....However, nobody in PNG will do anything until they’ve had a good chew of a revolting-looking combination of betel nut, mustard and quicklime, a concoction which makes them dribble copious quantities of bright red saliva and has the effect of staining their mouths and teeth dark red, not to mention their t-shirts, as well as giving the appearance of some kind of internal haemorhage. The betelnut and lime eventually stain their teeth black, rots their gums and their teeth fall out. Not a good look, very few elderly people in New Guinea have any teeth, but they keep on chewing….

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