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Pseudo-science: warts and all (M&G)

Friday, May 1st, 2009 | rational thought, science | No Comments

When I was seven or eight, I found a wart growing on my knee. Sounds grim, I know, but bear with me. Someone — an adult, nogal, so it had to be reputable, right? — told me that if you cut a raw potato in half, rubbed it on the wart and buried the potato, the wart would disappear. I think there was something about doing it at full moon, but I didn’t buy that bit.

I was methodical, though, and followed the instructions precisely. The weeping face of the half-potato was rubbed against the offending growth, a small tear hacked through the matted kikuyu grass in the back garden and the potato duly buried. › Continue reading