Hint
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Answer
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In 1973, many Arab nations refused to sell this to the U.S. and other Israeli allies
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Petroleum
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This metal was mined in Cornwall in ancient times. Combine it with copper to make bronze.
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Tin
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Radioactive element discovered by the Curies that was once used to illuminate watch dials
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Radium
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This crop was "king" in the U.S. south prior to the Civil War
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Cotton
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The Chinese discovered the formula for this saltpeter-based substance in the 9th century
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Gunpowder
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Tubes of this gas were first used in eye-catching signs in the 1910s
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Neon
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Bakelite, created in 1907, was the first synthetic variety of this substance made from carbon polymers
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Plastic
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George Washington grew this useful rope-making plant which was later banned
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Hemp
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Naturally-occurring mineral which was widely used for insulation and fire-proofing, now known to cause mesothelioma
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Asbestos
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Sir Walter Raleigh brought this from Virginia to England. A small pouch was found on his person after he was beheaded.
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Tobacco
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Only nobles in the Incan Empire were allowed to chew this leaf. In the 19th century, it was added to wine and soft drinks.
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Coca
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Egyptian mummies were wrapped in this white fabric, made from flax
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Linen
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A known antidepressant, it was first used to make batteries in the 1980s
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Lithium
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Crop responsible for a huge amount of the Caribbean slave trade
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Sugarcane
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The British held a monopoly over this substance in India so Gandhi marched to the sea to make it
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Salt
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Used to make ancient sandals, Dom Pérignon found another use for this tree-bark substance
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Cork
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Violin strings were formerly made of this substance which, despite its name, is made from sheep or goat intestines, not those of a cat
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Catgut
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In ancient times, Pliny the Elder complained that the Roman taste for this spice was causing a trade deficit with India
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Pepper
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Until the Japanese started to create "cultured" ones in the 1900s, people dove below the sea to get them
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Pearls
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The first evidence of people consuming this comes from Yemen, near the town of Mocha
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Coffee
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"Lithium is the most effective medication in psychiatry, because it has disease-modifying, not just symptomatic, effects. It is effective not only for bipolar illness but also for prevention of suicide, episodes of unipolar depression, mood temperaments, and possibly dementia.”
Barroilhet & Ghaemi (2020) doi: 10.1111/acps.13202
It's also possible that optimal human health depends on getting just the right amount of lithium in one's water.
I tried cannabis (for the sake of this quiz!) Arp2600 so I looked it up and technically it differs from hemp in its chemical make-up.