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Episode 173: aka Humbug Billy
If you were a good girl or boy in 1858, maybe your dad would spend a nickel to buy you the hottest, most desirable candy of the day: Hard peppermint "humbugs." The candy that featured plaster dust, and maybe poison.
Sources:
Elliott, Jenny. How Tainted Treats Led to a Halloween Tragedy in 1858. Atlas Obscura. How Tainted Treats Led to a Halloween Tragedy in 1858 - Gastro Obscura (atlasobscura.com)
Johnson, Ben. Dying for a Humbug, the Bradford Sweets Poisoning of 1858. Historic UK. Dying for a Humbug, the Bradford Sweets Poisoning 1858 (historic-uk.com)
Paul, David. Bradford Sweets Poisoning of 1858, The. Yorkshire Magazine. The Bradford Sweets Poisoning of 1858 - the tragic tale of 'Humbug Billy' (on-magazine.co.uk)
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By Ben Matlock and Steve Gibson
5
33 ratings
If you were a good girl or boy in 1858, maybe your dad would spend a nickel to buy you the hottest, most desirable candy of the day: Hard peppermint "humbugs." The candy that featured plaster dust, and maybe poison.
Sources:
Elliott, Jenny. How Tainted Treats Led to a Halloween Tragedy in 1858. Atlas Obscura. How Tainted Treats Led to a Halloween Tragedy in 1858 - Gastro Obscura (atlasobscura.com)
Johnson, Ben. Dying for a Humbug, the Bradford Sweets Poisoning of 1858. Historic UK. Dying for a Humbug, the Bradford Sweets Poisoning 1858 (historic-uk.com)
Paul, David. Bradford Sweets Poisoning of 1858, The. Yorkshire Magazine. The Bradford Sweets Poisoning of 1858 - the tragic tale of 'Humbug Billy' (on-magazine.co.uk)