Looking forward : $b a dream of the United States of the Americas in 1999Bird, Arthur
Science
Looking forward : $b a dream of the United States of the Americas in 1999
Bird, Arthur
Twentieth century -- Forecasts; United States -- Civilization
Such is the utter blindness of custom and prejudice that in 1899
the daintiest maiden, who might faint at the sight of a mouse, would
occasionally smell the stench of a pig-sty, yet, without the least
compunction, would sit at table and enjoy a pork chop, pork stew,
pork roast, in fact pork in any form. At the mere mention of a horse
roast or horse stew, the same delicate young lady would manifest
her disdain, and if such dishes were set before her, her indignation
might turn into riot. This was in 1899.
In 1999 people acquired more "horse sense." Education, in time, broke
down [Cleaner Than Hogs or Chickens.] the barriers of pure prejudice
and senseless custom. In that year it became recognized and fully
acknowledged that the cleanest member of the animal kingdom, the horse,
was fit food for human beings who had the strength of stomach to eat
the hog, one of the filthiest, filth-devouring animals known to man,
an animal whose flesh was regarded with horror by many branches of the
human family, animals into which our Savior did not hesitate to cast
devils. In 1999 it was the universal belief that people who could
stomach pork and take their chances in contracting trichinæ, could
well afford to digest the clean, wholesome flesh of horses. No animal
has any cleaner habits, or more wholesome food than the horse. Such is
custom, habit and prejudice. If our ancestors had taught us from the
days of the Cæsars to eat horse flesh and to shun pork and poultry,
it is more than probable that a man caught eating the latter would
have been driven from any community as a disgrace to his kind.
Prejudice and custom are hard task masters. In 1925 it became
a custom to eat [Eating Raw Fish.] raw fish. The fish in such
cases were carefully cleaned before serving. The head, entrails and
other parts were removed and the raw flesh was served with salt and
pepper. Even this simple process required an education. Many with
capricious stomachs revolted at the treatment. They could not digest
raw fish that had been killed and nicely cleaned before eating, but
they would readily eat any quantity of raw oysters from the shell,
also clams, and eat them while the bivalves were still alive.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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