People learn in different ways. Some learn by reading, others by observation, and then there are people like me that just need to pee on the electric fence themselves.* * I don’t know who said this. It’s been attributed to Will Rogers, but his estate and museum say it’s not from him. Where am I … Continue reading
It’s been a while since I’ve posted, and for that I apologize. Life and stuff, you know? I stopped to focus on my career. Needless to say, that bit me in the ass. As my colleagues delicately put it, I got f***ed. But hey, it happens. That’s life, right? What hurt the most though, is … Continue reading
I love a good mystery, most scientists do. Whether it’s JFK being killed by a poison arrow or secret CIA Cold War poisons, I’m all in. And for me, the older the better. When I’m searching for poisons I like to start with the oldest references, which for me are usually in the mid to late … Continue reading
It’s a safe bet that all of us, at one time or another, has had the hiccups – involuntary contractions of the diaphragm that suddenly shuts the opening between the vocal cords, making the classic hiccup sound and causing mini-convulsions. Lovely, aren’t they? There are 1,001 cures for the hiccups: drinking water upside down, drinking … Continue reading
*** If you found your way to this page looking for some “help”, especially in light of current events, please, please, please DO NOT use pennyroyal. It can kill you. There are no safe or effective “natural” or “herbal” ways to induce what you may be looking for. *** Continue reading
Stan Lee, creator of the mutant superheroes X-Men, wishes he could have come up with a mutant power as awesome as the cowfish. The only similar creature I know of is The Spleen, a member of Champion City’s crime fighting team Mystery Men, with the ability to fart at will and render evil-doers unconscious. But the ability … Continue reading
I have a weed in my backyard. Every year, for the past 7 years, it has poked its head from the fertile soil in the border between the yard and the woods, looking oh-so cute and innocuous. Then I blink. Next thing I know, its nearly six feet tall with an equally wide canopy, covered … Continue reading
When I moved to North Carolina 7 years ago I didn’t think much about one of the bedrocks of the North Carolina economy: Tobacco. It’s a business dying a slow death, and one only has to look at the closed-up buildings that once housed powerful tobacco conglomerates, such as Liggett and Myers, in downtown Durham. … Continue reading
Readers of this site, and my Twitter friends, know that I like food and cooking….but don’t call me a Foodie. Much of what I cook tends to be seasonal, and I find myself preparing Southeast Asian dishes in the fall and winter, and Mexican meals in the summer, but I’ll swap over from time to time. In … Continue reading
I love my readers. You’re a smart group of people that likes the same things I do: poisons, toxins, science, chemistry, crime, history, and all of the above mixed into a casserole. But there’s something I don’t quite understand . . . what do you all have against shellfish toxins? There are four syndromes associated … Continue reading
Take a look at this photo. Who couldn’t love this face? Really, who? Such a cute little fella. And I’m talking about the pufferfish, not the dude with the pipe. But I am thinking about taking up pipe smoking, solely because of this photo. Relax, I won’t, that nicotine will kill you. But I’ll definitely pick up one of … Continue reading
Inheritance powder, the poisoner’s poison, these are just a few of the names given to thallium because of its history as a criminal poison. Some have even gone so far as to dub it the “perfect poison,” but more on that later. Thallium was an accidental discovery. In 1861, using flame spectroscopy to investigate the … Continue reading
The platypus, where to start? The Australian mammal (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) has the bill of a duck, a tail of a beaver, the waterproof body of an otter, and flat clawed webbed feet. Did I mention it lays eggs, yet lactates? It’s a freak show. Some say they are the Swiss Army Knife of animals and others will claim they … Continue reading
Since the dawn of time indigenous peoples have eaten what the land, and sea, has afforded them. Humankind has evolved and adapted so wonderfully to the foods around them, from whale blubber of the Siberian Eskimos to nopal cacti of ancient mesoamerican peoples. But what happens when your food wants to poison you? You eat it anyways, … Continue reading
Three feet. Three feet of red sand and clay the hunter-gatherer Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert dig through to find the poison which they use to fall their prey. Do they search for the venom of snakes, spiders, or scorpions? No, they dig for the larvae of a lowly leaf beetle. Beetles of the genus Diamphidia lay … Continue reading
You ever been pinched by a crab? I have. A Dungeness crab. It f***ing hurts. So if you heard that someone died from a crab you might have visions of being pinchered to death, with their claws stripping away your flesh, leaving behind sinew and bone. This might be a bit extreme, and I’ve most … Continue reading
My faithful readers are aware of my desire for things to be named as they are. It avoids confusion, and life is too short to be dazed and confused. So when I read about Cerbera odollam, the “Suicide Tree,” I get a warm, tingly feeling. Not because I’m some sort of sociopath, well, maybe just … Continue reading
Nothing moves a woman’s heart more than chocolate. Well, maybe diamonds. But I can’t afford them, besides, diamonds in your blood stream can’t be good for you. So what is it about chocolate that is so attractive, maybe even addictive, to some women? Well, let’s start at the source. The cacao tree (yes, it is … Continue reading
So with the St. Valentine’s Day drawing near it makes sense to mention aphrodisiacs. In a nutshell an aphrodisiac is anything that increases sexual desire, and draws its name from Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. I most often read about aphrodisiacs as being used by men on women to increase their libido, or sexual … Continue reading
Ah, Christmas. The season of over-indulgence, crappy eggnog, and shooting your eye out with an official Red Ryder, carbine action, two-hundred shot model air rifle. I shouldn’t be so Grinchy. It’s also the season for giving. Giving a kiss under the mistletoe, that is. We’ve all heard, and perhaps witnessed or experienced, the tradition of snogging … Continue reading
Nature's Poisons 