Personal protective equipment, or PPE, is used in many fields, but often connected most immediately to the healthcare industry. Medical patients see doctors and nurses dawned in gloves, scrubs, gowns, masks, and even glasses or face shields. This practice was not always in effect, however; it took centuries for scientific knowledge to recognize the importance of PPE and implement it across the world. One of the most iconic examples of early PPE is that of the plague doctor—which, coincidentally, also demonstrates the extreme lack of knowledge humans had on diseases at the time. During the 17th century bubonic plague, doctors could be seen wearing long coats, leather gloves, and ominous-looking beaked masks. This eccentric outfit was to protect the medical professionals from "miasma." Doctors believed that the plague (and other ailments) were spread through poisoned air; the beaked mask, stuffed with dozens of herbs and perfumes, was meant to purify the air before the physician can breathe it in. The long, curved beak supposedly gave the air enough time to be suffused by the aromatic fumes. This, of course, did nothing to protect the plague doctors. It took hundreds of years for modern protective equipment to start to take shape. The first rubber surgical gloves were made in 1893 by Goodyear (the tire company), and the first surgical masks were worn in 1897 to keep doctors from coughing or sneezing on patients undergoing surgery. In fact, surgical masks are still for this purpose—not to prevent airborne diseases from being breathed in. A plague in 1910 brought on the development of a mask designed to protect the wearer, which was very important for the dawn of the Spanish flu in 1918. Today, the N-95 masks doctors wear are direct descendants from this early respirator. Despite their existence, it took a few years for protective wear to catch on. Masks weren't common until after 1920 following a bit of public mockery of them in previous decades. A study examining a century of surgery photographs discovered that it wasn't until after 1950 that every person in the operating room wore full medical gear—gloves, masks, scrubs, and caps. Thankfully, PPE is the industry standard now, all the better for both patients and practitioners. What is the meaning of "eccentric" in the second paragraph? A-Traditional B-Familiar C-Outlandish D-Vital