Our American Cousin, the farce being performed when President Lincoln was shot at Ford’s Theatre, had some choice lines of bumpkin talk. One of them, “You sockdologizing old man-trap!,” was the play’s biggest laugh line, after which John Wilkes...
Asafetida, the plant used in asafidity bags intended to ward off disease, is also a common ingredient in Indian cooking, and it’s said to counterbalance heavy spices and relieve stomach cramps. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
What’s an asafidity bag? Variously spelled asfidity, asfedity, asafetida, asphidity, and assafedity, it’s a folk medicine tradition involves putting the stinky resin of the asafetida or asafoetida plant in a small bag worn around the neck to ward...

