Sinister Snuggles (monkeypox!)

Paradox, contradiction, discordant combinations; all funny and intriguing. Hence the vampire bunny in the Monty Python movie. Hence lots of stuff like that. Unrelatedly, I love rodential creatures. I adore the big eyes and tiny toes combo. I'm weak for it. I was therefore intrigued when I read about the pet hampster believed to be responsible for 3 human deaths. Apparently she (or he) was carrying some bizarre-o disease (lymphocytic choriomeningitis, or "LCMV") and infected her (or his) caretaker. The LCMV is not much of a big deal to people with normal immune systems. However, when the hamster's caretaker died (in a way utterly unrelated to the hamster or LCMV), her organs were donated. Three recipients of said organs understandably had weakened immune systems, and apparently the organs they received were rich with LCMV. They developed flu-like symptoms and died. Apparently they don't have a commercial test for LCMV. What a strange world, where adorable animals are harbingers of death. I can't help but imagine the Grim Reaper we know from pictures actually showing up looking like a Powerpuff Girl. Oh, and the article reminded me of the monkeypox outbreak from a while back, brought to us by pet prairie dogs. Oh soft, scampery, alert little creatures. I guess you can't be purely good.

By the way, groups of hamsters are properly termed a horde of hamsters. The male adult is called a buck, the female adult is called a doe. The babies are pups.