Imagine being Macchu Picchu - and not having your photo taken until 1911. Well, there's darn good reason for this. Machu Picchu wasn't discovered until 1911. Well, I mean, Machu Picchu, an ancient Inca settlement in Peru, wasn't discovered by an American with a camera before then. That's when American archeologist Hiram Bingham gots his first look and snapped a photo.
Bingham arrived in Peru with a small team of explorers to search for the famous “lost” cities of the Incas. Little did he realize he'd be discovering one of the future top tourist destinations in the world.
Way to go, Hiram Bingham!
They believed the disease was airborne and was spread by miasma, which is a noxious form of "bad air."
To battle this perceived threat, the long beak was packed with such sweet smells as dried flowers, herbs and spices. Also the bird-beak mask provided the doctors with creepy award-winning costumes for any fancy dress party they might be attending.
The doctors' attempt at safety backfired in the sense that the bird masks became a symbol of the Black Death.
