So two religios leaders in the town, Thomas Stanley and William Mompesson, got together and came up with a plan. They would put the entire village of Eyam under quarantine. And they did. For over a year nobody went in and nobody went out.

They put up signs on the edge of town as warning and left money in vinegar filled basins that people from out of town would leave food and supplies by.

However, they did successfully prevent the disease from spreading to the nearby town of Sheffield, even then a much bigger town, and likely saved the lives of thousands of people in the north of England through their sacrifice.

Here’s the thing. One third of the residents of Eyam died during their quarantine, but the Black Plague was known to have a NINETY PERCENT death rate. As high as the toll was, it wasn’t as high as it should have been. And a few hundred years later, some historians and doctors got to wondering why.

Fortunately, Eyam is one of those wonderful places that really hasn’t changed much in hundreds of years. Researchers, going to visit, found that many of the current residents were direct descendants of the plague survivors from the 1600s. By doing genetic testing, they learned that a high number of Eyam residents carried a gene that made them immune to the plague. And still do.

And it gets even better than that, because the gene that blocks the Black Plague? Also turns out to block AIDS, and was instrumental in helping to find effective medication for people who have HIV and AIDS in the 21st century.

A TikTok posted by @lollipoplaughs . A white man with a beard and a Southern accent speaks to the camera with a serious expression, while a chicken pecks at his camera from somewhere offscreen. He says:

“You know what I hate? Spiders. And mosquitoes. But I don’t like all them sprays–like citronellas. And torches make you look like a racist. So, I invented an eco-friendly, race-neutral mosquito and spider repellent. It’s called ‘chicken.’”

(At this point the camera pans out a little to reveal that the chicken is sitting on the man’s shoulder. The man continues:)

“Alright–chicken can take out any airborne insect flying around your skull within a 1.5 foot radius. If they biting you on the leg, just drop him on the ground. Chicken don’t care!”

(He turns to address the chicken, saying: “Right, chicken?” Then he pans the camera over so that only the chicken is visible. The chicken pecks at the camera once, as the man says, “Get ‘em, chicken. Bite ‘em. That’s right.” Then he pans the camera back over and finishes his spiel:)

“It’s a good chicken. Does what it’s supposed to. So buy it now, look – 1-800-buy-a-fuckin-chicken. Have a good one!”

When the contestant was singing his song, they also showed this: