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Ep 118 Asbestos: Corruption and cancer and corporate greed, oh my!

This Podcast Will Kill You

CHAPTER

The Myth of Asbestos Salamander

The etymology of salamander is not fully resolved, but it may come from the Persian meaning fire within or from the old French legendary fiery beast. The idea behind this, or at least one of the proposed ideas as to why it has this reputation, is that some species live in damp logs. And so if you toss that log onto a fire, it may burn for a bit before it gets too hot and the salamander would then run out. So maybe who knows? But yeah, this was a very common myth, not just the fire resistant salamander, but that hair grew on these fires and salamanders. That's where asbestos came from.

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