Now that my book is finished and I have a little more time on my hands, I'm getting back to one of my more favourite activites: digging through books of useless sexual trivia. It's absolutely fascinating what these authors discover. Like the following tidbit of information I found in Erica Orloff's and JoAnn Baker's "Dirty Little Secrets".
In the chapter "Can't Buy Me Love", Orloff and Baker have a sexual trivia pop quiz.
Ready?
Question: "What happened to Chinese prostitutes past their prime in San Francisco in the mid 1800s?"
Give up?
Answer: "They were forced to kill themselves. Prostitutes past their prime were taken to 'hospitals' where they were given a single bowl of rice, a lamp of oil, and a cup of water. These women knew they were brought to these filthy places to die. Usually these women had venereal diseases or otherwise were ill. They were locked in a room until the oil in their lamp ran out. By that time, they were usually dead due to starvation, though some committed suicide, perhaps through hanging. If they were still alive after the oil lamp burned out, they were murdered."
Holy good mother. What a horrible fate. Especially for those poor women who 'gave' so much and got so 'little' some times.
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