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Fork
Route: Byzantine Empire to Venice, 1005
Carrier: Maria Argyropoulina, who married into the Venetian court
Impact: Offended Venetian clergy
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Zero
Route: Algeria to Italy, 1202
Carrier: Leonardo Fibonacci, who learned of the Hindu-Arabic numerical in North Africa
Impact: Ended use of Roman numerals in European mathematics
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Gunpowder
Route: Central Asia to the Middle East, c. 1260
Carrier: Mongols
Impact: Provided means for modern warfare
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Black Death
Route: Central Asia to Europe, c. 1300
Carrier: Merchants and soldiers on the Silk Road
Impact: Killed 30 to 60 percent of European population
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Tobacco
Route: Cuba to Spain, 1492
Carrier: Christopher Columbus, who received it as a gift from American Indians
Impact: Caused lung cancer
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Horse
Route: Spain to Hispaniola, 1493
Carrier: Conquistadors, who brought horses to aid in exploration of the New World
Impact: Made possible the cowboy
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Smallpox
Route: Europe to Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1617
Carrier: European settlers
Impact: Killed 90 percent of American Indian population along Massachusetts coastline
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Brown Rat
Route: Asia to Europe, Europe to North America, c. 1750
Carrier: Ships
Impact: Provided specimens for laboratory testing
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Tumbleweed
Route: Europe to South Dakota, 1877
Carrier: Russian farmers, who transported flaxseeds
Impact: Provided quintessential movie scenes for Westerns
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Pajamas
Route: South Asia to Britain, c. 1870
Carrier: British colonialists
Impact: Replaced nightgown as favored sleepwear
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Zebra Mussel
Route: Black and Caspian Seas to Lake St. Clair, 1988
Carrier: Ballast water
Impact: Crippled native mussel species, resulting in $5 billion in economic losses
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Avian Flu
Route: Hong Kong to Africa, South Asia, Western Europe, and the Middle East, 1997–2009
Carriers: Diseased poultry
Impact: Killed over 200 people
