In medieval times, when the bubonic plague was ravaging Europe, so-called doctors donned outfits as terrifying as the diseases they attempted to treat. The outfits looked something like this:
In those days, the widely accepted theory among physicians was that disease was spread through foul odors. As such, the long-beaked leather mask would be stuffed with sweet-smelling herbs such as mint, cloves and myrrh. It was thought that counteracting smells from the herbs would prevent the doctors from contracting the plague. Holes in the mask for breathing, however, often caused the doctors to