BTW, current theory is that the particularly virulent form of the plague that emerged in the 14th century had its origin in marmots in the general area of Kyrgyzstan.
Oh, man. Is it wrong that I want to take a picture of a marmot and simply caption it with "SOON"?
::crosses Kyrgyzstan off dream vacation list::
:: crosses marmot souffle off of dream dinner list.::
In the 4th Doctor adventure,
Pyramids of Mars,
You have the villain Sutekh announcing "I bring Sutekh's gift of death to all humans". On the DVDs, you had an entertaining interview with Sutekh, who was fretting about his public image. They then showed him going door to door (in full regalia) with a box and announcing, "I bring you Sutekh's gift of marmots."
And now I know why he chose marmots.
I finally figured out how to send emails to the trash on my iPhone, and am utterly charmed. Now I want more junk mail so I can watch that little envelope commit suicide like that Monty Python bit with the autumn leaves.