I’ve been doing a lot of reading during my spare time (yes, all my time is spare), including old text books. This nugget from Europe and the Middle Ages just floored me.

[table id=1 /]
(This is in Europe as a whole, apparently.)

I mean, yes, wars and disease and childbirth and such (and Satan, I guess, and demons), but I’d have guessed that at least a third of people who survived the perils of childhood actually made it to age 60. Nope. Another reason to be happy about living today. Maybe later I’ll tell you what I’m learning about the Dust Bowl (damn).