Birdwatch Note Rating
2023-08-18 18:35:57 UTC - SOMEWHAT_HELPFUL
Rated by Participant: F266E0CEA1C3A777E8E45361F6E4F9BFA9BC3F4F98EB9D2B0073C4DE147AA680
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
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