Birdwatch Note Rating
2023-08-19 12:01:21 UTC - HELPFUL
Rated by Participant: E7A45CBE4D68EA013C65B03AD47C85C59F074A0F8A6F8EEA3BB1048AB39218FE
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