Jamaica ginger

Bottles of "Jamaica Ginger," also called "Jake."
Tri-ortho cresyl phosphate(TOCP), also called tricresyl phosphate, was the neurotoxin responsible for the paralysis associated with "Jake Walk."
Sampling "Ginger Jake", April 2, 1932

Jamaica Ginger extract, known in the United States by the slang name "Jake," was a late 19th-century patent medicine that provided a convenient way to bypass Prohibition laws, since it contained between 70-80% ethanol by weight.

History

"Jake" was not itself dangerous, but the U.S. Treasury Department, which administered the Prohibition laws, recognized its potential as an illicit alcohol source, and because of this, it required changes in the solids content of Jake to discourage drinking. The minimum requirement of ginger solids per cubic centimeter of alcohol resulted in a fluid that was extremely bitter and difficult to drink. Occasionally, Department of Agriculture inspectors would test shipments of Jake by boiling the solution and weighing the remaining solid residue. In an effort to trick regulators, bootleggers replaced the ginger solids with a small amount of ginger and either castor oil or molasses.

A pair of amateur chemists and bootleggers, Harry Gross and Max Reisman, worked to develop an alternative adulterant that would pass the tests, but still be somewhat palatable. They sought advice from a professor at MIT who did not realize it was meant for internal consumption. They settled on a plasticizer, tri-o-tolyl phosphate (also known as tri-ortho cresyl phosphate, TOCP, or Tricresyl phosphate), that was able to pass the Treasury Department's tests but preserved Jake's drinkability. TOCP was originally thought to be non-toxic; however, it was later determined to be a neurotoxin that causes axonal damage to the nerve cells in the nervous system of human beings, especially those located in the spinal cord. The resulting type of paralysis is now referred to as organophosphate-induced delayed neuropathy, or OPIDN.

In 1930, large numbers of Jake users began to lose the use of their hands and feet. Some victims could walk, but they had no control over the muscles which would normally have enabled them to point their toes upward. Therefore, they would raise their feet high with the toes flopping downward, which would touch the pavement first followed by their heels. The toe first, heel second pattern made a distinctive “tap-click, tap-click" sound as they walked. This very peculiar gait became known as the jake walk and those afflicted were said to have jake leg, jake foot, or jake paralysis. Additionally, the calves of the legs would soften and hang down and the muscles between the thumbs and fingers would atrophy.

Within a few months, the TOCP-adulterated Jake was identified as the cause of the paralysis, and the contaminated Jake was recovered. But by that time, it was too late for many victims. Some did recover full, or partial, use of their limbs. But for most, the loss was permanent. The total number of victims was never accurately determined, but is frequently quoted as between 30,000 and 50,000. Many victims were immigrants to the United States, and most were poor, with little political or social influence. The victims received very little assistance, aside from being the subject of a few blues songs recorded in the early 1930s (e.g. "Jake Walk Papa" by Asa Martin, "Jake Leg Blues" by the Mississippi Sheiks, "Alcohol and Jake Blues" by Tommy Johnson and "Jake Liquor Blues" by Ishman Bracey).

Although this incident became well-known, later cases of organophosphate poisoning occurred in Germany, Spain, Italy, and, on a large scale, in Morocco in 1959, where cooking oil adulterated with jet engine lubricant from an American airbase led to paralysis in approximately 10,000 victims, and caused an international incident.[1]

Cultural references

Books

Music

Songs were recorded at the time about "jake" and its effects; in a variety of musical styles, including blues and country. Several have been included on the compilation albums Jake Walk Blues (1977, 14 songs)[2] and Jake Leg Blues (1994, 16 songs)[3][4] There is a marked but unsurprising duplication of songs between those albums. In some cases, different artists used the same title for different songs. The songs on one or both of those albums are, in alphabetic order by title:

Other musical references include:

Screen

References

  1. Segalla, Spencer David (2012). "The 1959 Moroccan oil poisoning and US Cold War disaster diplomacy". The Journal of North African Studies 17 (2): 315–336. doi:10.1080/13629387.2011.610118.
  2. Various  Jake Walk Blues, Stash Records ST 110 at Discogs
  3. Various  Jake Leg Blues, Jass Records J-CD-642 at Discogs
  4. Various Artists: Jake Leg Blues at AllMusic. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  5. "Tommy Johnson discography". Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  6. Tommy Johnson  Alcohol And Jake Blues / Ridin' Horse at Discogs
  7. Tommy Johnson: Alcohol and Jake Blues at AllMusic. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  8. Tommy Johnson: Alchohol [sic] And Jake Blues at AllMusic. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  9. Howard Long / David McCarn: Bay Rum Blues at AllMusic. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  10. George-Warren, Holly (February 5, 2009). Public Cowboy No. 1: The Life and Times of Gene Autry. USA: Oxford University Press. p. 344. ISBN 978-0195372670. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  11. Gene Autry: Bear Cat Papa Blues at AllMusic. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  12. The Ray Brothers: Got the Jake Leg Too at AllMusic. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  13. "Lemuel Turner discography". Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  14. Lemuel Turner: Jake Bottle Blues at AllMusic. Retrieved JUly 21, 2015.
  15. "Willie 'Poor Boy' Lofton discography". Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  16. "Mississippi Sheiks discography". Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  17. Bo Carter / Mississippi Sheiks: Jake Leg Blues at AllMusic. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  18. Mississippi Sheiks: Jake Leg Blues at AllMusic. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  19. Narmour & Smith / William T. Narmour / Shellie W. Smith: Jake Leg Rag at AllMusic. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  20. Narmour & Smith: Jake Leg Rag at AllMusic. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  21. The Ray Brothers: Jake Leg Wobble at AllMusic. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  22. Allen Brothers / The Allen Brothers / Ray Brothers: Jake Leg Wobble at AllMusic. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  23. Byrd Moore: Jake Legs Blues at AllMusic. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  24. "Ishmon Bracey discography". Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  25. Ishman Bracey: Jake Liquor Blues at AllMusic. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  26. Ishman Bracey / Charley Taylor: Jake Liquor Blues at AllMusic. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  27. Allen Brothers  Jake Walk Blues at Discogs
  28. Allen Brothers: Jake Walk Blues at AllMusic. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  29. Allen Brothers / The Allen Brothers: Jake Walk Blues at AllMusic. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  30. Jake Walk Papa at AllMusic. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  31. "The Monday Set: The Three Terrors – New York City – 1/26/03". thesoundofindie.com.
  32. Staff Writer, "The Jamaica Ginger Story", TV.com, Date Unknown

Further reading

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, April 21, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.