Hajj
2006-01-17 17:55:41.125471+00 by
Dan Lyke
3 comments
Chinpokomon had a Hajj death pool in which I guessed horribly low (150). But he linked to the 2006 Hajj-o-Metertm which, aside from informing me that shaving your pubic hair before the Hajj is "commendable", also linked to Protect Your Health during Hajj and Ziarat, about vaccinations and such, and all of a sudden I had this "Jared Diamond" moment where I realized...
The Hajj is bringing people from all over the world, the farthest reaches, together in conditions that mean that Muslims are going to have the ass-kickingest immune systems ever in a few generations.
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comments in ascending chronological order (reverse):
#Comment Re: made: 2006-01-18 15:43:56.183312+00 by:
petronius
Or perhaps the same evolutionary pressures will develop Muslims with overactive senses of equilibrium, to prevent falling down during the Annual Stampede. If you aren't too steady on your feet, you may arrive in Paradise earlier than you thought.
#Comment Re: [Entry #8561] Re: made: 2006-01-18 17:56:02.341894+00 by:
Unknown, from NNTP
petronius <prefersanonymity_84@flutterby.com> writes:
> Or perhaps the same evolutionary pressures will develop Muslims
> with overactive senses of equilibrium, to prevent falling down
> during the Annual Stampede. If you aren't too steady on your feet,
> you may arrive in Paradise earlier than you thought.
I was under the impression that the pilgrimage was frequently
(typically? often?) a later-life event. If you're done reproducing,
there's no selective pressure on you...
#Comment Re: made: 2006-01-18 20:57:01.239363+00 by:
petronius
I get the impression that with the invention of cheap airfares many western Muslims make the Hajj earlier in life, or as a teenager. Our local South Asian neighborhood in Chicago (West Devon Avenue) had several posters displayed for package pilgrimages at low, low rates.