Wearing Fur: legends and science

The belief that wearing fur from a prey species gives you "good luck" — or keeps you from getting sick — is found in ancient myths and legends all over the Earth. The stories are different from one culture to another, but the idea is universal. It is found in the earliest writings that we have uncovered. And even those who first wrote it down considered it "ancient knowledge," handed down through many generations. All those legends have certain elements in common:

1. Only the fur of prey species is effective
2. The fur is most effective for close relatives of the anthro that it came from
3. The fur is effective for others, provided that a significant part of the fur is given to the donor's close relatives. Otherwise, it is nearly totally ineffective.

Nearly everyone in the world believed this, until about 340 years ago. At that time, a counter-belief arose, that wearing fur for luck was pure superstition. "How can wearing the fur of an intelligent being protect you from getting sick?" people asked. And scientists thought the very idea of "good luck" a joke. At around 320 years ago, nearly half the population of Europe and a third of Asia rejected this belief. An anti-fur movement grew up, ridiculing those who wore fur as "stupid," "ignorant," and "superstitious."

This lasted until just over 300 years ago, when a wave of plagues struck China and Europe at roughly the same time. And, by an apparent coincidence, those who rejected fur were hardest hit. Nobody could explain why this happened, but the fur-rejection movement died out rapidly. Once again, nearly everybody wore fur.

Around 60 years ago a movement arose, calling itself "pragmatism." Their motto, borrowed from a TV show popular at the time, was, "It must be possible, Captain. It happened." Some medical researchers used scientific, double-blind experiments to test the belief. Their tests confirmed the belief. They found:

• People who wore appropriate furs caught fewer colds and other contagious diseases, and their symptoms were milder.
• People who wore furs were "lucky," in the sense that they were better at seizing opportunities. Either they had more energy to do it with, or a better sense of timing.
• Fur from predator species worked, but not as well as from prey.
• Fur from a willing donor worked nearly twice as well as when the source had been taken against his/her will.
• Fur from males worked slightly better than from females.
• Fur in good condition worked better than "ratty" fur, so it was best if the donor provided the fur no later than early middle age.
• Effectiveness peaked at about ½ square meter of fur; wearing additional fur beyond that provided little or no additional benefit.
• The details the legends had in common were all correct, with one exception: the rule about close relatives wearing the fur. Scientific research on this subject was inconclusive, with some studies tending to verify the hypothesis, and others finding little or no statistical correlation. Research in this area continues.

These experiments provided additional impetus to the Prey Species Rights Movement and led to the law that allowed prey species to choose their own time and method to die and become fur.