Admittedly, I know nothing about vampires. I’ve seen Dracula with Keeanu Reeves and that Tom Cruise/Brad Pitt vampire movie in the 90s, but I have yet to embrace this decade’s vampire fervor. So … no … I haven’t seen Twilight or even Vampires Suck.
Close friends, relatives, and work related acquaintances would probably agree that I’m a tad mysophobic. So, the rudimentary premise of sucking the blood from their victim raises some questions. I have to wonder if there are vampires that could be afraid of germs too. In my mind, there would have to be. They look like people (with some slight physical differences), communicate in human languages, and have some human behaviors. It would stand to reason there would be that one vampire that carries around hand sanitizer or a wet nap applying it to people’s necks before biting in.
What about bloodborne pathogen campaigns? Some places, like schools, post S.T.D. information to educate people about the dangers of Chlamydia or Gonorrhea and to abstain or be careful who they are with … because if they sleep with someone; they sleep with every partner they had before that. In my mind, that idea would extend to the Vampire/Human relationship. Posters would be posted in hallways noting that they should be careful who bites them because you never know who their vampire partner has bitten before.
After pondering some of that, I've also asked myself the inverse: "what if they’re immune to these kinds of things?" From what I am told there isn’t much that could kill a vampire - back in my day, the lore was a wooden stake through the heart. So if these are beings that could occupy space, be touched, and perceived then why aren’t there more stories about some being captured and studied to determine longevity or what antibodies exist in their blood exist to fight off colds or even HIV. Additionally, this would lead to more stories about protests for vampire rights or anti-vampire medical testing.
So ... getting away from the germy side of my curiosity, I also wonder if different vampires have a palate for different blood types. Like someone may prefer a Bordeaux to a Chardonnay, would a vampire prefer an AB positive to an O negative? If so, is it also like wine where age is a determinant? Could vampires potentially get suggestions from blood stewards? Such as: "This is a bold, vintage 70 year old, O Negative."
I can't say that I really have the inclination to investigate the vampire phenom further. But my ignorance on the matter has made for interesting conversations with friends and coworkers. I'm sure through our discussions I'll eventually find answers to these questions ...
Close friends, relatives, and work related acquaintances would probably agree that I’m a tad mysophobic. So, the rudimentary premise of sucking the blood from their victim raises some questions. I have to wonder if there are vampires that could be afraid of germs too. In my mind, there would have to be. They look like people (with some slight physical differences), communicate in human languages, and have some human behaviors. It would stand to reason there would be that one vampire that carries around hand sanitizer or a wet nap applying it to people’s necks before biting in.
What about bloodborne pathogen campaigns? Some places, like schools, post S.T.D. information to educate people about the dangers of Chlamydia or Gonorrhea and to abstain or be careful who they are with … because if they sleep with someone; they sleep with every partner they had before that. In my mind, that idea would extend to the Vampire/Human relationship. Posters would be posted in hallways noting that they should be careful who bites them because you never know who their vampire partner has bitten before.
After pondering some of that, I've also asked myself the inverse: "what if they’re immune to these kinds of things?" From what I am told there isn’t much that could kill a vampire - back in my day, the lore was a wooden stake through the heart. So if these are beings that could occupy space, be touched, and perceived then why aren’t there more stories about some being captured and studied to determine longevity or what antibodies exist in their blood exist to fight off colds or even HIV. Additionally, this would lead to more stories about protests for vampire rights or anti-vampire medical testing.
So ... getting away from the germy side of my curiosity, I also wonder if different vampires have a palate for different blood types. Like someone may prefer a Bordeaux to a Chardonnay, would a vampire prefer an AB positive to an O negative? If so, is it also like wine where age is a determinant? Could vampires potentially get suggestions from blood stewards? Such as: "This is a bold, vintage 70 year old, O Negative."
I can't say that I really have the inclination to investigate the vampire phenom further. But my ignorance on the matter has made for interesting conversations with friends and coworkers. I'm sure through our discussions I'll eventually find answers to these questions ...