> temp > à-trier > why-didn-t-disease-flow-both-ways-when-the-old-world-conquered-the-americas-cgp-grey

Why Disease Only Traveled One Direction

CGP Grey - 2015-11-23

Why didn't the Europeans get sick when they made contact with the American Indians?

Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOmjnioNulo

Special Thanks:

Brian Mitchell, Danny Z, Joe Pantry, TheAlphaFactor, Duhilio Patiño, Benjamin Morrison, Jordan Melville, Mike Lanier, Martin, Steven Grimm, Alistair Forbes, Lou Rivellini, Tom Maher, Richard Jenkins, Chris Chapin, ChoiceMechanicalDenver.com, سليمان العقل, Andres Villacres, Phil Gardner, Nevin Spoljaric, Tony DiLascio, Robert Kunz, Tod Kurt, Daniel Slater, Sam Pitts, Thomas J Miller Jr MD, Markus Persson, Wenhao Nie, Today I Found Out, Patricio Fons, Mark Govea

@StevenKluber - 2020-11-03

“You can’t build a civilization on honey alone.”
I guess hexagons aren't the bestagons.

@noinfo101roblox2 - 2020-11-09

Yet hexagons are not honey, they are made of wax. Hexagons, still the bestagons.

@aldenburke9799 - 2020-11-09

@noinfo101roblox2 :O

@User-jj1ng - 2020-11-09

@noinfo101roblox2 you can't build a civilization on wax alone too

@MrLrebelo1 - 2020-11-09

@User-jj1ng of course you can, if you put the wax in hexagon formations. M

@lavamatstudios - 2020-11-09

@User-jj1ng Bees disagree.

@pinecone27 - 2020-05-31

The YouTube algorithm has a real dark sense of humour.

@georgianaharris4865 - 2020-06-01

😔

@mattsupertramp6506 - 2020-06-03

And yet it works because here you are

@jonahnichols2158 - 2020-06-04

No, it's just that it sees more people watching this video and then sends it out to more people. Repeat.

@disaster_runner5030 - 2020-06-04

Jonah Nichols figures

@zacharyshannon9351 - 2020-06-04

Yep

@wisedred - 2020-10-05

"Being the patient zero of a new animal-to-human plague is winning a terrible lottery"
Sheesh, couldn't be more right

@chebic5095 - 2021-02-02

Patient zeros of those diseases are like some kind of nega-Dream

@wisedred - 2021-02-02

@chebic5095 yeah, just imagine how you must feel when your little trip to a market in some random country exposes the whole world to a massive pandemic.

@igorwojtyna2158 - 2021-04-14

Yeah imagine eating something almost nobody eats like a bat for example and catching some new sickness

@rootbeer4888 - 2021-04-15

@igorwojtyna2158 It was from WHCDC lab doing gain of function studies.

@linusp9316 - 2021-09-01

@igorwojtyna2158 Most people don't eat bat, even in China... unfortunately, Wuhan is about the size of Chicago in the USA (not a small town), so over years and years the likelihood of a virus jumping increases. :(

@FaffyWaffles - 2024-12-20

Apparently, Syphilis could be our actual Americapox

@Jamesishappy - 2025-03-02

This misses the point of the video, Syphilis isn't a plauge because it breeds by breeding

@electrosthefella - 2018-08-05

If smallpox is so deadly, I can't imagine how deadly BIGpox is

@EpicProductions121 - 2018-11-12

You mean chickenpox?

@thefreshpeepsarchive8913 - 2018-11-12

The Legend Heard of a joke.

@SomeMamaLuigis - 2018-11-30

maybe not but you can look it up, known as the Great Pox or Syphilis.

@Meeeeeeeeeeeeh34 - 2018-12-01

Booooooo

@Jin-bq4fx - 2018-12-07

Get off the stage!

@Trinexx42 - 2017-04-12

"Now most germs don't want to kill you for the same reason you don't want to burn down your house" this quote is absolutely perfect in every sense of the word.

@PramkLuna - 2019-04-12

Based on the internet, I'm pretty sure those germs would kill you if they saw a spider the same reason most people would burn down their house if they saw a spider

@carterrissmiller2510 - 2019-05-02

Sounds like Logan Paul is the black death

@staticmind1872 - 2019-06-22

@PramkLuna if there are spiders inside me, fuck it I'll burn myself alive

@imdone8243 - 2019-07-12

My spider sense is tiggling

@FishuaJo - 2019-07-13

Bold of you to assume I don't want to burn down my house.

@entropy-cat - 2020-10-19

"But you can't build a civilization on a foundation of honey alone."

[Citation needed]

@jordank6961 - 2021-04-06

Time to crack open that civ launcher and give it a try 🤣

@chairwithoutwheels9148 - 2021-04-22

ahem minecraft 1.15 cough

@TitaniumSteelGreatest - 2021-07-15

@chairwithoutwheels9148 Worst update ever

@chairwithoutwheels9148 - 2021-07-15

@TitaniumSteelGreatest i agree i hated it, but worst update goes to 1.17

@simonwamsley5939 - 2021-07-25

@chairwithoutwheels9148 wh- why??

@sandrasandra8728 - 2021-09-11

Thank you so much for this episode! Back when we learned about American colonization in school my history teacher actually told the class that most natives got killed by european diseases, but when I asked why the same didn’t happen to the europeans with american diseases, the answer I got was: “They just didn’t.” This has bothered me for ages

@nenmaster5218 - 2021-10-09

Veritasium-Fans here?

Hbomberguy-Fans here?

CGP Grey Fans here?

Practical Engineering Fans here?

And yes, duh, this is an underhanded way to spread Fun and/or Education: Sue me!

Sue me for trying to help my fellow Science-Fans out a bit!!

@Drekromancer - 2022-02-15

@nenmaster5218 Based

@8ofwands300 - 2022-02-18

I thought syphilis came from the New World? Or at least that is the prevailing theory.

@duycuongnguyen6300 - 2022-02-19

@8ofwands300 yes. But it's like the only disease that come from the new world that somewhat affect the old world. And syphilis came no where near the destruction that the old world diseases had (small pox, influenza, bubonic plage,...).

@8ofwands300 - 2022-02-20

@duycuongnguyen6300 I realize that ...perhaps because it is sexually transmiited. AND I guess there is even some question about this hypothesis based on some British archeological digs of a pre Columbian monastery with well- preserved remains of Dark Age monks that show signs of advanced syphilis.

@TehVulpez - 2020-09-22

7:38 Even now, "buffalo" have only really been domesticated because they've been interbred with cattle. Breeders say the percent of cow DNA is basically how tame they are.

@alexandertownsend3291 - 2020-10-25

My takeaway from that is we should just stick to cattle domestication.

@a-nonmouse - 2021-01-17

@alexandertownsend3291 Look up heck cattle. Scary milk suckers...

@GP-qi1ve - 2022-08-16

anyway those are bisons not buffalos

@statelyelms - 2020-09-06

"Why is there no Americapox?"
"Germs jumping from animals to humans is extraordinarily rare"
Thanks, youtube algorithm. I feel better already.

@field5758 - 2020-09-15

We got lucky.

@outlawJosieFox - 2020-10-04

But that is most likely how we got Covid 19. Theory is that wildlife habitats are being destroyed in China to feed the ever growing number of slaves to feed the Chinese economic miracle. Those wild animals are forced onto rural arable land where they defecate and urinate their germs for us to catch. Somebody just has to not wash their hands before eating and bingo it's in a human being who will take it to a town then a city a factory and then abroad.

@trezapoioiuy - 2020-10-04

extraordinarily rare means that, given enough animals and enough people and enough time it WILL happen

@TheGrumbliestPuppy - 2020-10-06

​wantafanta01 Every group of scientists that have looked at it agree that it's a naturally evolved virus. Lab-created viruses look incredibly different.
Also bioweapon viruses typically wouldn't be designed to kill less than 1% of the population...

@Ugly_German_Truths - 2020-10-12

"Why is there no Americapox?"
Syphilis: "Am I a joke to you???"

@RickFrz - 2020-11-03

i love how he used hexagons even back then

@donaldwohlberg6043 - 2020-11-06

Hexagons are the bestagons!

@shrooms_clippy - 2020-11-12

HEXAGON CULT RISE

@robbiestrong-morse730 - 2021-01-11

Pretty sure it was a civ reference.

@thatdude1853 - 2021-01-13

This is actually an updated thumbnail.

@ellikesgymnastics1752 - 2021-01-23

300th like

@blazingsilver7218 - 2021-08-10

Speaking of cholera, I remember in high school when talking about Britain, my teacher said she rather have any alcohol than water back in those days, cause alcohol isn’t going to kill you like cholera.

@535phobos - 2021-08-17

Thats why we got beer and wine. People used to drink (quite weak) beer all day, cause even a little bit of alcohol means that there are no germs in your water.

@hrtzz_undrskor - 2021-08-25

@535phobos wow, thats interesting

@jintanarawdsukumaal3000 - 2021-09-03

but the drunkness' is worth it right ?

@dshe8637 - 2021-09-09

@jintanarawdsukumaal3000 It was quite dilute.
It did harm people in the long run, but they didn't live as long as nowadays anyway

@yareyare_dechi - 2021-09-20

@535phobos more that the production of alcohol involves heating the water, which kills the germs. the amount of alcohol in "small" beer wouldnt do anything to germs

@ajaxpinecone.2993 - 2020-12-25

YouTube channel: mentions the word "pandemic"
Comment section: OMG HE PREDICTED CORONA

@AlwaysSomeone - 2021-02-07

Everyone always thinks all of human history was leading up to their specific point in time, which is the most important to have ever been and will ever be.

@morfeuszkerzeusz1266 - 2021-04-17

@AlwaysSomeone That's one of the wisest comments I've ever read on YT. I have to note that somewhere.

@wu2166 - 2021-05-04

Well so did Bill Gates in a Vox interview but nobody really believed him

@Kholdilocks - 2021-05-25

I get what you mean but in all honesty a LOT of people did predict coronavirus. We'll have another one again before a crazy amount of time passes.

@randomizer3.14 - 2021-08-23

Lmao he explicitly says in the video that plagues are less common these days due to modern sanitation

@leepicfortnitefunniesxdfun4655 - 2020-03-27

3:47 “playground for plagues” you really missed an opportunity to say “plagueground”

edit: puns are the best humor and it would not mess up the vibe

@mileskuma4448 - 2020-05-16

bruh if grey used a pun in a video his vibe would be over

@masterblaster7484 - 2020-06-02

Miles Kuma yo clearly haven’t seen his recent videos

@Oscar4u69 - 2020-06-07

@mileskuma4448
8:33
you are wrong

@Quotenbrtchen - 2020-06-07

If only he had known about Plague Inc.

@Caldaron - 2020-06-08

maybe it's because this kind of humor is sub par?

@ClemensAlive - 2019-10-01

"Mommy, why are we the last ones of our kind?"
"Because there where no cows in America."

@chase522 - 2019-10-05

@numatichades0175 Yeah bruv, the white man doesn't want us to believe that the natives (before the whites came) had space travel tech and huge cities spanning the entire country!

@hapakal - 2019-10-07

@chase522 space travel tech?

@chase522 - 2019-10-10

@hapakal Yeah, the white man can't use their superior technology so they hid it away!

In a serious note this is as believable as the flat earth 'theory'. It's honestly amazing what people will believe in no matter how mindnumbingly stupid.

@nessa6135 - 2019-11-05

Chase What? Then whats the real answer, in that case? I thought this theory has been agreed upon for years.

@chase522 - 2019-11-09

@nessa6135 To imply the natives at the time had running water and plumbing is completely stupid. Did they have toilets, sinks, or even basic water wells? Well no, because they were too busy killing each other and performing sacrifices. It's the same reason why they didn't have spanning farms or any basic farming techniques and tools... they were nomadic, they had to be. Otherwise they would die staying in one place for too long.

@Taospark - 2022-04-17

It is also worth bearing in mind that Europeans did continually have outbreaks from their own plagues after arriving in the New World but they simply died at lower rates.

@thunderflare59 - 2018-04-10

"Nothing but drama, these llamas."
Horrible joke. 50 points from Ravenclaw.

@MishMill - 2018-10-23

Prince Thunderflare Snape……

@LeachZeech - 2018-10-30

*to

@janema6828 - 2018-11-28

200 points to Slytherin for the explanation

@rr____7-j4y - 2019-05-11

Yeah ravenclaw is the only house smart enough to understand that

@imdone8243 - 2019-07-12

DEATH TO THE STORMCLOAKS!!

@endofinnocence5992 - 2019-07-28

sheep 1: "You're a conspiracy theorist."
sheep 2: "No. The dog and the man are working together!"

@a_diamond - 2019-07-29

Gold.

@twosphere-e5f - 2019-07-29

Il Portico Dipinto A Shepard might use a dog to herd the sheep into a location.

@jimkid1392 - 2019-07-29

"Wake up! You're all just sheep!"
"Well....yeah."
"Oh. Right."

@drayblesolomonstribulation3045 - 2019-07-29

Best thing I ever let was the wolf to get that big ole bite... sheep ain't all that bad... check out what's in the wolf...

@PennyDreadful1 - 2019-07-29

The dog and the sheep never tried to hide it though. Conspiracy theories are just a search for meanings in a meaningless world. There are down to earth conspiracy theories that makes sense.
Like the U.S trying to keep democracy down in the middle East because they know the people hates them and would never trade oil with them if they were put in charge. If you can justify a theory with a profit motive it's strong.

@vlogbrothers - 2015-11-23

Great, great video. I'd add one thing: As Grey points out, living in a city pre-1900 had some downsides, specifically you were quite likely to die of plague. But living outside of cities also had some disadvantages--you were quite likely to die of starvation. The Old World had all the domesticatable animals, but the New World had much better non-animal food. Tomatoes, potatoes, corn, avocados, beans, squash, blueberries, and the list goes on. Most of the non-meat, non-wheat foods we associate with contemporary life--from peanuts to peppers--existed only in the New World. -John

@InorganicVegan - 2015-11-23

Bump. Also, John, Last Week tonight tore pennies up!

@garethdean6382 - 2015-11-23

+vlogbrothers 'You don't have any tasty snacks, but in compensation here's a load of lethal diseases. You'll be grateful a few millennia from now, trust me.'

@jamesh354 - 2015-11-23

+CGP Grey Please do listen to him, I think a lot of people would appreciate the effort.

@CompoundInterest-SG - 2015-11-23

As Jared Diamond explained in his book, the problem the New World had with respect to plant cultivation is that it is not very wide, compared with the Old World.
Plants tend to require a specific climate to thrive. But in the New World, when when great crops like potatoes and corn, which could potentially support large populations, were first cultivated, there were not many places with the same climate where the cultivation of those crops could spread to. That severely limited the potential of agriculture for ancient civilizations in the New World.

@michaelt6753 - 2015-11-23

+vlogbrothers Hey, it's the owner of VidCon that Brady talked about!

@fiberFLIM - 2021-09-13

"You can't build a civilization on a foundation of honey alone"
Ok then how did the bees do it?

@theeclipsemaster - 2021-11-27

They used the hexagon

@featgoose972 - 2022-06-18

@theeclipsemaster the bestagon

@theeclipsemaster - 2022-06-18

@featgoose972 YES!

@mrosskne - 2022-06-21

They didn't.

@theeclipsemaster - 2022-06-21

@mrosskne do you hear that sound? That's the joke going over your head

@jier9904 - 2017-06-29

"nothing but drama, these llamas"
-- CGP Grey (2015)

@JD867 - 2017-11-29

"Ever try to manage a herd of llamas in the mountains of Peru?!"

@Ida-xe8pg - 2018-05-28

yea that's why new world was lesser deavolepd than the old world

@peterisawesomeplease - 2018-07-05

Its a bit misleading though. The real issue with llamas is not so much that they are unruly but that they are just less useful. The produce less and do much much less work than old world animals.

@garganrose - 2018-07-16

Muhajir the Obama lama drama.

@thatdkguy5256 - 2018-11-04

Drama Llama is my spirit animal lol

@parallax5543 - 2020-10-13

Is nobody gonna talk about that CGP Grey changed the thumbnail of a 4 year old vid?

@peperoni_pepino - 2020-10-14

I have no idea what the previous thumbnail was or that it changed, and I'm probably not alone in that aspect.

@parallax5543 - 2020-10-14

@peperoni_pepino i remember it was like an old world map.

@peperoni_pepino - 2020-10-14

@parallax5543 Ah, then this is a pretty large change. Strange. I thought it would be something Covid-ly offensive.

@parallax5543 - 2020-10-14

@peperoni_pepino i think cgp grey is just trying to appeal to newer audiences by changing the thumbnail.

@niydfass1060 - 2020-10-14

@parallax5543 I feel like that has to be it. It definitely got me to watch the video again

@toonbat - 2017-08-22

"...an unintentional playground for plagues."

A plagueground?

@kaidatong1704 - 2018-06-03

plagueround ftfy

@kekils7722 - 2018-12-05

You savvy human being

@stikmiecockenner2098 - 2019-01-10

fhck

@chrisb2240 - 2019-01-11

God dammit barb!

@benjaminnewlon7865 - 2019-01-13

Well ok SANS

@_TheZipper_ - 2021-07-04

Humans after dog domestication: “Hey bud, could you guard my cheeseburger factory?”

@Egilhelmson - 2021-08-26

The problem with this theory is that the paleo Indians had dogs with them when they crossed the Bering Strait, and when the Europeans contacted them. There are still a couple of these breeds around, even if the European genes have taken over, largely.

Anyway, if there was any herding instinct left in the Ameridogs, it could have been used and intensified, just like in Eurasia/Africa (except for the problem of fewer people in the Americas than in Eurasia, so fewer chances for that stubborn set of herders to train them right).

@nenmaster5218 - 2021-10-09

@Egilhelmson Veritasium-Fans here?

Hbomberguy-Fans here?

CGP Grey Fans here?

Practical Engineering Fans here?

And yes, duh, this is an underhanded way to spread Fun and/or Education: Sue me!

Sue me for trying to help my fellow Science-Fans out a bit!!

@ashenone3050 - 2022-07-14

@Egilhelmson the dogs from america and Europeans dogs are the same dogs, just they were separated for a long time

@u06jo3vmp - 2021-01-28

>America had bad animals
: Laughs in Australian

@garrett9550 - 2021-06-20

Don’t complain now, get your herd of kookaburras and have them pull a plow.

@IRmightynoob - 2021-06-20

Bad in different ways, as far as I'm aware Australia is actually lacking in the "Tank with hooves" department and is more about the "venomous arms race."

@notnotcharles3022 - 2021-06-27

tbh the aboriginal people basically domesticated the wildlife in a broad sense of the term

@kingt0295 - 2021-06-29

America (both continents i mean) has far worse animals coming from an Australian. We just have some deadly snakes + spiders and some cute but half braindead marsupials. They have bears wolves moose big cats and a plethora of deadly snakes and spiders that only have the power to kill 5 men per bite instead of our 6

@aidanzeitz4940 - 2021-07-03

@kingt0295 man i love that i live in canada where we don't have many deadly snakes/spiders, but i guess we trade that for a lot of powerful beasts

@54356776 - 2019-08-20

You can't build a civilization on honey alone, no but you can with tea.
Rule Britannia intensifies

@scottcantdance804 - 2019-08-25

I once asked my cousin who has spent extended periods of time in Britain if the Welsh hated the English.

I told him I asked because I knew a lot of Scots hate the English, and a lot of Irish hate the English, but I didn't know about the Welsh.

He replied "Yes; one of the factors that made the English such effective rulers, is they treated everyone the same."

It made me fall over laughing.

@TheJapanfan - 2019-09-07

@scottcantdance804 😂😂 so true! And it can get daft if you are, say, half English/half Scottish, or have parents from one country but live in another. I've had a few friends who speak with a Scottish accent when at home with their families, but speak with an English accent when out with their English friends! This wasn't because of enmity between the countries, they did it more because their parents liked it, and to fit in.
And yeah. As a history loving half Scottish/English person myself I can tell you that any country that's had the English lording it over them hates us with good reason. We were proper evil during the Empire, and we still treat the Scots Irish and Welsh terribly at every opportunity.

@zedantXiang - 2019-09-07

@scottcantdance804 Hate everyone the same

@thcrtn - 2019-09-09

What if the honey and tea civilizations did a fox-Disney merger... They would outlaw plain water.

@dinamosflams - 2019-09-13

Or with worms
RUNS CHINESE ANTHEM

@MrAlexkyra - 2020-04-02

This really helps explain why European colonization had such different outcomes for the Americas and Africa.
Europeans brought plagues to which the indigenous people had no immunity. These plagues crippled the Aztec and Inca Empires, caused to the collapse of cultures from the Mississippi to the Amazon and killed so many that it left a vacuum which Europeans (and their imported African slaves) quickly filled. As a result, indigenous Americans are in the minority in most countries in the Americas (with the exception of Peru, Bolivia and Guatamala) and have typically lacked political power and control since colonization. Almost without exception, nations in the western hemisphere are controlled by descendants of the colonizers.

In contrast, Africans had the similar exposure to plagues as Europeans, so there was no 'Great Dying' that wiped out 90% of Africa's population. In fact, the situation was somewhat reversed. Africa featured tropical diseases like Malaria, Dengue and Yellow Fever, to which Africans had some adaptation but not so for Europeans. Often entire European colonies would be nearly wiped out by these tropical diseases. As a result, Europeans didn't penetrate into most of Africa (except for Algeria and South Africa) until the advent of more modern medicine in the 19th century, and did not replace the native population like they had done in the Americas. Thus, African countries today all have majority indigenous populations, and are controlled by indigenous people.

@ries3554 - 2020-04-26

I wouldnt say controlled...

@soulight6091 - 2020-05-05

VivaHollandia32 Actually, the strong physique is the result of slavery. Plus They were kidnapped for cheep labor. Slaves died of many illnesses and sicknesses while on the ships. They weren't prized for a strong immune system.

@christianjohnston9881 - 2020-05-29

Victoria II in a nutshell.

@noratrieb - 2020-06-06

I've never thought of that, but that makes a lot of sense!

@slavikvsvega - 2020-06-07

Great point. Most of America (North atleast) has a climate similar to Europe.

@mistahgrimm9551 - 2022-07-03

It doesn't really change things. But North America does have a number of native goat and sheep species. The NA Mountain Goat, Bighorn Sheep, and Dall Sheep being among the ones I know of. Natives used to collect their molted fur for weaving, but never domesticated them.

Cool thing about Lamas is that coyotes and wolves are afraid of them. I used to work on a goat farm that had a number of lamas for the purpose of scaring away the coyotes.

These species are also highly susceptible to diseases such as pneumonic plague from the old world.

@mistahgrimm9551 - 2022-07-03

Also Muskox were a native species of bovine in Alaska and the Canadian artic but were over hunted in modern times. They've been reintroduced. Point is there were opportunities for domestication. The ancestors of our domesticated animals were just about as large, nimble, and powerful as these native species.

@LennyyKennyy - 2017-05-08

" Its just you, couple buddies, and a few stone based tools "
Sounds like school

@harditbhutani6068 - 2018-10-28

Lenny Kenny 100% agree.

@baltazarvok2564 - 2019-07-27

This is what everyone had for domestication, everywhere. And they did it. The Siberian-Americans (also called "native americans") just did not try hard enough. The europeans/asians did not domesticate cows, those are the result of domestication. They domesticated aurochs, and bred them to be cows. Try looking it up, there is a reason the guy shows a picture of the cow in his video and not a picture of an auroch.

@eljanrimsa5843 - 2019-07-29

@baltazarvok2564 The number of domesticated animals corresponds to the number of animal species. Eurasia-Africa is the biggest land mass on Earth, and has the number of animal species corresponds to this size. Jared Diamond pointed this out. It's not about not trying. It's that only a very small number of species have the right combination of being social, hierarchical, and not too aggressive so they can be fully domesticated. And as maths suggests, most of these animal species live in the biggest land mass.

@baltazarvok2564 - 2019-07-29

@eljanrimsa5843 Yes Euro-asia had an advantage, but it was not an owerwhelming advantage (Americas had potatoes and maize - advantage on the crops side to compensate), bison could be tamed, some deer species could be tamed a lot of food animals and llamas actually were tamed (and llamas are excelent animals for domestic use replacing both sheep and goats). As for tamability, even African elephants were tamed (much later, but they were). The first tamed horses could not carry a rider, that came from an extensive breeding effort. What Jared Diamond is doing in his book is throwing smokescreen to hide the most significant factor that decides the level of civilization. Make a guess on what that is.

@eljanrimsa5843 - 2019-07-29

@baltazarvok2564 You confuse taming and domestication. Llamas, alpacas, guinea pigs, turkeys were the animals available for domestication in the Americas. Bisons have historically not been domesticated, neither American bisons nor Eurasian bisons. You need 20-feet high steel fences to hold them in. Elephants have never been domesticated. The domestication of deer has been attempted many times, but without success. Of the many species of ungulates in Eurasia and Africa, many have been tamed, and people have been trying to breed them, but only very few have been domesticated. The Americas started out with less species of ungulates, and only the 2 relatively small camelids could be domesticated.

@BeaglzRok1 - 2019-08-05

An unintentional playground for plagues



A Plague-ground if you will.
If someone hasn't already made this joke in the 13k comments I will be very disappointed.

@TheCimbrianBull - 2019-08-09

I second this motion! 😀

@faceplants2 - 2019-08-13

A+

@peetsnort - 2019-08-15

Laugh while you can

@nsierra2297 - 2019-08-16

I’m getting real sick of these puns

@peetsnort - 2019-08-16

So what's the opinion of the ebola virus

@matheusm.santana6527 - 2021-01-28

Fun fact, the americas had dogs, and since we didn't have domesticatable animals a few of the 'jobs' went to dog breeds. The alaskan malamute can pull a sled in the cold weather and we have records of the groups of chihuahua-like breeds pulling each a small cart of goods, or being used to hunt by traveling in the backpack and being relesed once the animal is spotted (yes they hunted with purse dogs). And the north america had a breed of dog called wool dog that, you guessed it, had wool like fur that people used to make clothes. The americas also had a dog breeds that were raised as food, to the horror of europeans.
TLDR: The americas didn't have domesticatable animals so they had to work with what they had, aka dogs.

@xxxBradTxxx - 2022-06-04

Javelinas (peccaries) are a new world pig like animal the Mayans domesticated

@Followthelight36 - 2022-07-25

This deserves more attention 👏

@alejandroojeda1572 - 2022-08-13

Also Guinea pigs! It was a staple for the incans and It's still consumed in peru

@fyrstormer - 2022-08-13

So you're telling me the most useful domesticable animal in the Americas prior to contact with Europe was one that proto-Native-Americans brought with them all the way from Africa?

@richardpike8748 - 2022-08-21

Oh wow very fun fact thanks

@Hlhud - 2021-09-14

"Nothing but drama, these llamas."

Sounds like the opposite of their Old World cousins, the camels. When you're a camel, you can put up with anything. :P

@rainmanslim4611 - 2021-09-17

Yep, know an Arab dude who's family raises camels, he told me the same thing camels can be temperamental but they can also put up with a lot before getting nasty.

@qcca123-f1v - 2021-09-25

weirdly... Camels' ancestors came from the new world ... llamas are camelids also.

@nenmaster5218 - 2021-10-09

@rainmanslim4611 Veritasium-Fans here?

Hbomberguy-Fans here?

CGP Grey Fans here?

Practical Engineering Fans here?

And yes, duh, this is an underhanded way to spread Fun and/or Education: Sue me!

Sue me for trying to help my fellow Science-Fans out a bit!!

@jen2043 - 2021-10-19

@nenmaster5218
Best I can do is sam o nella

@nenmaster5218 - 2021-10-19

@jen2043 ??

@eggmon420 - 2020-08-31

“You can’t build a civilisation on honey alone.”

The Bees from The Bee Movie: 👁👄👁

@parthibhayat - 2020-10-06

Your profile pic is perfect

@GothTradeUnionist - 2020-10-12

"It is what it is."

@deleetiusproductions3497 - 2020-10-16

Uhm, FICTIO- oh, wait. I can't do this, or else I'll be wooshed.

@jack_papel - 2020-10-17

Bees in real life....

@EminemJr.2006 - 2020-10-22

@deleetiusproductions3497 /r woosh

@bumbleWeaver - 2019-08-23

I shivered as I was reminded how many times I would restart a game of Civilization 3 Gold Edition, specifically because my starting location SUCKED.

@citrusblast4372 - 2019-09-19

Damn, haha

@skipp3252 - 2019-09-29

If only the native american had that chance xD

@GlamStacheessnostalgialounge - 2019-11-11

@skipp3252 Well they did in the millions of games where I turned the Aztec empire into the world's most dominant militant country.

@filipkarwowski6510 - 2019-11-27

SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAME

@bordergore7623 - 2020-02-16

der Skipp they did, since natives didn’t arrive in the America’s until they crossed the ice land bridge in Russia, the bridge that is now underwater.

@danielg.6649 - 2019-09-09

"Being the patient zero of a new animal-to-human plague is winning a terrible lottery "

Hey at least i'm winning!

@Mitaka.Kotsuka - 2020-03-01

well... i came here to llook after the coronavirus plague, i think i found a glad zero patient here

@Natalie-101 - 2020-04-12

ahem seems like somebody won it now and for a weird reason we aren't happy about it😂

@darthmortus5702 - 2020-04-16

Not sure what is worse, dying to it or living and knowing that you are responsible for countless deaths. I wonder if there is a guy walking around Wuhan thinking about it.

@davidschaftenaar6530 - 2021-04-27

There is one major exception though: Syphilis. It's the one seriously bad disease that was spread to Europe from the New World. It was no plague though, or at least not anything on par with Smalll Pox. I probably wouldn't have been here writing this if it had been.

@honourhorne-jaruk8252 - 2022-07-13

The recent find of a 9th century syphilitic in an English monastery graveyard disproves that.

@noneofyourconcern.goaway1932 - 2022-07-13

@honourhorne-jaruk8252 yes

@metallicarchaea1820 - 2022-08-12

Earlier in the video, he prefaced the differences between diseases and plagues and one big difference is transmission methods. If Syphilis can be spread via sneezes then it maybe would count as an exception.

@fyrstormer - 2022-08-13

Syphilis has been infecting humans for at least 10,000 years.

@billcipherproductions1789 - 2022-08-16

@metallicarchaea1820 It's an STD ao that's why it isn't a plague.

@boyinaband - 2015-11-23

The narration was slower but for some reason that didn't feel like a 12 minute video, felt like 4 or 5. Probably because it's really frickin' interesting! Awesome topic, can't wait for part 2.

@cameronmyers2154 - 2017-12-20

I love it when I watch an old video from a Youtuber I've just discovered and find a comment from another Youtuber I love

@siri5186 - 2018-01-20

Boyinaband
Hey! It’s you!

@KeizerSosebee - 2018-09-07

Still hate school?

@SolaWavee - 2018-09-08

omff daveee:3

@jacobpledger5101 - 2018-09-15

WADDYA DOI; HERE

@shrikrishnakirtan1341 - 2020-08-12

"The game of civilization has nothing to do with the players and everything to do with the map. "

@crockettlauncher - 2020-08-18

Obviously it has to do with both but this domesticatable animal point beautifully explains so much of the disparities between civilizations.

@benjapizarro981 - 2020-08-31

Imagine if america progressed first

@goldeviolets4314 - 2020-09-06

Benja Pizarro That’s very unlikely but if it did then the mainly European inspired countries of North and South America would be replaced with mainly native ones

@benjapizarro981 - 2020-09-07

@goldeviolets4314 yeah, imagine a native culture but whit years of economical progress, damn, how would it be

@timon20061995 - 2020-09-25

Native american didn't even invented wheels. And most of the "useful" animals took the old world hundred of years to domesticate. Dog came from wolf and wolf is one of the most dangerous animal in wild but the old world still made it. The theory just doesn't hold it very well

@Spenfen - 2016-10-27

"You can't build a civilization on the foundation of honey alone."

I'm gonna take that as a challenge. Who wants to come with me to build Honeyopolis? Honey for everyone!

@edurlbhhydrel2586 - 2016-10-28

Spenfen honeypolis hey that's pretty good!

@owbu - 2016-11-03

Can we ride battle bears?

@elijahbenton5279 - 2016-11-06

owbu yes

@Inconsecuente - 2016-11-07

I go

@freyja5800 - 2016-11-13

Funny thing is, if this Honeyopolis plan succeeds it might just save the entire human race

@marcustulliuscicero3987 - 2021-09-01

Great video, though I feel it leaves out one important factor. Jared Diamonds in his book, 'Guns, Germs and Steel' discusses these questions in depth and also points at the orientation of the continents. In Eurasia, with its East-West orientation, most regions will have a neighbouring region on the same longitude. This means these regions probably have a similar climate, which facilitates the exchange of crops and domesticated animals as these can thrive in both regions. The America’s, on the other hand, have a North-South orientation and on top of this are cut through by various mountain ranges, deserts and jungles. This means that communities in neighbouring regions live on different longitudes and thus in a different climate. This makes for a much slower spread of domesticated plants and animals as direct neighbours have no reason to adopt these from eachother. The societies that do have a similar enough climate to potentially benefit from such an exchange are too far away, being on opposite sides of the equator, to learn about each other's livestock and plants.

@megafromagem483 - 2021-09-17

In world history we watched the show they made on the book, great to see it mentioned and some of the points it covered that this didn't

@ericcp8757 - 2021-09-18

He read guns germs and steel to make this video, judging by conversations on his podcast. I don't totally agree with the theories of the book but I think grey has reduced it well.

@Dunkle0steus - 2021-09-21

Guns, Germs, and Steel is pretty outdated by modern Anthropological standards. Some of Diamond's theories are no longer considered correct by popular consensus.

@mogologomanguy770 - 2021-09-24

That seems like a pretty weak theory

@Bananappleboy - 2021-09-27

@Are You Going To Do The 'Ora Ora' Thing?
ora ora what

@rileyj7066 - 2015-11-23

I can domesticate a buffalo, just hold my beer

@mexireformist - 2015-11-23

+Riley Johnson You have no chance I heard they have wings.

@Janack - 2015-11-23

+Riley Johnson RIP

@13rute - 2015-11-23

+Riley Johnson I believe you mean an American Buffalo, aka Bison. Normal buffalo come from Africa.

@WakarimasenKa - 2015-11-23

+Brett Tady and Asia

@FlyingJetpack1 - 2015-11-23

+Riley Johnson I can domesticate a beer, just hold my buffalo.

@MissMadelynA - 2015-11-25

People probably complained about him talking too fast, so now he slows down and people still complain, yep...

@EnragedSephiroth - 2015-11-25

TO HELL WITH THOSE PEOPLE!

@FlameQwert - 2015-11-25

Complainers will always complain

@itscrumbelivable - 2015-11-25

As a part-deaf Newfoundlander, being told i'm talking to loud/fast is the norm for me

@emilefeuser9827 - 2015-11-25

+Madelyn Miller ikr

@HomeofLawboy - 2015-11-25

+Madelyn Miller It's not the same people complaining, you know that right..?

@gwho - 2016-06-01

Hex tiles, strategic resources...

civilization, baby

@rexeleon - 2016-06-03

CIV V ftw

@PatrickElliottPizzanui - 2016-06-08

Who else hyped for Civ VI this November?

@mattdanfg - 2016-06-08

...settlers of catan

@TheRayvin6 - 2016-06-11

WOOHOO!!!

@TheRayvin6 - 2016-06-11

I remember wiping out a whole continent by lining up a huge line of infantry and tanks.

@benbayne-davies2397 - 2022-05-12

This video has changed thumbnails more than any other video on YouTube

@cakeisyummy5755 - 2022-05-16

That's a Bold Claim.

@almandinefox5160 - 2018-05-09

at the last part the plague covered the entire old world except Madagascar and as someone whos played pandemic 2 I applaud your accuracy

@pdes_ - 2018-08-31

shame, should have left Iceland out too...

@adamnovak7602 - 2018-10-25

@pdes_ Greenland as well

@thefreshpeepsarchive8913 - 2018-11-12

Sorry kid, video games aren’t real life. But, you are right.

@susmith6380 - 2018-11-15

@*_Lucky LiLy_* the same devastating effects were visited on the First Nations peoples of Australia. Only by then the colonizers had realised the vulnerability of people previously unexposed to these microbes and set about using this to the advantage of the invaders to "clear" areas of resistance to their infiltration by passing out items like deliberately infected blankets. Their go to favourites were smallpox and measles. Thus was weapons imposed genocide abetted.

@lhistorienchipoteur9968 - 2018-11-16

Almandine Fox You...understood that it was intentonnaly simplified, right ?

@notJafar - 2020-10-19

"Nothing but dramas these llamas"

Still laughing at that one.

@johanrunfeldt7174 - 2021-07-21

Also: A llama is no cow.

@PrincessLockette - 2021-09-15

Are llamas assholes?

@soundlyawake - 2016-01-02

Get it. Plague-ground.

@uuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh - 2016-02-21

+TheJman0205 That's because it got reporter and isn't showing up

@uuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh - 2016-02-24

+TheJman0205 Because you didn't delete it and it's not showing up.

@uuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh - 2016-02-24

+TheJman0205 Oh, sorry I thought you meant reply. Then it's probably because nobody has replied to or liked your post.

@Gardner924 - 2017-10-08

soundlyawake [Nicola Foti] hanahahahahahah

@suwinkhamchaiwong8382 - 2017-10-09

soundlyawake [Nicola Foti] xD

@thornthallid950 - 2022-12-10

I have frequently wondered why the plagues from Western exploration of the new world only went one way. Thanks for explaining that one.

@catboymothman2495 - 2020-06-03

Man this video really hits different in 2020, huh... "Cities are playgrounds for plagues" "Sneezing spreads faster than shaking hands which spreads faster than intimacy" and m a n...

@Kaiheart - 2020-08-12

​@Benjamin La Tour What is wrong with the word 'intimacy'? It's defined as 'a closeness or familiarity' or 'a private atmosphere'. It's only vulgar if you make it vulgar.

@EappleSandbox - 2020-08-13

@Kaiheart I think it was intended as a joke, exaggerating the vulgarity of the word "intimacy" (as opposed to sex)

@ladraum.de.brioko - 2020-08-16

Comparing Coronavirus to the things mentioned in the video (cholera, black plague, typhus) is ridiculous and hysterical.

@matthewthompson6455 - 2020-09-03

@ladraum.de.brioko why? He didn't compare the severity or symptoms, just compared principles of transmission mentioned in the video to the transmission of covid

@litcherallyy - 2020-09-12

bruh people really actin like this hits different in 2020
like as if these things didnt transmit diseases as easily as it is transmitting corona

@gandamack1900 - 2019-09-13

Until the ceramic water filter was invented in London in the 1850’s,The Thames River killed the crap out of people

@gabrielhamilton2880 - 2019-09-15

I think it was the crap in the Thames River that killed the crap out of people.

@gandamack1900 - 2019-09-15

Gabriel Hamilton:Of course😂It was the primary drinking water source for centuries...its a wonder the city had a population survive at all🤦‍♂️

@johnyarbrough502 - 2019-10-13

Much more likely Bazalgette's sanitary sewers. The filter would remove particulate material but still leave most disease causing microbes.

@687gaming9 - 2019-11-10

BA DUM TING!

@BranDenhauer - 2019-11-18

Was that a cholera joke? Well done.