Editing Potassium nitrate (section)

==In folklore and popular culture==
Potassium nitrate was once thought to induce [[impotence]], and is still rumored to be in institutional food (such as military fare). There is no scientific evidence for such properties.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_221.html|title=The Straight Dope: Does saltpeter suppress male ardor?|date=1989-06-16|access-date=2007-10-19|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011053456/http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_221.html|archive-date=2007-10-11}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1= Richard E. Jones |author2= Kristin H. López |name-list-style= amp |title= Human Reproductive Biology, Third Edition |publisher= [[Elsevier]]/[[Academic Press]] |year= 2006 |page= 225 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=pfiZfui2XLIC&pg=PA225 |isbn= 978-0-12-088465-0 |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160501084227/https://books.google.com/books?id=pfiZfui2XLIC&pg=PA225 |archive-date= 2016-05-01}}</ref> In ''[[Bank Shot]]'', El ([[Joanna Cassidy]]) propositions Walter Ballantine ([[George C. Scott]]), who tells her that he has been fed saltpeter in prison.{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}} In ''[[One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (film)|One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest]]'', Randle is asked by the nurses to take his medications, but not knowing what they are, he mentions he does not want anyone to "slip me saltpeter". He then proceeds to imitate the motions of masturbation.

In ''[[1776 (musical)|1776]]'', John Adams asks his wife Abigail to make saltpeter for the Continental Army. She, eventually, is able to do so in exchange for pins for sewing.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ew.com/article/2014/07/04/watch-1776-4th-of-july/|title=10 reasons true Americans should watch '1776' this 4th of July|website=EW.com|language=en|access-date=2019-08-01}}</ref>

In the ''[[Star Trek]]'' episode "[[Arena (Star Trek: The Original Series)|Arena]]", [[James T. Kirk|Captain Kirk]] injures a [[gorn]] using a rudimentary cannon that he constructs using potassium nitrate as a key ingredient of [[gunpowder]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}}

In ''[[21 Jump Street (film)|21 Jump Street]]'', Jenko, played by [[Channing Tatum]], gives a rhyming presentation about potassium nitrate for his chemistry class.{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}}

In ''[[Eating Raoul]]'', Paul hires a [[dominatrix]] to impersonate a nurse and trick Raoul into consuming saltpeter in a ploy to reduce his sexual appetite for his wife.{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}}

In ''[[The Simpsons]]'' episode "[[El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Our Homer)]]", Mr. Burns is seen pouring saltpeter into his chili entry, titled Old Elihu's Yale-Style Saltpeter Chili.{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}}

In the [[Sharpe (novel series)|''Sharpe'' novel series]] by [[Bernard Cornwell]], numerous mentions are made of an advantageous supply of saltpeter from India being a crucial component of British military supremacy in the Napoleonic Wars. In ''Sharpe's Havoc'', the French Captain Argenton laments that France needs to scrape its supply from [[cesspit]]s.{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}}

In the ''[[Dr. Stone]]'' anime and manga series, the struggle for control over a natural saltpeter source from guano features prominently in the plot.{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}}

In the farming lore from the [[Corn Belt]] of the 1800s, drought-killed corn<ref>{{Citation|last1= Krug| first1= E.C.| last2= Hollinger| first2= S.E.| year = 2003| title = Identification of factors that aid carbon sequestration in Illinois agricultural systems| publisher = Illinois State Water Survey, Atmospheric Environment Section| publication-place = Champaign, Illinois| pages= 27–28| url= https://www.isws.illinois.edu/pubdoc/CR/ISWSCR2003-02.pdf
| access-date = 2022-03-13}}</ref> in manured fields could accumulate saltpeter to the extent that upon opening the stalk for examination it would "fall as a fine powder upon the table".<ref>{{Citation| last= Mayo| first= N.S.| year= 1895| title= Cattle poisoning by nitrate of potash| publisher= Kansas State Agricultural College| publication-place = Manhattan| page= 5| url= https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/historicpublications/pubs/SB049.pdf| access-date = 2022-03-13}}</ref>

In the Slovenian short story [[Martin Krpan|Martin Krpan from Vrh pri Sveti Trojici]], the titular character and Slovene folk hero Martin Krpan illegally smuggles "English salt" for a living. The exact nature of "English salt" is a matter of debate, but it may have been a euphemism for potassium nitrate (saltpeter) due to its role in manufacturing [[gunpowder]].{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}

In [[Dexter: Original Sin]]'s first episode, Dexter's first victim uses potassium nitrate to kill her victims.