According to Redditors dying is preferable to stinky water and mosquitoes (medieval people did not know germ theory)

Same as people saying “pest or cholera”.

Well, I gladly take vomiting and diarrhoea before certain death, thank you very much!

Most moats were dry because fortifications were usually built on elevated ground where filling the defensive trenches with water was simply not feasible. The lack of water is entirely unrelated to them not wanting it; having an elevated vantage point was just preferable to having water-filled trenches. Ideally, a castle would have both:

* No concept of germ theory: During most of human history, people did not understand germ theory, nor did they realize that stagnant water and mosquitoes spread disease.
* Different priorities: They did not give a shit about the minor annoyance of bug bites when defending against an invading army. Siege warfare was incredibly brutal; mosquitoes would have been the least of anyone’s worries. Assuming otherwise is a laughably modern, suburban-comfort take.
* Weaponized pollution: They cared so little about stagnant water, in fact, that they actively polluted their moats with sewage, dead animals, and other refuse to make them even more repulsive for an attacking army to cross (they did the same to dry moats, by the way).
* The physics of crossing: Wading or swimming through water is slower and much more exhausting than climbing through a dry moat. Most people at the time could not swim, and doing so while carrying weapons and equipment was incredibly difficult. While most foot soldiers were obviously not wearing plate armor or chainmail, those who did had zero chance of swimming. Even the rest would have worn rudimentary protective gear, such as boiled leather, which would act like a sponge and greatly hinder them in the water.

Because the mosquitos will probably kill you quicker than the enemy army will.

We underestimate how much medical knowledge civilisations picked up over time.

For example in ancient Greece there was knowledge of applying honey and alcohol to prevent wound infections, of washing and/or heat sterilising medical instruments, and a general understanding that dirty or diseased matter entering the body in any way will cause disease.

They might not understand exactly what the mechanism of action is, but if you have a vague understanding that things that are not clean getting into the body cause disease, you end up doing a lot of things right.

A lot of post-Roman civilisations ended up going backwards in terms of medicine.

Me who had already to stand in stinky water with mosquitos:

Erm, no?

Is this an offshoot of the moat wars?