When we hear about the "Black Death," a coupleĀ things come to mind: The death of tens of millions of people – and rats.

Our history teachers taught us that the epidemic fromĀ 1347-1353 was likely spread byĀ rats carrying fleas infected with bacteria.

But rats may have been getting a bad rap the last 650Ā years or so. The real culprit behind spreading the death? Gerbils. Actually, to be more specific, a species of squirrel-sizedĀ gerbilĀ from Asia called the great gerbil.

>> Read more trending stories

Researchers in Norway involved in the study, published in theĀ Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, studiedĀ tree-ring records from Europe and Asia to determine what the weather was like at the time of the outbreaks.

The study found the climate was warmer and wetter in Asia during outbreaks, which meant more plague among the great gerbil population there.Ā But more research needs to be done before we start pointing fingers at Mr. & Mrs. Gerbil.

"Now, the team is planning to analyze the DNA of plague bacteria from ancient skeletons across Europe to see if their theory is correct. If it is, it could cast this fluffy little pet in a whole new light,"Ā theĀ BBCĀ anchor reported.

Or maybe not. It seems the rats still aren't gonna catch a break.Ā GizmodoĀ broke the news to its viewers by saying the plague was spread byĀ "cute gerbils"Ā and notĀ "dirty rats."

The studyĀ says ratsĀ wereĀ probably responsible for maintaining the plague on ships, which would have spread it to ports across Europe. We're thinking we're going to just get a pet cat or dog instead.

This video includes images fromĀ Matthieu Aubry. /Ā CC BY NC SA 2.0,Ā Jean-Jacques Boujot / CC BY SA 2.0,Ā Sergey Yeliseev /Ā CC BY NC ND 2.0Ā andĀ Sergei Golyshev /Ā CC BY NC SA 2.0.Ā 

About the Author

Keep Reading

Sure it's only mid-July, but Escape the Netherworld is hosting five themed escape rooms, including one called Haunted that challenges players to defeat the Night Hag. (Courtesy of Escape the Netherworld)

Credit: Courtesy of Escape the Netherworld

Featured

ā€œOur members cannot be bought off,ā€ General President Sean O’Brien said in a social media statement, calling UPS' offers ā€œillegal and haphazard.ā€ (Hyosub Shin/AJC 2023)

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC