You just can’t miss this article by Carlyn Beccia: Let Them Eat Hair Garnishes.

What does Marie Antoinette’s infamous pouf and the starchy tuberous crop fruit known as the potato have in common? Read more to find out…

We tend to associate the potato more with Ireland and England than we do with France and that may because the humble spud had a very rocky start with French Parisians. Although already widely accepted in England, the potato did not come to France until around 1600.1 Still, no respectable royal would dare to eat the strange, dirty, lumpy looking spud. The potato became so feared that in 1619 it was banned from Burgundy, France because it was rumored to cause leprosy. It all made perfect sense to 16th century scholars. A potato looked like leprosy so therefore it must cause leprosy.

The leprosy spud finally got an image makeover in the 18th century with the help from [continue]

This article is posted at Holly Tucker’s blog, Wonders and Marvels. Holly’s blog is fascinating — a must-read if you like " history, its odd stories, and good reads."

Carlyn Beccia (who wrote the Let Them Eat Hair Garnishes post) has a website you’ll love, too: The Raucous Royals.