Birdwatch Note Rating
2023-08-18 17:46:27 UTC - HELPFUL
Rated by Participant: A96EEB2FC05F4CB9008F3B644DB7620C9D7B7D7AB81BA42D26A4DE7A57628E8A
Participant Details
Original Note:
These masks were employed to prevent the wearer from eating soil (geophagia, a form of pica), becoming sick and dying. The practice of geophagia goes far back to Africa. Soils however can be contaminated with ascarid worms, parasites, or heavy metals. https://mississippiencyclopedia.org/entries/geophagia/ https://www.thoughtco.com/geophagy-eating-dirt-1433451 https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/what-is-dirt-eating https://content.ucpress.edu/chapters/11342.ch01.pdf https://www.nytimes.com/1984/02/13/us/southern-practice-of-eating-dirt-shows-signs-of-waning.html
All Note Details