63 Items Tagged

Poison

The plants around Liz Dauncey in this photo are not poisonous, but many common garden and houseplants are.

Are Some of Your Favorite Houseplants Poisonous? AO Wants to Know.

Toxicologist Liz Dauncey invites you to admire the marvels of plants (carefully).

Andrew Coletti April 18, 2025

Tokyo Metropolitan Medicinal Botanical Garden

Home to a garden of poisonous plants and the only legal cannabis and opium farms in Tokyo.

Using teeth as tools likely led to early tooth decay.

Ancient Gum Reveals Stone-Age Teens Chewed on Bones and Made Poison

And had some pretty bad oral health.

Olivia Young January 24, 2024

Social campaigners of the 1920s tried to make mocktails glamorous, but today Prohibition is primarily remembered as the era of speakeasies and bootleggers.

7 Wild Stories From the Prohibition Era

The 18th Amendment had some unexpected side effects, from alcohol prescriptions to the rise of NASCAR.

April White January 12, 2024

Following the introduction of chemical weapons in World War I and into the World War II era, concerns about unseen dangers spread to the homefront.

Airing Out the Mystery of the Mad Gasser of Mattoon

What a strange spate of "gas attacks" tells us about what was really lurking in mid-century America.

Colin Dickey December 4, 2023

The bright colors of a monarch butterfly (<em>Danaus plexippus</em>), just like the boldly striped caterpillars of the species, warn predators to stay away.

The Monarch Butterfly Steals From Poisonous Plants to Survive

The butterfly defends itself using milkweed, just one of several plants packed with heart-stopping toxins that may also be in your medicine cabinet.

Noah Whiteman October 25, 2023

This 1962 cover of <em>Official Detective</em> features a Halloween candy poisoner at work.

Why Halloween’s ‘Poison Candy’ Myth Endures

Even though we know better.

Jennifer Byrne October 19, 2023

Marzipan was originally flavored with toxic bitter almond.

How Poisonous Fruit Pits Became Irresistible to Humans

These plants make cyanide.

Andrew Coletti September 25, 2023

Rodeo, New Mexico

Chiricahua Desert Museum

This rural museum is home to more than 50 local desert reptiles and the world's largest snake bite kit collection.

Podcast: Snake Island

Off-limits and full of venomous pit vipers, this rock has certainly earned its nickname.

The Podcast Team August 14, 2023

Edison, New Jersey

Hoopar Brothers Gravestone

In a New Jersey cemetery, the final resting place of two brothers who fell victim to a deadly mushroom.

Podcast: Laguna Del Diamante

What a toxic Andean lake has to say about the dawn of life.

The Podcast Team November 7, 2022

Podcast: Alnwick Poison Garden

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.

The Podcast Team January 10, 2022

This ghoulish image of a skull-faced candymaker was a direct response to the Bradford poisonings.

How Tainted Treats Led to a Halloween Tragedy in 1858

A poisoned batch of peppermints devastated an English town.

Jenny Elliott October 29, 2021

The rat can also stand on two feet, though it often stays on all four.

Meet the Rats That Wear Protective Poison Armor

They’ve got loyal relationships and a preference for toxic plants.

Isaac Schultz December 30, 2020

Harvard University's Peabody Museum was one of many museums that once used pesticides on Native American cultural objects.

Museums Once Coated Native Cultural Objects in Toxic Pesticides

Before you can decolonize a museum collection, you may need to decontaminate it.

Lorraine Boissoneault July 9, 2020

An invisible toxin has appeared in shellfish that are part of the fabric of Native Alaskan life.

How Warming Waters and Toxic Clams Threaten Native Alaskans

“If you can’t gather shellfish then you’re going to starve.”

Zoya Teirstein March 9, 2020

The poison garden.

Jardín Botánico Atlántico (Atlantic Botanic Garden)

This enchanting green space houses a labyrinth lined with toxic plants.