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When Tea Reaches Its Boiling Point In Fiction, So Too May The Story

Quilp, the epitome of evil in Charles Dickens' <em>The Old Curiosity Shop</em>, seen here with Little Nell, is a dwarf with the head of a giant and a &quot;few discolored fangs&quot; for teeth. But his most grotesque trait is his trick of drinking &quot;boiling tea without winking&quot; and eating &quot;hard eggs, shell and all.&quot; (Getty Images)
Quilp, the epitome of evil in Charles Dickens' The Old Curiosity Shop, seen here with Little Nell, is a dwarf with the head of a giant and a "few discolored fangs" for teeth. But his most grotesque trait is his trick of drinking "boiling tea without winking" and eating "hard eggs, shell and all." (Getty Images)

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