Tasting Black Powder

Didn't the USN used to add potassium nitrate to the sailors' food to help keep the VD rate down? The theory was that it promoted erectile dysfunction
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That is a myth. I remember hearing that saltpeter was added to the foods at prep schools. Just another myth.
 
I'll stick to hot sauce !!

The old folks used to say if you sprinkled it on dog food it would make them mean.
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Not too many years back, I bought a kennel from a dog breeder. During our conversation, he mentioned that he adds BP to the dogs food and basically for the reason that Hawg has listed. Now, understand that I know little about raising dogs as a business and this struck me as being unusual, if not dangerous. I asked another breeder about this practice and he got all upset and claimed that it damages the dog's brains. ..... :(

Be Safe !!!
 
The original reason spices were so highly coveted was to mask the smell and taste of food that was beyond it's expiration date until the advent of modern refrigeration and food preservation techniques.
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This is actually a myth, also.

Medieval people knew when food was bad just like we do today. They used spices for the same reason we do - to make things taste good.

Steve
 
I watched a BBC Horizons video about the nitrates they add to processed meats like cured sausages, bacon, lunch meats etc as a preservative.

For those who are not familiar with BBC Horizons, its a British science show that covers just about every scientific subject one can think of.. From the universe we live in to religion to eating habits, obesity, etc.

What they found was that nitrates are so bad for humans that they can actually calculate the shortening of your life expectancy by how much and how often you eat them. It didn't rise to the level of smoking or eating hydrogenated foods but it was close. If I remember correctly, it was something like 3 times a week = 7 years of your life or something astoundingly bad like that.
 
Did they say how much watching British Television shortens your life?
How much bacon do I get for not having a TV? :-)
 
I read many accounts where soldiers thought their opponents were given alcohol and black powder with which to fortify themselves for an upcoming attack. Knowing how some soldiers took to alcohol this comes as no surprise but not once have I ever read any account of an officer authorizing the issuance of alcohol mixed with black powder to give liquid courage to his soldiers. As for the black powder found around the lips of the fallen, DUH, that was from biting open the cartridges.
 
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