"As far as possible avoid punishing, try to gain love before inspiring fear."
No tox today. Rather a note of thanks to John Bosco, the Patron Saint of Educators. St. John Bosco believed in educating the poor and downtrodden. His methods were simple, instruct in scripture, reject corporal punishment and provide fatherly guidance. In his teaching he sought to combine spiritual life with work, study and play.
In 1859 John Bosco founded the Salesians. They are a religious order dedicated to education and mission work. The Salesians are still at work today.
Thank you St. John Bosco.
Last month I wrote back to back posts about cyanide poisoning. Of interest today is the death of a lottery winner in Chicago. But the use of cyanide to kill dates back many centuries. The most infamous use of cyanide was Zyklon B, the gas used by the Nazis to exterminate millions during World War II. Some claim the holocaust never happened. (Poland's population went from 10 million to 4 million during the war. I guess it must have been some bad years for the flu!) Thankfully there are many fighting to remind all of us of the horrors of the Holocaust. The Nizkor Project is dedicated to the 12 million Jews that died in the holocaust. (Nizkor is a Hebrew word which means, "We will remember".
When you have the time please read this long, factual, horrifying and informative entry. It contains very detailed information on how cyanide works.
Today in 1964 actor Alan Ladd died of an overdose of alcohol and sedatives. For those that think only today's musicians, Whitney Houston and Amy Winehouse, die of sedative and alcohol overdoses, you are mistaken. Even cowboy actors from the 50's have used drugs to alternately enhance or dull their lives.
Today is the birthday of "Mr. Yuk". The brainchild of Dr. Dick Moriarty in 1971 Mr. Yuk has been an effective deterrent for generations of children. Mr. Yuk is also a tremendous awareness tool. Who doesn't equate Mr. Yuk with a poison center? The copyright for Mr. Yuk is owned by the Pittsburgh Poison Center but the stickers are widely available. You only have to call your local poison center (1-800-222-1222).
Thank you and Happy Birthday Mr. Yuk!
"White America needs to understand that it is poisoned to its soul by racism and the understanding needs to be carefully documented and consequently more difficult to reject." Martin Luther King, 1967
Today we celebrate Martin Luther King Day. For many it is a day with no school or a day off work. For many it is a reminder of the battles fought and the battles yet to come. As a country is White American still "poisoned to its soul"? We have record unemployment among African Americans in our inner cities. We have fences going up in Arizona to keep immigrants out. We have horrific health care and living conditions along the Rio Grande in Texas for Latinos. We fill death row with minorities across the south. Yet we have come a long way from the days of Martin Luther King. We no longer have "colored" only schools, drinking fountains and lunchrooms. We have an African American President.
According to my Websters Dictionary a poison is "something destructive or harmful (2): an object of aversion or abhorrence." Each day I encounter poisons of different sorts. Usually the kind that people ingest, inhale or inject. But today step back and think of a poison as something different, as Martin Luther King did in 1967.
In Florida they are hunting pythons. After the first three days of the hunt 11 snakes have been killed.
The thinking behind this hunt is fascinating. Throughout the south snake round-ups are held. Originally those round-ups were created as a way of ridding the countryside of venomous snakes. If snakes are killing your sheep, it makes sense to remove the snakes. Many still believe today that snake round-ups are good. Those round-ups have slowly devolved over the years to an excuse to hold a festival and to party. Texas rattlesnake round-ups provide games, rides and treats for children. They, of course, have fried rattlesnake and beer for adults. In addition there are the multiple contests involving rattlesnakes. How fast would it take you to put 10 rattlesnakes in a bag?
In Florida the reason for having round-up is different. The Python is not indigenous to the everglades. Rather they have been introduced by irresponsible people who owned a snake until it got to big. What to do then? Release it into the wild. It turns out the everglades is a great environment for pythons to live and grow. Unfortunately they are disturbing a very delicate ecosystem. It is estimated that there are 11,000 pythons in the everglades. Luckily, 11 have been killed. Boy, those Floridians are making great progress!
In Texas they are killing snakes for just being snakes. All they did was live life like God intended. In Florida they are killing snakes because they are thriving in a place where man put them. Somehow in the end the snakes, and the environment, will win.
There is a saying, "There are old mushroom hunters and there are bold mushroom hunters. But there are no old, bold mushroom hunters." Today marks the 15th anniversary of the death of Sam Sebastiani Jr..
An Italian immigrant Samuele Sebastiani founded Sebastiani Winery in Sonoma in 1904. The winery was in the family for the rest of the century. Sam Sebastiani Jr. was the great grandson of Samuele. On January 5, 1997 Sam went for a picnic with friends. While on the picnic he consumed amanita phalloides mushrooms. Later that day he became ill only to die three days later.
Amanita phalloides poisoning resembles acetaminophen poisoning. Both cause similar hepatic damage. The breakdown of liver function effects everything from how your blood clots (it won't) to how your brain works (encephalopathy results). Eventually your liver stops working, and in the case of Sam Sebastiani, death ensues. The search for a treatment for amanita poisoning has been going on for centuries. Today the best we can do is aggressive supportive care. There is no antidote. For a lucky few liver transplant can be performed. In fact, Sam Sebastiani was on the transplant list before he became to ill.
Isn't that amazing? A mushroom that has been around since time began. A mushroom that starting killing people as soon as man and animals starting picking and eating it. A mushroom that killed in 1997 and kills today. We still don't have an effective antidote. Amazing.
So today in honor of Sam Sebastiani eat a wonderful Italian meal, but hold the mushrooms. Instead have a good bottle of California wine. And remember, "There are old mushroom hunters and there are bold mushroom hunters. But there are no old, bold mushroom hunters."
Check this Chicago Tribune article out. Cyanide once again rears its ugly head. Suicide, murder or something else? He was heard screaming, taken to the hospital, and declared dead. In a high enough dose cyanide works quickly. Remember, it is the dose that makes the poison. Maybe he screamed over the taste. Or maybe he screamed over the pain. But his heart and brain would quickly cease to function. And he was declared dead. No real chance of saving him if the dose was high enough. That is especially true if there is no suspicion of cyanide intoxication.
Win the lottery and be set for life. In this case that proved to be true. It was just that life as a wealthy lottery winner was very brief.
Nine years ago, on January 3 an 18 yo man in Maryland killed his best friend. It reads like a story of teenage angst. Teen falls for best friend's girl friend. Teen feels neglected by his best friend. Teen then plans, and carries out, an elaborate plan to murder his friend. Just another teenage friendship gone awry
It is the behind the scenes story that makes this even more interesting. 18 yo Ryan Furlough decided months before that his friend would have to go. He carefully researched how to murder, and poisoning was the method of choice. He then researched what the best substance would be and decided cyanide. In his research he found the appropriate dose and information on how to deliver it. Finally he used his mother's credit card to order the cyanide on-line. On January 3 he invited his friend over to the house for some video games. While playing he added the cyanide to his friend's Vanilla Coke. Moments later the cyanide took effect and four days later the best friend died.
Cyanide is a substance with a long history for poisoning. It was used in the Tylenol poisonings in Chicago. Then again by the "Candy Man" in Houston. Cyanide was used to murder millions by the Nazis. Google search cyanide murders and you will get thousands of hits.
But there is more. It seems Ryan Furlough was being treated for depression. In the months prior to this murder his treatment was changed from fluoxetine to venlafaxine. As you could gather from the above Ryan left an extensive trail clearly showing that he planned his friend's death. He also confessed to police that he murdered him. His defense was that he was taking venlafaxine. The black box warning for venlafaxine talks about suicidal thinking and behavior. It is not much of a stretch to go beyond suicide to other impulsive behaviors. So, was Ryan unduly under the influence of his antidepressant? Did the venlafaxine make him act out and poison his friend? The jury said no and found him guilty of murder.
