My mother warned me about the pretty ones. I’m fairly certain she was talking about girls, and I’m positive I didn’t listen to her, seeing how I married a pretty one. If I were to pass along the same advice to my three girls I’d be talking about plants instead of girls. Not like they … Continue reading
I like things to be self-explanatory, like Death Camas – with a name like that, you’re fairly certain what you’re going to get. But a plant named Tutu? I don’t blame you if the first thing you think of is a troupe of ballet dancers, but if you’re interested in poisons, know that it’s a … Continue reading
People forage for wild foods, we’ve been doing it for tens of thousands of years, but it’s become a lost art. It’s easy to see why: we have supermarkets on every corner and if you don’t want to leave the house Uber can deliver meals to you. For people that still partake in foraging, either … 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
In the toxicology world, and especially when poisons are involved, Spanish born Mathieu Joseph Bonaventure Orfila is the man. He is essentially the Godfather of toxicology, and its medicolegal component, and started us on the path towards detecting poisons in biological specimens. And in the early 1800’s he wrote several important books on identifying and treating … Continue reading
Nature's Poisons 