Geophagy

Geophagy, or "earth eating" is when people eat, well, um, dirt.  Sounds weird, but people have done it for centuries, in widely different lands, and for different reasons.  In Haiti, mud cakes were being made and sold to fill peoples' bellies because they couldn't afford food.

Here is a different take on it, from our friends at National Public Radio:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/04/02/297881388/the-old-and-mysterious-practice-of-eating-dirt-revealed?utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=npr&utm_campaign=nprnews&utm_content=04022014