Small fantasy setting hook

The god of healers and medicine knows all about germs and shit

But they also know that these primitive Iron Age humans aren’t ready for that knowledge

So they let their priests and followers know that the best way doctors can honor them is by ritualistically washing their hands with hot soapy water before they ply their trade

Doctor: /washing hands

Patient: “what are you doing?”

Doctor: “I’m am honoring the god of healers so he doesn’t curse this operation.”

Germs: /are washed away

Surgery: /does not get infected

"We must anoint the wound with the sacred ointments." /slathers disinfectant on it

Doctor: “I am glad the god was probably honored and did not curse the patient.”

The humans don’t understand WHY they’re doing it

But as long as they do it, even if it’s for the wrong reason, the god is satisfied

the god of medicine just like "boy i can't wait til it's time to just tell them this shit and they can invent sanitizer about it"

God: “there are millions of microscopic life forms they cause disease and infection if they get into open wounds”
Human: “The world is full of invisible demons!?”
God: “...you know what sure. If that’s what it takes to get you to wash your fuckin’ hands.”

"Behold, mortal, I shall grant you knowledge of the rituals that ward away the demons of ill-health. Step one: wash your fucking hands."

So Crusader Kings 3 is a sort of strategy-RPG-empirebuilder set in the middle ages.

One of the features is that each character takes a number of perks over time that grant various benefits, drawn from about 15 different skill trees

Halfway down the skill tree that teaches you great learning that can vastly improve your health and longevity is a perk called Wash Your Hands

That just massively increases disease resistance

Fucking incredible.

Nice

LMAO

In a Star Trek book, McCoy is time traveling and is helping with a wounded person. the local healer type is fussing and basically says that they’re afraid the disease demons will get into the wound, so Bones gives them a bottle of sterilizing solution and says it repels them.

it turns out later that the best medical college in the galaxy is in that system. Bones wonders if he accidentally caused a paradox and Spock tells him to not worry about it because it’s just going to make his head hurt.