That Three-Letter Word (and saltpeter)

[jenbe_me]

No: HPFGUIDX 31373

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Eric Oppen" <oppen at c...> wrote:

<snip>

> We haven't seen it yet because Harry's had no occasion to find out 
and
> nobody's told him, but I'm sure that Madam Pomfrey has things 
available to
> her that would prevent pregnancy and disease.  


   A-HA! At last someone takes my question seriously. Thanks, Eric. I 
have no doubt Madam Pomfrey has experience in that very arena. She 
seems to have no trouble curing any other problems brought to her 
attention, so sexual ailments and pregnancy probably wouldn't puzzle 
her either. 

> Of course, Hogwarts food could also have anti s-x or anti-pregnancy 
and
> anti-disease drugs included...some of my friends who were sentenced 
to...er,
> _attended_ boarding schools told me that they were sure the food 
was laced
> with anti-s-x stuff like saltpeter.  Paranthetically, does 
saltpeter really
> lower the libido?  Or is that an old wives' tale?  I'm told it's 
sort of an
> anti-Viagra.

    I've heard this too, and I don't know about what other additives 
they might be putting in the food, but as for saltpeter, I know 
that's just an old wives tale. I've just looked it up on 
www.snopes.com  (an urban legend site) and came up with this:

  "There's no proof potassium nitrate (also known as saltpeter) has 
any effect on libido, plus or minus, so there would be nothing to be 
gained from such a doctoring of edibles. Yes, saltpeter has long 
rumored to be an anaphrodisiac, a substance that reduces sexual 
drive. But it's all rumor and no fact. The rumor doesn't reside only 
within the ranks of the [military] service -- it pops up wherever 
teenage boys or men are housed together. Many believe saltpeter is 
secretly introduced into the food at colleges, boys' schools, and 
prisons, all places where the belief flourishes because the inmates 
need to explain away their lack of sexual arousal. 

Saltpeter has a long history of medical use. It and other nitrates 
were employed by doctors during the 18th century to treat such varied 
problems as asthma, sore throats, and arthritis. Not that it was used 
wisely for these purposes, however -- physicians were far less 
knowledgeable in those days, and potassium nitrate's hazards were not 
understood as well as they are now. Saltpeter can be toxic in large 
quantities. It can cause anemia, methemoglobinemia (a blood 
disorder), headache, stomach upset, dizziness, kidney damage, and can 
raise one's blood pressure to a dangerous level. It is thus strongly 
recommended against, and no one in his right mind would dose himself 
or anyone else with it."

   Sorry I can't supply a direct URL on this, my best advice is to go 
to snopes.com and type in "saltpeter" in the search engine.

jenbea