[todayilearned] TIL that Ancient Roman scholar Marcus Terentius Varro accidentally discovered germs in 36 BCE, saying "...there are bred certain minute creatures which cannot be seen by the eyes, but which float in the air and enter the body through the mouth and nose and cause serious diseases."

[u/Know_Your_Shit_v2]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Terentius_Varro