Between the 1300s - 1600s, Europe was ravaged by a series of deadly plagues (pandemics). Doctors at that time believed that wearing a pendant with a nutmeg inside would ward off infections.
Everybody wanted nutmeg but the fruit came from only a few tiny islands in today's Indonesia, on the other side of the globe from Europe. A round trip between these islands and Europe took nearly two years. At that time, nutmeg was worth more than its weight in gold.
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