You have to love old articles

[Rubystars]

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,837103,00.html

This was before the press became so politically correct.

[Irish Zionist]

Haha that was funny and so true. Great article Ruby. 

[The One and Only Mo]

 

[Lewinsky Stinks, Dr. Brennan Rocks]

This is back when people actually could call a spade a spade.

[patches]

What a world we live in.

[Angry Panther]

I'm shocked to find out that Negroes ate starch, I wonder if they still do?

[briann]

Wow.  Laundry Starch.  I can see that.

[Confederate Kahanist]

ewwww.  Who would think to eat such a thing?  It's not even healthy.

[muman613]

Isnt there such a thing as Corn Starch?

I think it is an indregient for sweetening..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corn_starch

I have no idea if that is what you are discussing... I just wondered if this is related...

Inexpensive Psychiatry. Argo representatives say that their laundry product contains nothing but cornstarch, a common thickener for soups and desserts. (They also say the starch-eating habit is "rare.") According to medical opinion, eating large amounts of laundry starch often brings on anemia by blocking the body's absorption of iron. Some doctors state that overeating laundry starch may also cause a deficiency of folic acid, which in pregnant women may lead to premature births or bleeding near delivery time.

[The One and Only Mo]

Corn syrup is for sweetening, corn starch is a starch used to make starchy products etc. I think.

[Americanhero1]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corn_starch

[Rubystars]

Corn starch was used for various purposes, including for laundry. They were buying boxes of it and just chomping down on it.

A little corn starch is good for thickening soup or desserts, or to put on itchy skin, or to use for various other things. However it's not normal for people to eat entire boxes of it at one time.

I was laughing at the part that said the negro lady had a "powerful desire" for more corn starch. It makes me think of those old tv shows where some negro says "Oh I gots a powah-ful des-eye-ah fo' dat" 

The only thing I can think of is that maybe, because they were poor, there was a nutritional deficiency, and their body craved whatever mineral they were missing. Culturally, the response to this was eating clays, which provided the missing nutrients in the diet. Without access to the proper kind of clays, they used corn starch, which could have a similar texture, and was inexpensive, as a substitute.

[muman613]

Wowie,

Another one of those coinkidinkies just happened...

I went into my kitchen and noticed a large plastic container called "Clabber Girls Cornstarch" on my refrigerator...



Oy...

PS: It is OU Kosher...

[Lewinsky Stinks, Dr. Brennan Rocks]

Gross!

[cjd]

Nutrition: An Urge for Argo
Time Magazine Friday, Jul. 28, 1967

     When I'm pregnant, it's just like taking dope," said the Negro woman bearing her ninth child at the District of Columbia General Hospital in Washington. "I can hardly wait to get home so I can get some more starch," she added, referring not to starchy foods but to laundry starch. "Sometimes I'll eat two or three boxes a day."

To their astonishment, Northern doctors have lately discovered that eating laundry starch is all the rage among Negro women—especially pregnant women—in many Northern-city slums. At D.C. General Hospital, Chief Obstetrician Dr. Earnest Lowe estimates that up to one-fourth of his patients are starch addicts. At Los Angeles County Hospital, three or four patients a week are diagnosed as having anemia apparently caused by starch binges.

Magnesia & Matzo. According to the few doctors who have studied the subject, the craving for laundry starch is an offshoot of the clay-eating habit still prevalent among some Southern Negroes. Those who migrate North sometimes receive packages of clay (known as "Mississippi Mud" in Los Angeles) mailed by friends back home, but most switch to laundry starch, which is easier to obtain and apparently satisfies the same hunger.

Across the country, the preferred brand is Argo Gloss Starch, available in either the economy-size blue box at 19¢ or the handy red box at 11¢. Both contain chewy lumps that taste, according to one gourmet, like "a cross between milk of magnesia and matzo. The texture is that of an after-dinner mint." Like peanuts, one handful leads to another. "After a box of it," said one woman, "my throat gets kind of sticky, so I go and get a big glass of ice water. Then I get a powerful desire for more." Some enthusiasts spice laundry starch with salt and pepper; others munch it with ice chips. A few housewives wash it down with Coke.

Inexpensive Psychiatry. Argo representatives say that their laundry product contains nothing but cornstarch, a common thickener for soups and desserts. (They also say the starch-eating habit is "rare.") According to medical opinion, eating large amounts of laundry starch often brings on anemia by blocking the body's absorption of iron. Some doctors state that overeating laundry starch may also cause a deficiency of folic acid, which in pregnant women may lead to premature births or bleeding near delivery time.

Whether starch gobbling results from a physical need or a cultural habit is a minor medical mystery. According to Manhattan Internist Harry Roselle, who sees many cases at St. Luke's Hospital, Negro women nibble starch in times of stress as a form of "inexpensive psychiatry." Many Negroes believe that starch prevents nausea during pregnancy. Indeed, some doctors agree that starch probably does soothe "morning sickness," though probably only for psychological reasons. Unfortunately, the other effects are all bad.

Years ago most people kept a box of corn starch around. As RubyStars said it was  used in the kitchen and was also a good powder for skin irritations. It also made a great paste for sticking  paper products together. As with most things black folks do this story leaves me scratching my head. I had heard about the clay eating but always thought it was just a story. Now the article documents that and also tosses in a few boxes of starch. They may have thought all that nice white starch might whiten up the end results a bit

[Rubystars]

Wowie,

Another one of those coinkidinkies just happened...

I went into my kitchen and noticed a large plastic container called "Clabber Girls Cornstarch" on my refrigerator...



Oy...

PS: It is OU Kosher...

I wonder how many views you would get on Zootube if you made a video eating it all with salt, pepper, and Coca Cola. 

[Yochai]

Corn starch was used for various purposes, including for laundry. They were buying boxes of it and just chomping down on it.

A little corn starch is good for thickening soup or desserts, or to put on itchy skin, or to use for various other things. However it's not normal for people to eat entire boxes of it at one time.

I was laughing at the part that said the negro lady had a "powerful desire" for more corn starch. It makes me think of those old tv shows where some negro says "Oh I gots a powah-ful des-eye-ah fo' dat" 

The only thing I can think of is that maybe, because they were poor, there was a nutritional deficiency, and their body craved whatever mineral they were missing. Culturally, the response to this was eating clays, which provided the missing nutrients in the diet. Without access to the proper kind of clays, they used corn starch, which could have a similar texture, and was inexpensive, as a substitute.

Until recently, people thought this theory was correct to explain why Southern blacks ate dirt that had high clay content.  In fact though, it is not for health reasons(Southern Blacks are not the most health-conscious people), but because in Africa they also ate clay, and they carried the tradition here.  There are still a few old southern black women who continue to eat dirt.

It is called Geophagy(eating dirt and other such materials) and it is said that in human development every society goes through this stage.  The rest of the world stopped doing this thousands of years ago.  In retrospect, it makes sense because Africa is still thousands of years behind us in terms of cultural and social development.