Disease-Causing Critters

A 16th century Japanese medical text included illustrations of the mythical creatures that cause disease when they invade the body. Although the basic concept proved to be true, bacteria and viruses were not visible at the time. The fanciful depictions and descriptions are a hoot, considering what we know now! For example, Gyochu as pictured here.
Gyochu, a deadly critter responsible for leprosy, acts as a messenger to the underworld. On the night of Koshin-no-hi (an important date occurring every 60 days on the Chinese calendar), Gyochu leaves the body to visit Enma-daio (Lord of the Underworld) and tell him of your misdeeds. Enma-daio is known to punish people for bad behavior by reducing their remaining time on earth.

See more at Pink Tentacle. Link -via Everlasting Blort

Comments (0)

When I saw the still image I thought, "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert?" but when it moved I thought more along the lines of Snooki.

The theremin soundtrack didn't help pull me out of the heebie-jeebies.
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Looks less plastic than many celebrities.

Where they fall apart for me is really the eyes -- they shouldn't remain stationary long and should fix on a specific object when the head swivels.

Still, neat.
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If they've made it out of the uncanny valley, they did it by climbing out the other side by being less realistic.

Wonder though how much variation there is in the general public for the width of the uncanny valley.
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