Vectors and vaccines. Honey and mead. Emblems and sculptures.

An anonymous French writer penned an exhaustive guide to etiquette, moral conduct, and the practical concerns of a young bride, from choosing servants to throwing feasts: Le Ménagier de Paris (The Good Wife’s Guide). “It’s a ridiculous book,” says Verberg. “It’s micromanagement. I would not have wanted to be his wife.” The book was known mostly in medievalist circles until 2009, when it was fully translated into modern English for the first time. And there, in between reminders of the need for wifely submission and tips on keeping fleas out of the bedclothes, was a curious recipe for something called bochet.

From China’s Terracotta Warriors to Egypt’s Bust of Nefertiti, some of these famous sculptures are vital to our understanding of ancient culture. Others, like Michelangelo’s David or Rodin’s The Thinker, are emblems of their time and helped push the limits of sculpture.

Professor Iwan Barankay of Wharton: “What we are facing now with evermore clarity is that when individuals choose not to get vaccinated or choose not to wear masks systematically, they become vectors,” he said. “They infect other people, and this is what economists call an externality — they impose costs on others that they don’t fully bear. But companies do confront the added costs of individual behavior because they see that other colleagues might equally become sick.”