Giulia Tofana's notoriety stemmed from her cunning manipulation of Renaissance society's fascination with poisons and cosmetics. Born into an era where women lacked agency in matters of marriage and...
Getting high off toxic solvents and chemicals to induce mind-altering effects is a public health concern today. But dial back 5,000 years, in the Iberian Peninsula, and groups of women adorned in...
In the rich casserole of culinary history, few stories are as captivating as the legend surrounding the origin of vichyssoise soup. According to popular lore, the origin of this creamy delight is...
In the annals of history, there exist shadowy figures and clandestine groups whose lethal skills and cunning tactics have left an indelible mark on the world. These ancient assassins and covert...
Defying death one sip at a time, mithridatism is the audacious ancient art of self-immunizing against poisons . Named after its most famous proponent, King Mithridates VI of Pontus , this practice...
Arsenic, a silent but deadly weapon, has stained history with its ominous presence. From ancient Rome to the 19th century, this odorless and tasteless poison has claimed countless lives. Arsenic's...
Makeup has been around for centuries, but getting your glam on in ancient times wasn’t as simple as going to your local Sephora. Before safe and regulated products existed on the market, ancient...
Everyone has a friend who hates tomatoes. But did you know that this fear or hatred of tomatoes is nothing new? Used in pizza , pasta and even gazpacho, the ubiquitous tomato is associated with Italy...
The Maya Empire dominated large swaths of Mesoamerica for more than 3,000 years. But despite their impressive record of survival, the Maya civilization did not live completely in harmony with their...
The First Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, was terrified of death and much of his reign was focused on the search for immortality and the Elixir of Life. Ironically, Qin Shi Huang died from the toxic...
One of the distinguishing features of the First World War was the widespread use of chemical weapons. Chemical gases of various lethality, including mustard gas, phosgene and tear gas, were used to...
A team of 14 biologists, chemists, physical anthropologists and archaeologists from the University of Seville have published a new study in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology . The...
In a darkened room stands a 40-year-old woman named Catherine Monvoisin. Her figure is lit only by torches held by the faceless men standing in front of her, men who are sentencing her to death by...
There has long been speculation about the true cause of Napoleon Bonaparte’s death on the island of St. Helena on May 5, 1821. As we mark the 200th anniversary of this event, a biochemist from De...
Researchers studying the antique medicine chest of Japanese Edo -era physician , Ogata Koan, discovered enough poison to kill a small army. But why? Koan was a leading a 19th century Japanese medical...
Serial killers are not a new phenomenon. Before Jack the Ripper began his legendary killing spree in London in the 1800s, there is a long list of infamous serial killers active throughout history...
A home full of occult objects has attracted enormous interest, recently. A hidden space beneath a staircase in a 16th-century Welsh home was filled with occult objects, including animal skulls and a...
Between the years of 1630 to 1655, Giulia Tofana and her poison cartel were the primary facilitators of well over 600 deaths, by way of disgruntled wife, through their trademark poison known as Aqua...
We have all heard of Bubonic plague , smallpox and typhoid , but between 990 and 1130 AD it is estimated that over 50,000 people died from the so-called “Holy Fire” disease in southern France alone,...
Reservoirs in the heart of an ancient Maya city were so polluted with mercury and algae that the water likely was undrinkable. Researchers from the University of Cincinnati found toxic levels of...
Mithridate was one of the most complex and highly sought-after preparations during the Middle Ages and Renaissance era. This somewhat mythical, ancient tonic which contained more than 60 ingredients...
Digging at the site of an old Victorian brewery in the city of Leeds in the northern English county of Yorkshire, archaeologists discovered 19th-century bottles of beer neatly stacked under a...
Poison was always the silent killer. Kings and emperors fell prey to it as easily as an unsuspecting servant. Throughout medieval and classical history, poison and those who knew how to prepare it...
Of all the ways to murder someone poisoning must be the most underhanded and downright evil way to proceed. The whole art of poisoning, as it is often referred too, was developed as a stealth way to...