an eye-popping fact

Jacksonborough was formerly the county site, situated on Beaver Dam creek, 10 miles from Savannah river, 55 from Augusta, and 70 from Savannah. It is now almost a deserted village. The place had formerly a very bad character. It was reported, that in the mornings after drunken frolics and fights, you could see the children picking up eyeballs in tea-saucers!

That quote, which reads like an hyperbole from one of R. A. Lafferty's tall tales, actually comes from from George White's "Statistics of the state of Georgia" (1849). I encountered it while searching for information on Lorenzo Dow, who is passingly mentioned in Harold Frederic's novel The Damnation of Theron Ware.