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Reading Roulette
Stories That Reveal Our Forgotten Past
This week: fire-breathing dragons, the origins of hand-washing, and more
At Human Parts, we spend our days scouring the Medium platform for essays and perspectives we think our audience would love. Along the way, we stumble upon countless stories that surprise us — proof of the internet’s ability to deliver what we didn’t know we needed.
Each week, we’ll share a few of our favorites, along with recommended reading from across Medium, in a roundup we call ‘Reading Roulette.’ If you come across anything we missed, let us know in the responses!
Ever wondered what Shrek, Sleeping Beauty, and Covid-19 have in common? No? Well, writer and historian Katlyn Roberts takes us back to medieval Spain and recounts the legend of Saint George and the dragon — a story that spawned Disney blockbusters, modern street parades, and our internalized narratives about fighting off a fire-breathing virus:
