What I Learned in School Today

I was filling in for a middle school social studies class today. The 7th graders were learning about The Black Death, also known as the bubonic plague. That made for some really bad times in Europe back in the days. My favorite tidbit I picked up today was the following paragraph in their handout:

One band of warriors, while laying seige to the city gates of the port of Caffa on the Russian Crimean Sea, fell victim to the Black Death. Rather than retreat, they loaded their catapults with the putrid corpses of dead comrades, and flung them into the city, spreading the disease among their enemies.

I thought that was rather gross, but also rather brilliant military strategy. I wonder if the Russians can employ this strategy to take over the Ukraine while playing Axis and Allies, because as we all know, the Ukraine is weak.


Meanwhile in a kindergarden class, check out the kind of work they have to do:



You don't want to know what they had to do with Penguin Pete.