God made dirt, so it can't hurt

I was having a late night conversation with a friend. Late conversations with me have often veered off into bizarre territory, usually because my brain is half in dreamland, but in this case my friend gave out the strange details.
"Pregnant women get a craving for dirt."
I voiced my doubts. She added, "I have a relative who eats it."
Double bullshit I think. Then I looked it up, and with barely a keystroke I discover there's a veritable pregnant woman dirt eating debate. Once again I returned to my state of humility in matters of perceiving the mind of women.
Apparently dirteating has cultural roots in the Carribean, Latin America and Africa in a practice called Pica. It's also a behavior associated with some psychological conditions. Scientifically it's called geophagy. Apparently some women even scarf it down with claiming health benefits. Check it out:
Eating Dirt: It Might be Good For You
Pregnant Women Eating Dirt
So I guess I'll continue to apply the 10 second rule for food on the ground when I go camping.