XPost: alt.folklore.computers   
   From: bowman@montana.com   
      
   On Mon, 12 Jan 2026 11:50:10 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:   
      
   > On 11/01/2026 20:57, rbowman wrote:   
   >> On Sun, 11 Jan 2026 11:29:53 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:   
   >>   
   >>> On 11/01/2026 05:39, rbowman wrote:   
   >>>> He tells a plausible story. In 'Collapse' Jared Diamond claims that   
   >>>> one of the reasons for the abandonment of Greenland along with   
   >>>> climate change was an irrational reluctance of the Norse to eat fish.   
   >>>> Excuse me? He bases that on the lack of fish bones in the middens.   
   >>>> I've never had it but I think the process of producing hákarl might   
   >>>> dissolve the bones.   
   >>>   
   >>> They are probably so hungry they ate the bones as well..   
   >>   
   >> We used to have fried smelts, fins, tail, and scales, usually without   
   >> the head.  This isn't the best area for seafood but the only ones I've   
   >> seen in the market lately were marked as bait.   
   >>   
   > In the UK 'whitebait' are fried fish eaten whole...   
      
   According to wiki, that any little fish you can fry up so smelts would   
   qualify. That's a little vague too. The ones we got were ocean fish that   
   would run up the rivers to spawn in the spring.   
      
   Some species are protected, particularly in California. Like the snail   
   darter people who would rather use the water for something else don't have   
   much interest in protecting smelt habitat.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)