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The Swiss
physician and alchemist Paracelsus famously said, “All substances are
poisons; there is none which is not a poison. The right dose
differentiates a poison,” and he’s right. Even water in too large a
quantity will kill you. However, some things require such a small amount
to cause death – sometimes just a drop falling on a fully gloved hand –
that they’re in a class all on their own. From flowers to heavy metals,
from man made gases to venom, here are some Deadliest Poisons Known To
Mankind. NOTE: This list is not ranked.
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Cyanide
Cyanide can be in the form of a colorless gas or a crystal, but either
way, it's pretty deadly. It smells like bitter almonds, and exposure to
cyanide can cause symptoms such as headache, nausea, rapid breathing and
heart rate, and weakness in just minutes. If untreated, cyanide kills by
basically depriving the body's cells of oxygen. And yes, it can be made
from apple seeds, but don't worry if you eat a few. You'd need to eat
about ten apple cores before there was enough cyanide in your system to
have an effect. Please don't do that. |
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Hydrofluoric Acid
Hydrofluoric Acid is a poison used in the making of Teflon, among other
things. When in liquid from, it can easily seep through the skin and
into the bloodstream. It reacts with the calcium in the body and can
even destroy the underlying bone. The scary part? At first contact it's
completely painless, leaving more time and possibility for it to do its
damage. |
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Arsenic
Arsenic is a naturally occurring crystalline metalloid and is possibly
one of the most well known and common poisons used as a murder weapon in
the late 19th century. However, its known use in such a capacity goes
back to the mid 1700's. Arsenic poisoning can kill in a few hours to a
few days. Symptoms are vomiting and diarrhea, which made it difficult to
distinguish from dysentery or cholera 120 years ago. |
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Belladonna
Belladonna or Deadly Nightshade is a highly poisonous herb/flower with a
very romanticized history. The poison comes from an alkaloid called
atropine, and the entire plant is poisonous, with the root being the
most deadly and the berries being the least. However, just two ingested
berries is still enough to kill a child. Some people use Belladonna
recreationally as a hallucination, and in Victorian times women often
used a tincture of Belladonna to dilate their pupils and make them
appear more wide and glassy eyed. Before death, Belladonna can also give
you seizures, rapid pulse, and confusion. Don't play with Belladonna,
kids. |
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Carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide is odorless, tasteless, colorless, and slightly less
dense than air. Also it will poison and then kill you. Part of what
makes Carbon monoxide so deadly is because it's difficult to detect;
it's sometimes called the "silent killer." It inhibits your body's
ability to carry oxygen where it's needed - like to cells. To keep them
alive and stuff. Early carbon monoxide poisoning symptoms are similar to
the flu, minus the fever - headaches, weakness/lethargy, sleeplessness,
nausea, & confusion. Luckily, you can get a carbon monoxide detector at
every hardware or home improvement store!
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