Birdwatch Note Rating
2023-08-19 14:04:44 UTC - HELPFUL
Rated by Participant: 4EBE1C0903C9E2F1366D9ED2BDE4CA59A88B68644BB8C679BE4FB6BAF0FA1D11
Participant Details
Original Note:
These are "dirt eater masks". Slave owners forced slaves to wear it to stop them from eating dirt. Geophagy, pica or dirt eating is caused due to diet deficiency. Slave owners believed that putting a mask on the slaves would stop them from eating dirt and getting sick. https://www.nytimes.com/1984/02/13/us/southern-practice-of-eating-dirt-shows-signs-of-waning.html https://thewildpeak.wordpress.com/2015/07/12/dirt-eating-slaves-and-impressed-sailors/ https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/04/02/297881388/the-old-and-mysterious-practice-of-eating-dirt-revealed
All Note Details