It is noteworthy that products that are widely used in everyday life can be poisonous. And often the names of the most powerful poisons appear in simple objects. They are always near the person, and he does not even suspect about them.
Methanol
One of the most dangerous poisons for humans is called methanol. The thing is that he was often confused with wine alcohol. And do not distinguish one from the other in taste and smell. Fake alcohol is sometimes made on the basis of a deadly poison called methanol. And to reveal this fact is possible only by conducting an appropriate laboratory study. In the best case, the person who has consumed such a drink becomes blind.
Mercury
In the old days and still many families keep a mercury thermometer at home. But if you spill this substance at home, this is quite enough for poisoning. There is no dangerous chemical poison called mercury; its vapors are dangerous. They are separated already at room temperature. In addition to thermometers, the same element is part of fluorescent lamps. For this reason, safety precautions must be followed with them.
snake poison
Currently, there are about 2500 species of snakes in the world, and only 250 of them possess poisons with clever names. The most famous reptiles of this type are cobras, vipers, rattlesnakes and sand elves. Their poison poses a danger to people if it enters the circulatory system. The first official antidote was released in 1895. At the same time, there are no universal antidotes - for each type of snake it is its own.
Potassium cyanide
The fastest deadly poison is called potassium cyanide. It has been used since antiquity, and this is the most famous “spy” method of poisoning. It is him who is used in films by security officers - there he is presented in the form of ampoules or tablets. It has the smell of bitter almonds. It is noteworthy that poisoning and simple inhalation, touching this substance.
It is part of a number of herbs, products, cigarettes. It is used when gold is mined from ore. Its fatal effect is possible due to the binding of iron in the blood, so the supply of oxygen to vital organs is stopped. It is noteworthy that they tried, but failed to poison Grigory Rasputin with this substance. The thing is that it was added to a sweet product, and glucose is an antidote for this poison.
Mushrooms
The poison is also found in mushrooms; it is the most accessible type of toxic substance. The most famous are false mushrooms, pale toadstools, lines, fly agaric. Most often, poisonous grebe is poisoned due to the fact that there are many different species of this fungus. And a number of them are very similar to edible. One mushroom is enough to kill several people at once.
It is noteworthy that the German nation learned to cook fly agaric in such a way that they lose their toxic properties. However, such cooking takes at least 24 hours. If the expiration date is violated, such a dish again becomes dangerous to humans.
Potato and bread
To the list of names of poisons, you can safely add potatoes and bread. If the potatoes are stored incorrectly, solanine accumulates in it. It leads to poisoning up to death. Bread will be poisonous if cooked from flour with cereals infected with ergot.
Most famous poison
The name of the poison, which is one of the most famous, is curare. It is of plant origin, produced in South America. It quickly causes paralysis of the respiratory organs. Initially, it was used in hunting animals, and in the twentieth century, its use in medicine began. It was extremely popular among the Indians.
In the ranking of the most famous names of poisons, one cannot but mention arsenic. This is the "royal" poison that has been used since antiquity. Cases of its use are known even with Caligula. He eliminated competitors in the political arena; he loved to know him in the Middle Ages.
Poisoners in history
The most famous users of poisons were a representative of the Borgia dynasty. They actually made it a separate art form. An invitation to a feast from them made anyone shudder. The most insidious were Pope Alexander IV of Borgia and his children - Cesare and Lucretia. They derived their formula and the name of a rare poison - cantarella. Presumably, the composition included arsenic, phosphorus and a salt of copper.
It is noteworthy that the father of the family died, mistakenly drinking a bowl of poison, which was intended for another.
About the most powerful poison in the world
It is hardly possible to answer exactly what name of the poison implies the most dangerous substance. The toxins of botulism and tetanus are extremely strong. Moreover, the source of botulism can be homework.
Natural poisons
Batrachotoxin is considered the most powerful natural poison. It is this substance that produces the skin of a small, but such a dangerous frog-poison frog. It is found in Colombia. One such amphibian contains such a concentration of dangerous substances that it can kill several elephants.
Radioactive poisons
Very dangerous radioactive poisons. The most famous of them is polonium, which is characterized by a slow effect, but to kill 1,500,000 people, one gram of it is enough.
Polonium was discovered in uranium ore. When located outside the human body, it is not a dangerous substance. It does not penetrate the skin. But as soon as it is inside the body - polonium instantly inflicts severe damage to internal organs. Death in this case is inevitable.
Chemical poisons
Chemical poisons with the name of the group are produced by synthesizing various substances. One of the strongest poisons in this group is acrolein. It was often used on the battlefields of World War I as a chemical weapon.
Soman is a fighting substance that smells like apples. At the same time, a minute after the defeat, they begin to expand pupils, difficulty breathing. They began to apply it in 1944.
The next known chemical poison is called carbon disulfide. It smells nice enough, but acts like a drug. In a person poisoned by him, loss of consciousness occurs, convulsions and a headache begin, vomiting and intermittent breathing are possible.
The scientific name for the poison, which belongs to the category of chemicals and has an ammonia odor, is trimethylamine. Even in small concentrations, it irritates the eyes, the mucous membrane of the respiratory organs, its main effect is choking.
Chlorine is the simplest gas that has a smack of metal. It is widely used in the industrial field, it was also used by German troops in the First World War. It provokes burns to the lungs.
The composition of snake venom
The scientific name for snake venoms is serpentotoxin. This substance for the most part consists of proteins that coagulate blood and destroy proteins. Sea snakes produce poison with neurotoxins - they paralyze the nervous system. In addition, such substances cause rapid tissue necrosis, upset the work of internal organs, and reduce cardiac choices.
It is noteworthy that the composition of snake poisons has not been fully studied. But, processing them, a person learned to use such substances in medicine. So, cobra venom is used for a painkiller effect. Viper venom is used to eliminate blood clotting ability for 3 weeks. There is reason to believe that once snake venom will become a treatment for thrombosis.
Classification of poisons
A separate classification of poisons is used, and they are carried out for many reasons. So, in criminology, blood poisons are isolated - they change the composition of the blood, gluing and destroying red blood cells. This group includes arsenic hydrogen, Bertholetan salt, carbon monoxide, mushroom poison.
In addition, toxic substances are released that change the composition of hemoglobin. The lethal outcome is achieved due to the fact that oxygen ceases to flow from the lungs to the tissues. So, for example, carbon monoxide, a salt of nitric acid.
A separate category is destructive poisons. They provoke necrosis and dystrophy. For the most part, their action affects the internal organs. This category includes arsenic, lead, phosphorus.
There are neuromuscular poisons, as the name implies, their effect is primarily aimed at the human nervous system. The central nervous system is excited by strychnine, phenamine. While morphine, codeine, ethyl, methyl alcohols oppress it. Cyanide compounds paralyze the nervous system.
Interesting Facts
The most toxic metal is arsenic. It is they who are impregnated with insect repellents.
Pope Clement VII died in 1534, having been poisoned by a toadstool.
Abraham Lincoln's mother died when she drank the milk of a cow that fed on a poisonous plant, a wrinkled proponent. This cause of death was characteristic of thousands of people in the 19th century. The leaves of this plant are very similar to nettles, and people often confused them.
It is noteworthy that some animals react very sharply to toxic gases. For this reason, they served as indicators of the presence of poison in the air for people. In World War II, they were cats for the Germans, and budgies for the British.
In gas chambers, cyanide was used. This applies to executions in the United States, and the destruction of Jews by the Nazis. Survivors of this phenomenon describe its smell as "bitter almonds." When cyanide enters the body, it makes blood circulation impossible. Executions by this method are currently prohibited due to inhumanity.
It is noteworthy that one of the most dangerous nerve gases - VX - was initially put on sale as Amiton pesticides. And only then scientists found out how dangerous such a substance is for humans. In the Cold War, it was a spare weapon.
In the Vietnam War, the defoliant of Dow Chemical and Monsanto was very actively used. They destroyed the trees that were cover for the enemies. The composition of the poison includes a substance that provokes the development of cancerous tumors. Due to the widespread use of such a composition in Vietnam, many women gave birth to dead children or with abnormalities - with extra fingers, without separate parts of the body, and mental retardation. And this substance has not yet evaporated, it remains in Vietnam.
Lead is also considered poisonous. It was used as early as 8000 years ago, but people learned about its danger not so long ago. Just a couple of decades ago, a person learned that this substance acts on internal organs, causing poisoning. The final manifestations of lead exposure are mental disorders, diarrhea.
History of poisons
The first mention of a poisoning investigation is a document drawn up in Rome in 331 BC. Suddenly, a series of deaths of noble patricians occurred. Initially, a version was outlined about the epidemic, but the denunciation of one of the slaves pointed to the guilt of Cornelia and Sergius, the patrician. They possessed a whole set of poisons. During the conviction of the Senate that they were medicines, they took these funds and died.
During the feuds in ancient Rome, suicides through poisoning were widespread. At the same time, it was permissible to provide the authorities with a good reason and to receive a poisonous broth. It is noteworthy that it was then that the tradition of clinking glasses appeared - in the course of such a ritual, wine spilled from the glass and went to the neighbor. Thus, a man argued that there is no poison in goblets.
In works that have come down to our days since then, thoughts often appear about how difficult it is to recognize poison. Poisoning over the centuries of development has acquired the features of a separate art - poisoners learned to eliminate bitterness by adding sweets, an unpleasant odor was replaced by odorous substances. Poisons were mixed with medicines intended for patients. Salvation from this scourge was very difficult.