We’ve all been quarantined at least once in our lives…(that’s a lie)…but have you ever wondered where the word quarantine comes from? Well, it comes from the Italian word quaranta meaning “forty.”  In the 1660s, it was Venitian custom to keep ships arriving from diseased countries waiting off its port for 40 days.  In the 1500s, the word had a different meaning.  It referred to the period of 40 days in which a widow was allowed to stay in her dead husband’s house.   That is the saddest law ever.  However, it could be confusing.  If this said husband died of leprosy, would they still kick the widow out in 40 days.  Which quarantine would overrule the other quarantine?  I really hope I never have to find out.