from outside US borders.

Beginning in the 1960s, the US effectively eliminated measles with a comprehensive vaccination program. However, many are now refusing this precaution. When infected individuals come into contact with an unvaccinated population, the results can be disastrous.

7 Diphtheria

In 2015, Spain had its first case of diphtheria in 28 years. The victim was an eight-year-old boy from Catalonia. Despite Spain’s free and widely available vaccine program, the parents had decided not to inoculate their son.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, diphtheria ravaged the Iberian Peninsula. One particularly bad outbreak was known as the “year of strangulations.”

Caused by Cornynebacterium diphtheriea, diphtheria typically targets young children and adults over 60. It claims the life of 1 in 10 patients infected with the disease.

The bacteria contain a toxin which kills human tissue. It leaves dead membranes that coat the throat, making it hard to breathe and swallow. The toxin can also enter the bloodstream and attack internal organs.

6 Typhoid Fever

Typhoid fever is a deadly bacterial disease related to foodborne salmonella. There are 16–30 million cases a year, resulting in 600,000 deaths. The disease is a particular threat in developing counties with a high population density and inadequate sanitation.

Typhoid fever is usually contracted from eating or drinking contaminated water. It symptoms are high fever, abdominal pain, headaches, and nausea. It is particularly virulent among children and has a high infant mortality rate. The disease can be treated with better sanitation, safe drinking water, and improved hygiene.

Typhoid is on the rise, even in the United States. Oklahoma recently saw an outbreak just north of the state capital. The epidemic was traced back to a single family. It was believed that they contracted the disease outside the United States. Florida has also seen a rapid increase in typhoid.

5 Polio

The Americas, Europe, the western Pacific, and Southeast Asia have all been declared polio free by the World Health Organization. This gives the illusion that polio is a thing of the past. It is not.

As the World Health Organization was on the verge of declaring Africa polio free, two cases emerged in Nigeria. The remote northern Borno State is under the control of Boko Haram, the radical Islamic militants. Health workers have limited windows to vaccinate the populace, usually after Boko Haram abandons a location. Afghanistan and Pakistan have also seen outbreaks of this “wild” polio.

Ukraine also had a recent polio outbreak. What differentiates their crisis is that it was contracted from the weakened polio strains in the vaccine. Given that only half of Ukraine’s population is immunized, this could have grave results.

4 Bubonic Plague

The bubonic plague is horrific. Symptoms include fever, abdominal pain, swollen lymph nodes, and nausea. It was responsible for the Black Death of the 13th century, which killed 60 percent of the European population. Another 19th-century epidemic killed an estimated 10 million.

One recent fatal case caused Chinese officials to quarantine the entire city of Yumen. Last year, an outbreak in Madagascar left 39 dead. Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico are also hotbeds for the disease. There is an average of seven cases per year in the United States. However, there were more than 15 cases in 2015.

Yersinia pestis, the bacteria that causes the disease, can be successfully treated by antibiotics. Early treatment reduces the mortality rate to 16 percent. However, if left untreated, the fatality rate can be as high as 93 percent. Antibiotic-resistant strains have been identified, causing great concern among epidemiologists.

3 Leprosy

Officially known as Hansen’s disease, leprosy can lead to disfigurement, blindness, and even death. Considered by many to be an ancient ailment, leprosy is alive and well. The United States has an average of 150 cases a year.

Most thought these were the result of exposure to the disease in remote corners of the globe, where leprosy lingers. However, recent studies have revealed that these are homegrown infections passed on by the most unlikely of sources: armadillos.

The high number of leprosy infections in southern states prompted epidemiologists to explore the possible link to the armored critters. Analysis revealed that infected armadillos and humans share a genetically similar strain. The unique strain was found in 25 human patients and 28 armadillos. Fortunately, the disease is treatable with antibiotics if caught early.

2 Dengue Fever

Dengue fever is ravaging the tropics. This mosquito-borne disease causes fever, joint pain, and possibly death. In late 2016, a 13-year-old girl in Karachi passed away from the disease. This makes her the fourth victim in Pakistan’s recent outbreak.

In 2015, there were 40 dengue fever deaths in Pakistan alone. Worldwide, the yearly death toll is near 20,000. The United States is not immune. In 2015, Hawaii saw the largest outbreak of the disease since it attained statehood, with 261 confirmed cases.

The dengue fever vaccine Dengvaxia recently hit the market after 20 years of development. Unfortunately, this vaccine might be as deadly as the disease. Dengue fever works by antibody-dependent enhancement. The antibodies developed from first exposure are not only useless, but they actually aid the virus the second time around.

People need to be careful as to how they administer the vaccine, or it could lead to more hospital visits. It is most effective when given to people who have already had the disease.

1 Cholera

Cholera is deadly diarrhea. Before 2010, Haiti had not experienced a rash of cholera in over 100 years. However, in 2010, infections sprang up along the Meille River. Over 400 UN peacekeepers were housed in this area. They were fresh from Nepal, which was in the midst of a cholera crisis. The base’s waste flowed into a part of the Meille.

The United Nation’s official apology came late for the 10,000 killed in the outbreak. The UN could have reduced the epidemic by 91 percent if they had treated the peacekeepers for cholera—at a cost of $1 per patient. The Haitian outbreak is still not under control.

But this disease is not limited to underdeveloped tropical backwaters. South Korea recently reported its first homegrown cholera infection in 15 years. During the 19th century, this disease ravaged the region. It killed 400,000—nearly half the population. South Korean officials do not believe the recent outbreak will lead to an epidemic. But no one can be certain.

+Further Reading

These diseases aren’t the only things making a come back! So are these lists from the archives:

10 Dreadful Symptoms Of Deadly Diseases
Top 10 Gruesome Disfiguring Diseases
Top 10 Odd Diseases With No Known Cause
10 Horrifying Diseases You Definitely Don’t Want To Catch

Abraham Rinquist is the Executive Director of the Winooski, Vermont, branch of the Helen Hartness Flanders Folklore Society. He is the coauthor of Codex Exotica and Song-Catcher: The Adventures of Blackwater Jukebox.

Trends are like the seasons. They come, and they go. Sometimes, trends become stronger than ever. Other times, we move to the next one quickly. Many things from the 20th century became obsolete as we moved into the digital era, when being equipped with a mobile phone gives you access to so much.

However, many seemingly old-fashioned things are making a big comeback in 2020 for some interesting reasons.

Top 10 Extremely Cool Retro Style Gifts

10 Record Players And Vinyls

For many years, records were the optimal way to listen to music. People brought up in the age of vinyl fondly remember their visits to record stores to check out the latest releases and add them to their growing collections.

But as the digital age approached and tapes and CDs changed the industry, vinyl became obsolete. Physical media itself became outdated in the 2000s when streaming and downloading became the number one way to listen to music.

In 2020, statistics say that record player sales are rising and that younger generations are collecting vinyls.^[1] It seems that having a physical copy of something—in some cases, records that are 40–50 years old—is better than just having a digital download.

Nowadays, special-edition vinyls are often released alongside digital albums, singles, and even film soundtracks. We see this as a reverse trend of what happened in the early digital age when everybody tossed their CDs. Some people now regret their decisions to throw away their vinyl records.

9 Classic Video Games

Over the last decade, many classic video games have made comebacks with mixed success. Few have really been blockbusters.

However, 2020 promises to be the year in which one of the most significant games of the 20th century is recreated. Square Enix’s Final Fantasy 7 is slated for release in April. This follows a trend over the past few years in which blockbuster games such as Crash Bandicoot and Spyro have been remastered or remade.^[2]

If Final Fantasy 7 becomes a commercial success, video game companies will likely follow the trend and remake games that were successful years ago. On top of this, many classic video games were rendered obsolete when older cables like SCART were switched to HDMI. Currently, these games can only be accessed by an emulator. But many are being made available on both iOS and Android so they can be enjoyed by new generations of gamers.

8 Mullets

The mullet—the hairstyle of the 1980s—is making a comeback. Just ask famous All Blacks rugby player Jack Goodhue. The hairstyle dubbed “business at the front, party at the back” was hugely popular in the 1980s and rivals the mustache as a symbol of the decade. Then came the 1990s, and many people had their mullets chopped off.

However, with the popular success of shows such as Stranger Things, the mullet is returning as an edgy and trendsetting hairstyle in the new decade. According to research from The Guardian, hairdressers in London are cutting at least “one or two” per week and the increase is noticeable.^[3]

The reemergence of the mullet has been linked to a more open and accepting society in which gender-neutral haircuts are in fashion. The mullet is one of the most gender-neutral haircuts possible. Perhaps this explains its newfound popularity.

7 Unions

During the 1950s and ’60s, the UK and the US had many people in their workforces represented by labor unions. In the US, about 35 percent of workers were said to be unionized in the 1950s.^[4]

That number now stands at just 10–11 percent. Some millennials and members of Generation Z simply don’t know what a labor union is. In today’s service-driven economy, workers have been unable to unionize as their manufacturing counterparts did decades ago.

However, in the last two years, the union movement has become “stronger than it has been in decades” according to Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO. In fact, the movement is in the beginning of a resurgence.

A 2015 Gallup poll found that 58 percent of Americans expressed a favorable opinion of unions. If this level of support can be harnessed into actual paying memberships, we could be looking at a revival of labor unions in the workplace.

6 Stephen King

Although his achievements stretch beyond a single genre, master horror novelist Stephen King hit his peak of popularity in the 1970s and ’80s with classic novels such as Carrie, The Shining, and It. During this period, many of his works were turned into blockbuster movies, most famously The Shining starring Jack Nicholson.

However, during the late 1990s and early 2000s, King spent a good deal of his time writing books for The Dark Tower series and his popularity arguably waned. Adaptations of his novels also slowed. As a result, many millennials grew up without being interested in or exposed to his writing.^[5]

However, the rise of streaming services like Netflix and Hulu and the immediate need to create content has caused a resurgence in the popularity of King’s novels and the film and TV adaptations of his work. In the last few years alone, King adaptations have included It and It Chapter Two, The Dark Tower, Pet Sematary, In the Tall Grass, and the hugely popular show Castle Rock. There have also been TV shows like 11.22.63 on Hulu and The Outsider on HBO.

It is truly remarkable how much content based on Stephen King’s fiction is currently being churned out. This has given his illustrious career a second wind in the modern era. If young people didn’t know Stephen King when they were growing up, they will surely know him now.

10 Memes And Trends That Are Secretly Centuries Old

5 Houseplants

During the 1950s and ’60s, many homeowners used houseplants to add an interesting decorative appeal to their rooms. This trend was largely gone by the 1990s as technology and flashier house decorations took over.

However, houseplants such as spider plants and snake plants are making a comeback. According to the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), average sales of houseplants skyrocketed by 60 percent in the second half of 2019—thanks largely to the rise of Instagram and the culture of proudly posting pictures of your house.^[6]

With a rising interest in veganism and the climate crisis, people seem to be ditching traditional ornaments and buying houseplants. Some individuals attribute this to the millennials’ wish to take care of something that’s real in a world that’s becoming more virtual by the day.

4 Shag Carpets

During the 1970s, the most popular form of interior design was the overuse of shag—those extra-thick, bouncy, and fluffy rugs or carpets you see in films such as Austin Powers or TV shows like Mad Men. At the Summer 1970 Home Furnishings Market, the story was shag in a variety of colors and forms. It was even used on walls.

By the 1990s, shag had been replaced with beige rugs and laminate flooring. However, shag may be set to make a dramatic comeback. According to online reports, shag rugs are becoming a trendy option to spruce up living areas and make them cozier.^[7]

Although the specific carpet designs of the ’70s are being left behind, modern fashions in shag have given it a new lease on life. This may be the beginning of a trend that recreates the styles of the 1970s as people seek more vibrancy and unique twists in their homes to promote through social media.

3 Social Boundaries

Before the days of social media, individuals had social boundaries. Other people did not know where you had been, whom you had been with, or what you had been doing. People also didn’t know what you were cooking or eating. Sometimes, they weren’t even aware of what you did for a living. If someone wanted to get in touch with you, there was no way to DM.

The boundaries in the old days were both limiting and liberating. Switch to the digital era, and all this information is widely available in the public domain. Many people share every aspect of their lives for the world to see, and the lack of boundaries in their private lives has never been more obvious.

However, it seems that a backlash is occurring in 2020. People are suddenly ditching social media and striving for more social boundaries. They are leaving Facebook as well as blocking and muting more individuals on other social media accounts. Celebrities and sports stars have been noticeably dropping social media after citing the pressure it brings.

More people are interested in living minimalist lifestyles that harken back to the pre-digital era. Privacy and the joy of missing out (JOMO) are slowly but surely replacing intrusion and the fear of missing out (FOMO).^[8]

2 Tea Strainers

Prior to the invention of the humble tea bag, people made tea with different types of infusers and strainers. These strainers contained loose leaves which were said to brew a stronger and more flavorful cup of tea.

However, in the early 20th century in the United States, small silken bags were used to package loose tea leaves and customers accidentally dipped these bags straight in the water. From then on, infusers and strainers were increasingly put on the back burner until it became common to brew tea with a tea bag.^[9]

However, in recent years, tea straining has been making a comeback as young people prefer the less processed option of loose leaf. As millennials and younger generations turn their backs on mass-produced items in favor of supporting locally produced, fresher options, it seems that changes are also heating up in the tea industry.

1 World Division And Mistrust

Unfortunately, not all trends on this list are positive. In 2020, it seems that the world is sliding back into Cold War mistrust and paranoia, largely driven by political factions that seek to gain power from it. In the past few years, some have cited the election examples of Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro while others look to Bernie Sanders and Nancy Pelosi as polarizing figures.

But these are simply a sign of the times in 2020.

The emergence of racial intolerance in various regions across the globe and the use of social media to spread this message has made it feel like the world has taken a step backward. The climate crisis is often belittled and not taken seriously (or not believed at all).

Countries like Russia are still using covert tactics to manipulate world politics and create mistrust. It is no wonder that the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has its Doomsday Clock currently sitting at 100 seconds to midnight. They describe the world as perilous and chaotic.^[10]

This is the closest that the Doomsday Clock has ever been to midnight. Let’s hope we follow the trend of the 20th century and eventually steer clear of nuclear disaster.

10 Modern Fashion Trends And Their Fascinating Histories

Researchers forecast that the international market for video games will grow at nearly 13% a year until, by 2030, it will be worth around $580 billion. With such an incredible amount of money at stake, game developers are constantly trying to find a game that will capture the public’s imagination and be the next big thing.

Ever-developing technology means that games are more and more sophisticated. Companies are spending huge sums in the hunt for success. Games appear and quickly disappear without leaving much of a mark. Yet, despite technological progress, some older games persist and become popular again.

We have recently seen board games (Monopoly is an example) surge in popularity. And some of the reasons why this is true of board games also apply to old video games. Nostalgia is one reason. People remember playing something years ago and want to take another look at it. Often, they are interested in something other than the latest version of an old favorite—they want to play the same game they played way back when. Familiarity is comforting.

Another motive connected to nostalgia is that players know what to expect. They remember the game and know how to play it. They don’t have to study a manual or watch videos on YouTube to learn how to play. A third reason is that these games are often simple and straightforward. The task is clear, and a player doesn’t get bogged down in complexity.

Our list contains games of various types, from challenges to role-plays. Some have never entirely disappeared, and some have made comebacks that seem surprising. Here are ten classic video games making a comeback.

Related: 10 Bizarre Video Games That Actually Exist

10 Pac Man

First released in 1980, Pac-Man became the iconic game of that decade. Because video games were a novelty, almost any game would find players. But Pac-Man’s simple but attractive graphics, loveable characters, and simple game plan turned players into addicts.

It might have been easy to play, but it was tough to master. A player could always try to get a higher score next time. And players spent an endless amount of quarters trying to outscore themselves and their friends. You could never win at Pac-Man because there was no end-point.

So far, Pac-Man has raked in over $14 billion and sold around 48 million copies. In 2005, Guinness World Records named it the most successful coin-operated game of all time.

Its popularity waned as more sophisticated games appeared, but constant tweaks and its wide availability drew in new generations of fans.

9 World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft came onto the market in 2004 and was an immediate hit. Critics and players loved it, and it quickly became the most successful multiplayer online role-playing game ever, with an astonishing 12 million subscribers in 2010.

The developer, Blizzard Entertainment, released World of Warcraft to build on the Warcraft franchise that had started with the release of Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994. This real-time strategy game reached a wide public, but the public turned away from these types of games in the early 2000s. World of Warcraft was the answer that reached a new audience and ensured that the world of Azeroth continued to draw people in.

Expansion packs keep the game fresh and ensure that having made one comeback, it won’t need another.

8 Doom

Doom is a phenomenon. Originally released in 1993, it’s had its ups and downs but remains popular. When Windows released the Windows 95 operating system, more computers had Doom loaded on them than Windows 95. Over the years, the creators have released new versions of the Doom franchise. But the original keeps coming back.

Other first-person shooter games came onto the market, but Doom was always the one they had to beat.

People still find the original Doom entertaining because it’s easy to navigate and not over-complicated.

7 Dragon Quest

It’s said that when a new edition of Dragon Quest appeared on the market in Japan, people would call in sick to get their hands on a copy before their friends. True or not, the tale shows how popular Dragon Quest was in its native country.

Dragon Quest first came out in 1986 and was very popular in Japan. This popularity didn’t spread to the United States, where sales were sluggish despite good reviews. In the States, the game was called Dragon Warrior until the release of Dragon Quest VIII in 2005. Then, Americans started looking at previous releases.

The developers claim that its popularity relies on the fact that anyone can play it at the level that suits them best. You don’t need to plow through a manual before you start playing; it’s intuitive and fun.

6 Myst

A game that gives a player little information, no clear reason to play, and no obvious enemies is destined for the scrap heap. But Myst was a surprise hit, and critics call it one of the best video games ever made.

Players must work out what they should do and explore Myst’s interactive world. There are puzzles that the player has to solve, but there is no shooting. Myst is a mind game that players love.

People loved its impressive graphics and the challenge, but other games came along and overshadowed Myst. But it keeps coming back. The original version is still a challenge and still fresh. Some people turn back to Myst for nostalgic reasons, and new generations of players have a look at it to see what all the fuss was about. But once in, they are hooked.

5 Chrono Trigger

Some reviewers have described Chrono Trigger as a masterpiece. Square, the developer, released the original in 1995 and clearly had invested a lot of time and love in creating what was an immediate success. This role-playing game has a team of adventurers traveling through time to prevent a catastrophe. Gamers loved it.

Despite its age, the graphics still look great today. The well-developed characters and the soundtrack keep the game fresh, and it still compares well with more modern games.

Chrono Trigger has remained popular through the years, but there are regular surges of new gamers discovering it for the first time.

4 EarthBound

Perhaps American gamers didn’t like being parodied in EarthBound. This Japanese role-playing game was set in Eagleland, a fictional parody of the United States. This 1994 game was a success in Japan—where it was known as Mother 2—but made little impact on American gamers. The developers changed the name in the United States because Mother 2 was the sequel to a game that never appeared on the American market.

The game was intentionally flaky and marketed in the U.S. under the slogan “This Game Stinks.” Americans took the creators at their word and didn’t buy it.

Or most Americans didn’t. It developed a small cult following and made its comeback largely through word of mouth. Critics, most of whom had originally panned the game, came to see it as interesting and different. Its popularity increased, and people are still playing it today.

3 Quake

Sinister and dark, Quake is a first-person shooter game developed by id Software. In the single-player mode, the gamer tries to stop an alien known as Quake. Quake has taken over a human-designed teleporter and is using the device to send kamikaze squads into our world to test our ability to fight back.

When it was originally released in 1996, critics praised Quake, which was immediately popular with gamers. Quake was the successor to Doom and did well for many years as new versions came out.

The original game looks dated, but people have been giving it another look even though it is unsophisticated by modern standards. Perhaps people turn back to it precisely because it’s dated and fairly simple. It’s video gaming’s answer to comfort food.

2 Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic the Hedgehog has scuttled from video consoles to appear in books, comics, and films. Add merchandise to these media, and you have a cultural icon. First released in 1991 by Sega, Sonic and his battles with the evil Doctor Eggman were, for many, their introduction to online gaming.

When it came out, Sonic was the obvious competitor to Mario and became just as popular. Later versions of Sonic have yet to be as well-received as the original. But Sonic has remained a favorite since the beginning.

A recent boost in popularity is perhaps because the first Sonic fans now have children of their own and are introducing them to Sonic’s world.

1 Tetris

The Tetris website modestly claims:

“Tetris is the addictive puzzle that started it all, embracing our universal desire to create order out of chaos.”

Originally designed by Soviet software engineer Alexey Pajitnov, Tetris has been frustrating players since 1984. Like Pac-Man, Tetris is a game you can’t win; it will always beat you. The best that a player can do is to better their previous score.

Tetris never went away, but it faded into the background. It was a game that everyone knew, but few played. This has changed. Its availability on virtually all platforms means you can play it anywhere, anytime, when you have a few moments to fill.

It’s simple and addictive. And this is the reason why it’s coming back.

A surprising number of foods enjoyed by our ancient forebears remain a commonly consumed part of diets around the world in modern times. Among them of course is bread, in different forms and styles depending on the cultures of the consumers. Another is beer, considered a food to the ancients. The builders of the Great Pyramids of Giza provided the workers with over four liters of beer each day, which served as both refreshment and nutrition. Likely it inspired a low absentee rate as well.

Other foods consumed in ancient times have fallen by the wayside over the centuries, for various reasons. One is extinction. For example, there is ample evidence that prehistoric man hunted mastodons, likely for food, as well as for the acquisition of a fur coat. Alas, roast mastodon is no longer possible. But other foods enjoyed by the ancients remain available and should be considered for a return to modern menus and dinner tables. Here are 10 such foods, offered for consideration for discriminating palates.

10. Peacocks and Peahens

The ancient Romans enjoyed a showy display during their feasts and celebrations, with the presentation of food an important part of the repast. Modern day chefs and cooks are taught the importance of presentation as well. For the Romans, a roasted peacock arrived at banquet tables adorned with its tailfeathers and wings displayed. The practice continued well into medieval times, usually at the tables of the well-to-do. How and when it died out is hard to say. In some areas, it hasn’t died out at all; at least, the consumption of peafowl remains a practice.

Peafowl are members of the family which includes pheasant, turkey, and quail, the consumption of which remains common. A quick internet search reveals numerous recipes for peafowl, including roasting a whole bird, cooking individual parts of the bird, or making peafowl sausage. In China they are bred commercially for consumption. Certainly, a whole roasted peacock, prepared and presented in the ancient manner would appear a more sumptuous meal than a mere turkey or chicken. Or… maybe not.

9. Posca

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1nR08R9sZw

The ancient Romans, both the peasant farmers and soldiers in the legions, enjoyed a potable known as posca. Posca consisted of cheap, low-quality wine or wine vinegar, flavored with herbs and spices, to which water was added. The acid of the vinegar acted to kill most of the germs in the water, should it be contaminated, and the result was a healthful drink. It helped hydrate and refresh its consumers, and was especially popular in the Roman army, which carried it on the march in large barrels, premixed.

The Romans believed posca fortified them, as it were, on the march and in camp. Their commanders, in part to help foster the belief, consumed posca, though in general upper class Romans detested the drink.  Consuming good wine was considered detrimental to discipline and a violation of duty while on a military campaign, and many Roman commanders took posca instead, including Julius Caesar and Hadrian. They believed that if posca was good enough for the commander, the men in the ranks should expect nothing better.

8. Carob

Carob is known today as the basis for ersatz chocolate. Native to the Mediterranean region, it was well known to the Greeks and Romans in ancient times. Carob is a flowering plant, a member of the legume family which includes both peas and beans. Nowadays it is commonly found dried and ground into powder, or in prepared foods such as carob chips or bars. Some people enjoy carob as a beverage, dubiously claiming it to be as tasty as real cocoa.

The Romans, and the Greeks before them, considered carob a fruit, and devoured it as such. The edible seeds, as with peas and beans, grow in a pod. Romans encountering carob shrubs with ripe pods simply ate the seeds directly from the branch, without further preparation. Carob is seldom found commercially today in anything but dried form, but if it was good enough for the Romans fresh from the tree, it should be good enough for us.

7. Garum

Garum was the Roman name for a sauce used as a condiment across the ancient Mediterranean. It was enjoyed by the Phoenicians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Carthaginians, and in the Arab world. Surely such a popular condiment would be welcome today. It likely would be, if one was unaware of what it was made from, and the process of its preparation. It is said it offered a savory taste, used in which to dip bread, and flavor meat and vegetables.

To make it, cooks first created a brine. They then added fish intestines, which marinated in the brine until well pickled, at least 48 hours. The mixture was then mashed, no doubt offering an appetizing scent and sight, after which it was allowed to ferment for several weeks. Sometimes it was dried into a thick paste, called muria, and used similarly to salt. The best garum used in the homes of the wealthy was expensive, as would be expected of pickled fish guts. Garum was commercially manufactured and exported by the Romans, and a kosher version was discovered in the ruins of Pompeii, indicating it was part of Jewish cuisine as well.

6. Chian Wine

Chian wine was a product of the Greek island of Chios, and considered by the ancient Greeks, and later the Romans, as the finest of all wines. They called it black wine, though it was likely a deep red color. Plutarch described it as expensive, but worth it. By the fourth century BCE, Chios exported a great deal of the stuff to Athens. The Greek geographer and historian Strabo considered it the finest wine in Greece at the time. Chian wine was not aged in oak barrels, but earthenware jars called amphorae, which may have accounted for its special taste.

The ancient Romans regarded beer with disdain, since it was the preferred beverage of the Celts, Britons, and other barbarians. They preferred wines, and the black wines of Chios were held in high esteem by the elite of Roman society as the finest available. Until the 1st century CE Chian wines were expensive and rare in Rome, and used mainly as a medicine for those who could afford it. It later became more affordable, at least for the wealthy. The famed physician Galen considered its medicinal properties were extensive, and prescribed it for a wide variety of maladies, including somewhat understandably, melancholia.

5. Lard

In the ancient Mediterranean the staple fats were oils, primarily from the olive, but also from sesame and other sources. In Ancient China, as far back as 4000 BCE, pork and domestic chickens were consumed. The fatty portions of domestic hogs were rendered into lard, used as both a cooking fat and a lubricant by the Chinese. Its use traveled westward many centuries later, though its use never achieved much popularity in the Mediterranean diet, for both religious and cultural reasons.

Those beer drinking barbarians liked it though, and for many more centuries it was the preferred cooking fat in western cooking. Eventually, after its cholesterol raising qualities were better understood, it fell into disuse. Those who support English style cooking, and those of the American south still consider lard to be the best fat used for baking biscuits and piecrusts, and for many other culinary applications. As one famous American chef is wont to say, pork fat rules.

4. Melas Zomos (Black Soup)

A dish favored by the Spartans, who believed it gave them strength and endurance, was called melas zomos. It served as a staple for the troops of the Spartan armies and was, unsurprisingly, evidently created by army cooks. No actual recipe for the soup survives in writing, though it is described in legends and Spartan mythology. Its primary ingredient was pork.

To prepare it, cooks drained the blood of a freshly slaughtered pig into a cooking vessel. The legs of the pig were added (symbolizing the arms and legs of the soldiers who would eat it) and vinegar was then added to prevent the blood from clotting and extend the soup. This delightful concoction was then boiled until the cook deemed it ready for serving. Legend has it that a man from Sybaris, in Northern Italy, once tasted the soup and declared it the reason Spartans didn’t fear death. “Dead men require no longer to eat” he reportedly said. Sybaris, by the way, was a city notorious for excess luxury gluttony, and gave us the word “sybarite.”

3. Silphium

The ancient Egyptians, Minoans, Greeks, and Romans all used an herb known as silphium. The Romans used it extensively, sprinkling it on foods as a seasoning. Some believe it to have been a type of celery, others claim it was similar to fennel. It grew in the wild in the coastal areas of modern-day Libya. Speculation that it was used as graze for animals, which led to its extinction before the onset of the common era, is described in some of the writings of the ancients. There was also speculation among ancient writers that the plant resisted cultivation, and over-harvesting of the wild plant led to its extinction. To put it bluntly, though it is referred to widely in ancient writings and even appears on ancient coinage, nobody is certain what it actually was.

The Greeks and the Romans believed that in addition to its wildly popular flavor, it acted as both an aphrodisiac and a contraceptive. That combination of properties alone would certainly contribute to its popularity. The traditional heart shape as seen in Valentines is believed to be representative of the seeds of silphium. Hippocrates lauded its medicinal qualities; it was used to treat ailments of the throat, indigestion, and even warts. What the ancients called silphium is believed to be extinct, though its exact identity is unknown. That’s too bad, since a plant which could flavor foods, produce perfumes, act as a contraceptive, remove warts and serve as an aphrodisiac would certainly be of value today.

2. Pigeons

For many who live in urban areas the pigeon is ubiquitous. City dwellers often consider them little more than feathered rats. Numerous American cities have adopted falcons as a means of controlling the growth of pigeon flocks, though the pigeon population expands constantly. The ancients dealt with pigeons too, though through different means. They ate them. They ate a lot of them. Pigeons were considered a cheap and freely available source of meat, and the ancients ate them across the world, in both classic antiquity and in less developed societies, such as in North America.

They continued to be popular as food well into the 19th century in Europe and America with one particular species, the passenger pigeon, eaten into extinction in 1901. There has been discussion of using DNA from existing specimens of passenger pigeons to clone the species, though not as a potential food source. Considering the large numbers of pigeons extant in American cities and towns such an effort seems unnecessary. Pigeons are alleged to have a flavor similar to chicken (what doesn’t?) and numerous recipes for their preparation from both ancient and more recent times exist.

1. Moretum

The Romans, at least the more well-to-do of them, enjoyed a dish which would be readily recognized today. They also enjoyed it in the same manner as its modern-day counterparts, as a snack or light meal. There is evidence it was offered by vendors in the arena at Pompeii and the Colosseum in Rome, a nosh to enjoy while viewing gladiatorial combat. Called moretum, it was essentially a cheese spread eaten with bread. It was made using a mortar and pestle, the former of which gave it its name.

Fresh cheese, most likely soft goat cheese, was mixed with herbs, oils, vinegars, wine, and nuts, or combinations thereof, and mashed into a paste. There were countless varieties of flavors for moretum, and it was eaten on several different styles of breads, including flatbreads resembling today’s pizza crusts. A garlic version was a predecessor of modern pesto. Dried and fresh fruits could also be added, creating a sweet moretum to be offered alongside its savory cousin. It was likely closest to modern cream cheese-based spreads in both consistency and taste, and was enjoyed throughout the empire by those who could afford it. It would certainly be so enjoyed today.