So, what do I write about when I don’t have much to report? Do I put up a filler post? Something totally not related to writing, or publishing or vampires?
Obviously, my first thought was, “Yes!” So, I put the word popcorn at the top and started blathering on about not much. But, then I thought it would be fun to give you all a lesser known fact about popcorn. Like, isn’t this a cute idea, and aren’t I super clever?
Keeping readers entertained and educated for weeks now, me.
I went to popcorn.org. That’s a real site, with some interesting information. Like, popcorn kernels can pop up to three feet in the air. I didn’t know that, did you?
Anyway, I decided that I wanted something with a little more bite, so I Googled, “popcorn and vampires” just to see what would happen. That’s when I discovered this kernel of info.
Have you heard of pellagra? I never had, until today, but apparently, it is a disease which appears to share many symptoms with vampires of legend: hypersensitivity to sunlight, aggression, pale skin with engorged, red lips, and refusal to eat food.
Pellagra is caused primarily by a dietary niacin deficiency. Cultures that regularly ate corn (as they did in the Americas back in the day), discovered that those who ate corn that had been processed with lime juice or that ate corn tortillas with beans didn’t waste away and eventually die (i.e. no vampires in the Americas). But, when corn made its way to Europe and began feeding the peasants, they didn’t know this. So, over time, people would develop pellagra and waste away. Thus the vampire legend was formed and flourished.
Nowadays, we turn to science to understand these symptoms and help people correct their diets and avoid vampirism, I mean pellagra.
Now you know how vampires and popcorn are connected. And also, now I feel totally justified in drinking margaritas anytime I have tortillas. It’s for my health!
Sources:
The relationship of pellagra to corn and the low availability of niacin in cereals.
How Eating Corn Can Turn You Into A Vampire
The Legend of Vampires – Pellagra, Corn and Niacin Deficiency
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