Plague doctors, or at least images of plague doctors, are having a bit of a cultural moment again, roughly 300 years after their actual heyday.

Why plague doctors wore those strange beaked masks In the 17th century, people believed these outfits could purify poisonous air. They were wrong.

But stuffed with strong-smelling substances—ambergris, mint, rose petals—the plague doctor's mask actually embodies both practical and erroneous responses to the spreading pandemic.

Some plague doctors may have worn spooky-looking beak mask costumes to prevent infection during disease epidemics.

Today, the beaked plague doctor mask still appears in Venetian carnival costumes but is otherwise retired, while the concept of masking up against contagion continues to generate controversy.

What kind of face mask have you been using? Join the conversation below. The crow-like plague-doctor mask of 17th- and 18th-century Europe is one of the earliest and creepiest protective coverings ...