Since the dawn of time, man has continuously looked for more effective ways to kill and
hurt one another.
Poison has always been an effective and clandestine way to dispatch a supposed threat.
In years gone by, the rich and powerful would have a food tester on the payroll to make
sure their meals hadn’t been spiked with poison.
Toxic chemicals are all around us.
From domestic products to herbs and flowers, there will always be some deadly chemicals
close at hand.
Not all of the deadly chemicals we will look at today can be used as poison.
Some of these compounds are simply fatal through exposure, and can attack and kill all by themselves.
Some are even used to make incendiary devices.
Today we’ll take a look at the worst of the worst, in this episode of The Infographics
Show – The Top Ten Deadliest Chemicals in the World.
Please note that the deadliest chemicals depend on the volume used and the environment in
which they are exposed.
Chemicals that are designed specifically by scientists to kill humans are awarded extra
deadly points for being just plain evil.
10.
Digoxin.
This is an extract from the foxglove plant and in measured quantities improves heart
performance.
But in the wrong dose, this bad boy is deadly.
Nurse Charles Cullen, nicknamed ‘the Angel of Death,’ admitted to using Digoxin as
one of his drugs of choice when killing over 40 patients over his prolific 16 year death
nursing campaign.
Experts, however, estimate that the true death toll figure racked up by this Angel of Death
to be more to the tune of 400 fallen patients.
Digoxin is sold under the brand name Lanoxin and is usually taken orally or through injection.
Follow instructions carefully.
9.
Nicotine is a member of the nightshade family.
A cigarette has between 0.6 and 3% nicotine inside of it, and contact with it in its purest
liquid form would cause death within hours.
Most cases of nicotine poisoning have been the result of the use of nicotine as an insecticide.
Primary symptoms of nicotine poisoning include nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, sweating,
hypertension, tremor, seizure followed by central nervous system depression, coma, and
respiratory failure.
8.
Dimethylmercury causes severe skin burns and eye damage.
This heavy metal builds up in the tissues of its host.
In chemical form, exposure to air is enough to ignite it.
This chemical also causes cancer and flu-like illness known as ‘metal fume fever,’ and
once symptoms are diagnosed, it is usually too late for any cure.
This chemical, however, has never been used as a weapon because it is easily detected
by smell, it takes months to kill, and it is simply too dangerous to handle.
In 1997, chemist Wetterhahn spilled some of the chemical on her latex gloves.
The toxic compound burned straight through the latex and touched her skin.
She died a painful death 10 months later.
7.
Hydrogen peroxide at high concentration is extremely volatile, with the slightest nudge
causing explosions.
This chemical was used by the 2005 London underground bombers in the explosion that
killed 56 civilians.
While hydrogen peroxide may be found in everyday cleaning products, in our mains water, and
even in our hair products, there are several grades of this chemical that aren’t for
domestic use.
When the high grade hydrogen peroxide is mixed with the solvent acetone, the result is Acetone
peroxide - a highly deadly explosive.
6.
Sodium cyanide is a routine industrial reactant.
The term cyanide is known to many, and is often thought of in the same breath as poison,
following its use by soldiers in World War Two as a suicide pill.
In large volumes, the chemical is particularly nasty.
Officials investigating a huge explosion at a warehouse in China discovered that 700 tons
of sodium cyanide had been stored at the site.
Its main legitimate use is for mining and blasting.
Symptoms of cyanide poisoning include headache, fast heart rate, vomiting followed by seizures,
low blood pressure, loss of consciousness, and cardiac arrest.
And if a person survives the exposure, they will probably be rewarded with long term neurological
damage.
5.
hydrofluoric acid.
Every schoolboy has heard of it for its burning capabilities.
But this is a seriously dangerous chemical, and once it passes through the skin, it will
give up its proton and react with other chemicals, especially calcium, removing the calcium required
for cardiac function.
If untreated, hydrofluoric acid poisoning eventually leads to a long and painful ‘bone
death.’
4.
Strychnine is rumored to have killed Alexander the Great and blues legend Robert Johnson.
This highly toxic, colorless, bitter alkaloid is used as a pesticide to kill small animals
such as rats and birds.
If inhaled, swallowed, or absorbed through the mouth or nose, muscular convulsions will
take hold, followed by death through asphyxia.
In fact, it produces some of the most dramatic and painful symptoms in our list, making it
a popular choice for assassination attacks.
It is also one of novelist Agatha Christie’s favorite murder methods.
She often used it in her cozy who-done-it murder mystery books.
3.
Tabun is the wolf in sheep’s clothing of toxic chemicals.
It is clear, colorless, and tasteless, and has a pleasant fruity odor.
But this man-made nerve agent was developed as a pesticide by the Germans in 1936, and
was possibly used in the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.
A small drop exposed to the skin can cause sweat and muscle spasms, and a larger exposure
leads to loss of consciousness, convulsions, paralysis, respiratory failure, and death.
2.
VX is the common name for the venomous Agent X, a chemical that has no real benefit outside
the sphere of chemical warfare.
This odorless, tasteless chemical is deadly in amounts as little as 10 milligrams, and
exposure kills by attacking glands and muscles eventually leading to a total respiratory
system failure.
This is not one you want to be in any close proximity to, bc it is deadly as hell.
1.
Batrachotoxin is so deadly that only 135 millionth of a gram (or a dose the size of a grain of
a salt) is sufficient to kill a normal sized human being.
This potent chemical is the most acutely lethal toxin ever known to man - and guess what – the
rich and famous use it to make themselves appear young.
This poison, diluted down to a tiny amount, is called Botox, and is one of the most common
non-surgical body enhancement procedures.
But let’s return to its more potent natural state: Batrachotoxin, in binding to the sodium
channels in the nerve cells, removes all muscle control from the host.
This extremely dangerous toxin is found in the skin of poison arrow frogs.
Native tribes hunt by dunking darts into this chemical.
A direct hit naturally renders the animal totally paralyzed.
The hunting party can then go on to hunt other game, returning to the downed prey later in
the day.
1 milligram of this stuff could kill 1,200 people, and that’s why it’s our most deadly
chemical.
So what do you think?
Surprised that tabasco sauce didn’t make the list?
Think we left out a deadly chemical?
Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.
Also, be sure to watch our other video called The Worst Punishments in the history of Mankind.
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