Carrots, pilots and polar bears
"Eat your carrots—they'll help you see in the dark" is a refrain that many of us have grown up hearing at the dinner table, but was it a ruse to get us to eat an affordable, British-grown vegetable? In World War II, the British government appeared to believe in these vision-enhancing properties, as the British Royal Air Force circulated propaganda suggesting that their pilots had excellent night vision because they consumed large quantities of carrots. Dr Carrot, the “children’s best friend” and the “adviser of grown-ups” was co-opted to promote carrot eating to help people see during the blackouts. But [...]
