I did not know this. People eat clay.

[Baitball Blogger]

And, on Etsy, someone warned that the clay he sold was dug up from the ground in Georgia. Someone replied that it came in with glassy quartz bits and she didn't see how she could eat it. And then, another source sold "Edible Clay.'

But, it happens to be a thing.

Is It Harmful to Eat Dirt, and Why Do Some People Do It?

Geophagia, the practice of eating dirt, has existed all over the world throughout history. People who have pica, an eating disorder in which they crave and eat nonfood items, often consume dirt.

Some people who are anemic also eat dirt, as do some pregnant women worldwide. In fact, many pregnant women often crave dirt, possibly because of the potential protection dirt can provide against some toxins and parasites, according to research.

Although many people link geophagia to a number of health benefits, it’s also associated with a range of health issues. Eating dirt, especially over a long period of time, can increase risk for a number of problems, including:

parasites
heavy metal poisoning
hyperkalemia
gastrointestinal problems

https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/eating-dirt

[doc03]

1. I saw that on an old 1970s Emergency episode a while back. This pregnant women from down south

Georgia I think was poisoning her baby by eating clay. Of course Dr. Bracket figured it out.

[Wounded Bear]

2. Certain types of clay or "dirt" contain important minerals...

many animals will eat it, including .

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/would-you-like-side-dirt-eating-soil/

Today it is clear that geophagia is even more widespread in the animal kingdom than previously thought. Investigators have observed geophagia in more than 200 species of animals, including parrots, deer, elephants, bats, rabbits, baboons, gorillas and chimpanzees. Geophagia is also well documented in humans, with records dating to at least the time of Greek physician Hippocrates (460 B.C.). The Mesopotamians and ancient Egyptians used clay medicinally: they plastered wounds with mud and ate dirt to treat various ailments, especially of the gut. Some indigenous peoples in the Americas used dirt as a spice and prepared naturally bitter foods such as acorns and potatoes with a little clay to counteract the acerbic taste. Geophagia was a frequent practice in Europe until the 19th century, and some societies, such as the Tiv tribe of Nigeria, still rely on cravings for dirt as a sign of pregnancy.

It's not as weird as we might think. In our modern society it may be rare, but it has a history in animals and humans.

[pfitz59]

16. Here's another article on the subject:

https://www.audubon.org/news/clay-craving-and-dirt-dining-eating-earth-may-be-good-us#:~:text=Shugana%20Williams%2C%20an%20archivist%20and%20librarian%20at%20the,says%2C%20%E2%80%9Ca%20red%20dirt%2C%20as%20they%20called%20it.%E2%80%9D

[captain queeg]

3. I had a book a few years ago with reminders of growing up in the 50s and 60s

Most of the stuff I’d at least heard of, but there was one item about kids chewing blacktop like gum. I don’t think it was the asphalt because it also mentioned roofing. I showed it to a friend of mine who was about 10 years older and he said oh yeah, pretty common then.

[Baitball Blogger]

5. I was told that someone wrote that Canal Zone kids use to do this.

However, I was a Canal Zone kid and I never knew anyone who did.

[LastDemocratInSC]

4. South Carolina is known as the "Sandlapper State"

This is widely believed to be because of the practice of geophagia in some regions of the state.

[dewsgirl]

6. I had a friend that developed pica when she was pregnant.

She tried to hide it, but fortunately I knew what it was, and helped her get the help she needed.
Before the internet was what it is now, during both my pregnancies, in 1997 and 2003. I read What To Expect When Your Expecting at least 4 times.

[Baitball Blogger]

7. Good for you! And for the baby!

[The Jungle 1]

8. Fast food?

[Baitball Blogger]

9. I know nothing of its diahretic properties.

[VGNonly]

10. Eating soil

increases the amount of B-12 in the body.

[RFCalifornia]

11. It's a known way to get "Links Disease"

Inside reference

[Harker]

12. There was a baseball pitcher who used to dip dirt from the mound

instead of tobacco because it was free, and nobody wanted to bum any off him.

Can't remember his name.

[SeattleVet]

13. So he was getting second-hand tobacco juice that other pitchers spat out?

Ewwww....

[Harker]

14. Yeah. That's really nasty. n/t

[Solly Mack]

15. Seen adults eating it when I was a child. Tried some. Curiosity satisfied.

Not my thing.