Loco Foco (Sep. 1835)

[Joel S. Berson]

At 8/9/2007 09:45 PM, Ben Zimmer wrote:
>1835 _Salem (Mass.) Gazette_ 23 Jan. 3/2 Loco Foco, or self-igniting
>Segars. This is the name of an article prepared in New York. They
>possess the peculiar property of igniting themselves -- if they would
>smoke themselves, also they would increase human health and
>cleanliness, materially. -- Boston Post.

Aha -- the Salem connection to Hawthorne's 1839!

Joel

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