The Unusual History Of People Literally Drowning In Food And Drink
Although infrequent, there have been tragic cases in history showcasing the dangerous capabailities of food and beverages
Food and drink are generally not only sources of nourishment but also enjoyable comforts. Unfortunately, they can also have their dark sides, including three times they caused mass deaths from people who drowned in them.
Doodh Peeti: Two centuries ago, a horrific practice of infanticide was carried out in the Saurashtra and Kutch regions of India. Newborn baby girls were killed by drowning them in containers of milk, which came to be known as “Doodh peeti,” or literally, “feeding of milk.”
These barbaric killings were a bizarre type of financial planning. Not wanting to pay what could be a very expensive dowry for daughters once they came of appropriate age, parents instead dispatched female babies. It was a dirty little secret kept from the outside world until an 1805 British census determined there was a nearly complete absence of young girls in the affected regions. Although “Doodh peeti” was quickly banned, it still persisted on occasion until the end of the 19th century.
The Boston Molasses Flood of 1919: Although not used any more as much as it once…
