Top 10 "Popular" Poisons
10.
Castor Bean
When you consider that castor oil is used as a food additive in candy and chocolate,
it’s disconcerting to discover that the fruit of that plant, the castor bean contains
a supertoxic level of the poison ricin.
As little as one bean, well chewed, could prove fatal.
However, according to figures from the American Association of Poison Control Centres (AAPC)
only two Castor Bean fatalities were recorded in the period from 1999 to 2004.
VERDICT: Flava Beans or Castor Beans?
Perhaps it would be best to just go for a meal with Dr Hannibal Lecter.
9.
Belladonna (Deadly Nightshade)
With a name that means beautiful woman, an extract from the belladonna plant was used
in Renaissance times as a beauty product.
Applied to the eyes it dilated the pupils and gave women a wide-eyed appearance.
This senseless and dangerous application of the poison often makes contemporary thinkers
marvel at the stupidity of our ancestors.
Contemporary poisoning from belladonna usually occurs because some dimwit has discovered
that the leaves purportedly have hallucinogenic qualities.
This almost makes the use of belladonna for pupil-dilation seem sensible.
VERDICT: The clue is in the name “deadly nightshade.”
Which part of “deadly” didn’t you understand?
8.
Fiddleback Spider Venom
At less than half an inch in length, the Fiddleback or Brown Recluse is one of the most venomous
spiders in the world.
Native to twenty-five states (primarily southern and midwestern) the bite of the Fiddleback
is usually painless but, after eight hours, the victim will be in agony.
Fatalities are now rare, thanks to advances in medical treatments.
However, with a bite that induces symptoms of vomiting, blisters, delirium and necrosis
– this spider is best avoided.
VERDICT: Does anyone want to buy my collection of Spiderman DVDs?
I shan’t be watching them again.
7.
Pufferfish Venom
The poisonous part of the pufferfish is the tetraodontoxin found in its ovaries.
This poison is not destroyed by cooking although experts say, if the entrails are removed before
cooking, the fish is usually harmless.
Used in the Japanese delicacy fugu, pufferfish can only be cooked and prepared by specially
trained and licensed chefs.
Even so, from 1955 through 1975 there were more than 1,500 fatalities caused by eating
improperly prepared fugu.
VERDICT: Do you want fries with that?
6.
Heroin
A poison that works on the respiratory system, Heroin depresses the central nervous system
creating a feeling of euphoria.
Even if you don’t factor in the risk of HIV from shared needles, or the danger of
contaminants being included in unregulated substances, the excess mortality rate amongst
Heroin users (up to 20% higher than in comparable groups of none users) makes the appeal of
this drug hard to understand.
Symptoms include cramps, disturbed vision, low blood pressure, coma and death from respiratory
failure.
VERDICT: Just say: NO.
5.
Hemlock
Hemlock was supposedly the poison that was used to dispatch Socrates.
Whilst Descartes may have said, “I think, therefore I am,” Socrates is meant to have
lifted his mug of Hemlock and said, “I drink, therefore I’m not.”
In Water Hemlock the highest concentrations of the poison cicutoxin can be found in the
root and one bite of this can cause death in adults.
Water Hemlock causes convulsions and death.
Poison Hemlock causes muscle failure and death.
VERDICT: Only acceptable as a beverage when served with fugu and a side order of castor
beans.
4.
Snake Venom
The toxicity of snakebites is dependent on a lot of factors, varying from the length
of time elapsed since the snake last bit, through to the level of danger the snake perceives
in its victim.
The most poisonous snakes are the vipers, cobras and adders.
Symptoms of snakebite poisoning include swelling, organ failure, vomiting, bleeding from the
eyes and nose and gums as well as obvious pain at the site of the snakebite.
Interestingly, white males account for more than three quarters of snakebite victims.
VERDICT: I’ve had it with these mother****ing snakes on this mother****ing plane.
3.
Arsenic
Historically arsenic was the murderer’s favourite choice and it has always been one
of the favourite devices used in murder mystery stories.
In the UK it was available as a poison that could be freely bought in chemists to help
with rat infestations.
Traces of arsenic are present in all human tissues and it is the twentieth most commonly
encountered element.
When used as a poison, symptoms include severe gastric discomfort, vomiting and diarrhoea
with blood.
VERDICT: A horrible poison, but it does have the fun factor of having the word “arse”
at the forefront of its name.
2.
Strychnine
One of the more popular forms of poisoning at the start of the twentieth century, strychnine
attacks the central nervous system and causes exaggerated reflex reactions.
With the correct dose a victim could be dead within ten to twenty minutes – having suffered
an agony of contortions and death throes.
Strychnine was the murder weapon in Agatha Christie’s first murder-mystery The Mysterious
Affair at Styles.
Whist this is a fast acting poison, effective treatments are now possible and it can only
be seen as an efficient murder weapon in fiction and on very old-fashioned murder mystery shows.
VERDICT: Cruel and inelegant.
This almost makes the fiddleback spider look appealing.
1.
Cyanide
Cyanide kills by preventing red blood cells from absorbing oxygen.
This results in a process known as “internal asphyxia.”
Cyanide capsules were supposedly used by World War II spies as an easy escape option to avoid
the painful part of a torture and death threat.
Lizzie Borden, although more famous for axe crimes, was found to have traces of cyanide
in the sugar bowl at her family home – suggesting she had a back up plan in case the forty whacks
failed.
Rasputin consumed a dose of cyanide that should have been lethal.
When it produced no adverse effects his enemies decided it was time to shoot and drown him.