Episode 164: Somewhere in the Middle
The History of English Podcast
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An English Translation of a Book About Tobacco
The book contains the first reference to tobacco in an English document. At the time it was commonly thought that tobacco was good for you and helped children with breathing problems. One passage mentions an interesting treatment for the fever caused by malaria. The indigenous people used certain pebbles or small stones to treat the condition. But what makes the passage so interesting is how the stones were typically obtained. Supposedly a large lizard-like creature ate the stones from the riverbanks.
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