Castor Oil

I wonder what brilliant, terribly pregnant, woman first came up with drinking loads of castor oil to induce labor? How did they know that would get contractions to start? Like the way Native Americans added ash to their corn meal mixture (which releases the niacin in the corn flour), is that some sort of instinctual thing that the brain just picks up on, somehow analyzing the chemical composition of a food product in comparison with the body's own enzymes and hormones?

I am wondering this because I have been immersed in babyness for several weeks now, a pregnant cousin, a pregnant friend, other friends with new born babies. Just skyped one of them a bit ago, had her fourth little boy (in 5.5 years) three weeks ago. Then my pregnant friend Kolleen waddled over, after drinking a mixture of castor oil and raw egg earlier today. She was having contractions, but they seemed to be the false labor kind.

Due to all this excitement, I missed the excitement of hearing about David being appointed over Morganblaðið? That seems like a much, much stranger idea than castor oil.

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