The saffron war of 1374 lasted 14 weeks driven by a notion that the spice could cure plague. It can’t. But people lost their heads over it. It’s not just gold, diamonds, and oil we cherish and plunder. Seemingly benign commodities—whether it’s medicinal tea or stinky fungus—have exerted power over us for centuries. Here’s just a taste of their recent history.
Learn more: http://pops.ci/67wHes
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Producer/Video By Jason Lederman
Narrator Corinne Iozzio
Research Ellen Airhart
Graphs Sara Chodosh
Media Wikimedia Commons Pexels Pixabay African Wildlife Foundation Amazon Mophie DepositPhotos https://depositphotos.com/63608823/stock-photo-tin-can-and-a-spoon.html https://depositphotos.com/193413112/stock-photo-da-hong-pao-oolong-tea.html https://depositphotos.com/177780130/stock-photo-set-for-chinese-tea-ceremony.html
CC BY 2.0 https://www.flickr.com/photos/geishaboy500/4321852882/ (cropped and rotated)
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CC BY 3.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%E5%A4%A7%E7%BA%A2%E8%A2%8D_-_Dahongpao(Big_Red_Robe_Tea)_on_the_Cliff_-_2010.09_-_panoramio.jpg
CC BY-SA 3.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Beluga_sturgeon_in_aquarium.webm
CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Safran-Weinviertel_Niederreiter_2_Gramm_8285.jpg (original and background removed) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:White-truffle-pic.jpg (original and background removed) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hongwu1_crop.jpg (cropped)
