![]() ![]() Now here’s one right out of an Agatha Christie novel. A famous death caused by mercury is Amadeus Mozart, who was given mercury pills to treat his syphilis. And finally, organic mercury is found in fish, such as tuna and swordfish (consumption should be limited to 170g per week) but can be potentially deadly over long periods of time. Inorganic mercury is used to make batteries and is deadly only when ingested. ![]() Elemental mercury is the one you can find in glass thermometers it’s not harmful if touched but lethal if inhaled. There are three forms of mercury which are extremely dangerous. Though historians have questioned some of these deaths by black cap mushrooms, one thing is certain–these are not the magic mushrooms you should be eating. It is also possible the Holy Roman Emporer Charles VI died in the 1700s as a result of the Amanita phalloides. In 1534, Pope Clement VII was said to have succumbed to the poison after accidentally ingesting the mushroom. In the body, the toxins affect the liver and kidney, even if someone has recovered from the initial symptoms of nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. There are two main families of toxins in these ‘shrooms–the amatoxins and the phallotoxins. As the poisons are very stable, they cannot be removed through cooking, soaking, or drying. All parts of the mushroom are poisonous, and ingesting even just a few pieces can be fatal, even though they are reported to taste quite pleasant. The death cap mushroom, Amanita phalloides, is a deadly fungus commonly mistaken for edible mushrooms. ![]() The berries of this plant are the most dangerous–consumption of ten of the attractive-looking berries is fatal. If gently rubbed on their checks, it would create a reddish color, which today would be known as blush! This plant seems innocent enough, right? Well, actually, if ingested, a single leaf is lethal, and that’s why it was used to make poison-tipped arrows. That’s because belladonna was used in the middle-ages for cosmetic purposes–diluted eye-drops dilated the pupils, making the women more seductive (or so they thought). This was a favorite of the ladies! The name of this plant is derived from Italian and means beautiful woman. The emperor Claudius is said to have been poisoned by his wife, Agrippina, using aconite in a plate of mushrooms. Reportedly, it has a particularly famous casualty. Because of its untraceable nature, it has been a popular poison with the “get away with murder” crowd. Poisoning can occur even after touching the plant’s leaves without wearing gloves as it is very rapidly and easily absorbed. Also known as wolfsbane, aconite leaves only one post-mortem sign, that of asphyxia, as it causes arrhythmic heart function, which leads to suffocation. Impress your friends (and get some strange looks) with your in-depth knowledge of poisons! Buy Poisons: From Hemlock to Botox and the Killer Bean of Calabar at !Īconite comes from the plant monkshood. ![]() Condemned to death for impiety in 399 BC, he was given a very concentrated infusion of hemlock. Probably the most famous hemlock poisoning is that of the Greek philosopher Socrates. Death comes in the form of paralysis–your mind is wide awake, but your body doesn’t respond, and eventually, the respiratory system shuts down. For an adult, the ingestion of 100mg of conium or about 8 leaves of the plant is fatal. It was a popular one with the ancient Greeks, who used it to kill off their prisoners. Hemlock or Conium is a highly toxic flowering plant indigenous to Europe and South Africa. SEE ALSO: 10 Foods We Eat That May Lead To Poisoning Or Death 10 Hemlock However, a murder mystery is one thing, but when the story becomes a reality, you have got yourself a real killer! Here is a list of the most famous poisons used to kill people throughout history. Hercule Poirot and Sherlock Holmes seem to have developed the audience’s taste for untraceable, fast-acting poisons used to kill. Poison is definitely among fiction’s greatest weapons. ![]()
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