Cyanide
Fast facts:
– Also called prussic acid
– Chemical compound of carbon triple bonded to nitrogen
– Found naturally (fruit seeds and tobacco) or easily manufactured
– Can be ingested (orally or topically) and inhaled
– Exposure leads to death in minutes
– Was the gas used in Nazi extermination camps
– Poison of choice in the Jonestown Massacre and Tylenol poisonings
A chemical substance, cyanide is found naturally in a lot of fruits such as apple seeds and almond and apricot stones, as well as in tobacco (and its smoke). Cyanide is recognisable by its bitter almond smell, although not everyone is able to smell it, and it doesn’t always release the smell.
From: Aljazeera
Spies carried cyanide tablets in WWII as they were thought to lead to a quick and painless death, however modern science now shows that wasn’t the case. Only 1.5mg per kg of body weight is enough to kill in minutes. Essentially it stops the body producing energy resulting in seizures, an inability to breathe and cardiac arrest. It takes 2 to 5 minutes to kill, but doesn’t render the person unconscious, so an horrific death. Survivors, although rare, may suffer Parkinson’s disease and other neurological disorders.
There are now measures to counter cyanide posioning: the cyanide antidote kit and hydroxocobalamin. Activated charcoal may also prevent absorption from the gastrointestinal tract if cyanide salts have been ingested.
Almonds are now safe to eat, thanks to a mutation thousands of years ago that allowed humans to farm the sweet almonds and leave the unsafe bitter almonds alone. But other seeds, such as apricot, aren’t quite as safe. In 2016, apricot kernels were billed as the next big superfood and cancer cure (claims scientifically debunked) – supplements such as Novodalin or B17 are made from apricot kernels, and yes, they contain cyanide. Eating more than two kernels a day puts an adult over the safe level of cyanide. A 67-year-old Melbourne, Australia man was reported as taking 3 tablets of Novodalin each day, as well as grinding up his own brew at home – adding up to more than 17mg of cyanide a day. Blood tests revealed he had cyanide 25 times acceptable levels in his bloodstream.
There are a number of high profile cyanide homicides:
Jonestown Massacre (1978) – more than 900 members of an American cult called the Peoples Temple died in a mass suicide-murder under the direction of their leader, Jim Jones. It took place at the so-called Jonestown settlement in the South American nation of Guyana.
Tylenol Poisonings (1982) – The Chicago Tylenol Murders were a series of cyanide deaths resulting from drug tampering in the Chicago metropolitan area. Seven people died in the original poisonings (although several more deaths occurred thanks to copycats. No-one was ever charged or convicted.
Stella Nickell (1986) – was one such copycat of the Tylenol murders. She was the first person to be found guilty of violating the US Federal Anti-Tampering Act after putting cyanide in Excedrin capsules in an effort to kill her husband. Stella was traced thanks to some fish tank algae treatment she mixed in the bowl she then used for the cyanide. She was convicted on two counts of murder.
References:
https://www.murdermiletours.com/blog/deadly-poisons-used-by-murderers-serial-killers-despots
https://www.labroots.com/trending/videos/11035/the-science-behind-how-cyanide-kills-you
https://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/our-work/publications/cyanide-fact-sheet
https://www.wired.com/2006/08/the-best-deadly-poisons-ingested-or-inhaled/
https://listverse.com/2012/12/02/10-poisons-used-to-kill-people/
https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2017/09/11/melbourne-man-has-cyanide-poisoning-after-self-medicating-with-apricot-kernels_a_23203662/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peoples_Temple
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koodathayi_Cyanide_Murders
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stella_Nickell
April 3, 2021 at 8:35 am
Oooooo I was right!! Hahaha
April 4, 2021 at 9:17 pm
Very clever (can you guess D?).
April 3, 2021 at 9:41 am
So far, you have a great list of poisons. I’ve heard of most!
April 4, 2021 at 9:17 pm
There were some obvious and easy letters, but there are some coming up which will be much less well known.
April 3, 2021 at 2:48 pm
I remember the Tylenol poisonings. That’s when we stopped taking Tylenol. Nothing like the feeling that you’re taking your life in your hands when you buy something for a headache. They stopped selling it in capsules after that, which was probably a good idea.
Nazi officers carried cyanide capsules, too, in the event they were captured. I watch a lot of WWII YouTubes…
April 4, 2021 at 9:19 pm
I’m not surprised you stopped taking Tylenol. I would have as well.
April 3, 2021 at 10:00 pm
Great post, cyanide is indeed a famous poison.
Quilting Patchwork & Appliqué
April 4, 2021 at 9:23 pm
I think it and arsenic are probably two of the most well-known, and they both fall at the start of the alphabet. Much less famous hereon in.
April 4, 2021 at 2:08 am
Ah, the old bitter almond smell. Seems like, no matter what poison, TV cop shows always get that hint of bitter almond aftershave.
Only problem; if you are close enough to smell it, you are probably poisoned too.
April 4, 2021 at 9:24 pm
I always wonder, what exactly does bitter almond smell like? How do they know when they smell it that is what it is?
April 4, 2021 at 2:45 pm
Just found your fascinating a-z blogs. Ooh, poisons are fun… as long as I’m not the one being poisoned, lol. But the more you know, the safer you are! (I hope)
April 4, 2021 at 9:25 pm
Thanks, Jen. I totally agree, fun to read about as long as you haven’t been poisoned.
April 5, 2021 at 2:28 am
Great theme for a mystery writer. I enjoyed the post. I learned a lot and look forward to more.
April 5, 2021 at 9:23 am
You are right, Shari. I’m hoping to inform and entertain while compiling a great research database for myself 😉
April 5, 2021 at 7:52 pm
Thanks for this, Anita! Fascinating, and you get to put together info for your crime fiction. 🙂
A to Z Blogging challenge 2021: D is for Daedalus
https://suebursztynski.blogspot.com/2021/04/a-to-z-blogging-challenge-2021-d-is-for.html
April 6, 2021 at 5:02 pm
I know! It will be a really useful resource in the future 🙂 A win-win.
April 5, 2021 at 7:22 am
Sounds like a painful way to go.
April 5, 2021 at 9:25 am
Yep, agree, sounds horrid. Just as well it’s such a well-regulated substance now.
April 5, 2021 at 11:47 am
You did a LOT of research for these! Very good. The A story about the Navy sailor who was poisoned by his wife is really sad.
April 5, 2021 at 11:51 am
Yeah, I did. I started researching last year (although I’m still behind as I had hoped to have them all written by now and I am still writing). The navy story is awful. I didn’t go into all the detail but what makes it worse is there was a daughter (step-daughter to the killer) caught up in it all as well (she was a child when she lost her dad).
April 5, 2021 at 5:41 pm
Just the other day I was just watching documentaries about Nazi Germany and some cowards swallowing cyanide to avoid arrest, trial and sentencing. Good to hear they didn’t go as painlessly as they were expecting to.
April 6, 2021 at 10:57 am
I know! I’m glad they had their facts wrong in that regard; at least they were still punished.
April 5, 2021 at 9:26 pm
No wonder this shows up so often in murder mysteries… I remember being told as a kid not to eat the apricot kernels.
Interesting theme!
The Multicolored Diary
April 6, 2021 at 10:58 am
I remember reading a Trixie Belden mystery as a kid where someone used the apple seeds in a pie and someone ended up being poisoned. That was the first time I heard about it.
April 5, 2021 at 11:14 pm
I am loving your series. This is absolutely fascinating to me. I never knew that about Apricot seeds or Almonds for that matter. Could you potentially grind up enough Apricot stone to kill someone?
Molly
April 6, 2021 at 11:00 am
Totally! Although I’m not sure how you would get them to eat it because it would be bitter to taste.
So glad you are enjoying it, Molly 🙂
April 7, 2021 at 7:29 pm
Ahhh OK… So not the ideal way to murder your husband (fictionally to be clear)
Molly
April 6, 2021 at 3:30 am
2019 New Years Eve dinner at a friend’s house, I ate two cherries and left the pits at the side of my plate. One somehow slid into the food that also had peppercorns. Mistaking the pit for a peppercorn (though thinking it particularly hard), I chowed down. Two minutes later I couldn’t find the second pit and freaked out realizing what I’d done. It stopped dinner down cold. We had to quickly Google “cyanide poisoning.” One more pit and I’d be a goner. Turns out, one pit won’t kill an adult usually, but two pits will. I did feel very ill later that night. Not sure if it was the cyanide or psychosomatic. Thanks for the interesting read.
April 6, 2021 at 11:01 am
Wow, Jennifer. That would have made for quite a scary end to 2019. I would imagine if you had a 50% dose, then there would be a good chance it wasn’t psychosomatic. Are you still able to eat cherries or has that ruined the experience for you?
April 6, 2021 at 10:21 am
It was the Tylenol case that led to the invention and implementation of tamper-evident packaging, such as the plastic sleeves around caps and the paper or plastic covering over the mouth of the jar the first time you open the lid.
Black and White: C for Camelot
April 6, 2021 at 9:32 pm
Fascinating fact, Anne. I didn’t know that.
April 7, 2021 at 6:23 am
I did a Chicago crime tour a few years ago that included a drive-by of one of the drugstores where the Tylenol was sold. I’m sorry the crime is still unsolved; hate to see people get away with something like that!
April 7, 2021 at 10:15 pm
Oh, that would have been a fascinating tour, Jenny. I bet it would have included some fascinating mob history in that tour as well.