In 1840s London, it was common practice to add sand to sugar, with up to 20% of the sugar supply being adulterated in this way. This fraud was depicted in contemporary prints showing sand being mixed into sugar to increase its weight and volume. Consumers were often unaware of the deception, as the adulterated sugar appeared similar to the genuine product.

The adulteration of sugar with sand was a favorite subject for satirical poets and cartoonists, who used it to comment on the greed and dishonesty of merchants. The image of gritty, sandy sugar became a metaphor for the pervasive deceptions of modern life. This theme appears in the works of writers like Thomas Carlyle, who saw such practices as evidence of the moral bankruptcy of industrial society.