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Bodle and LaFarge: Sensational Arsenic Cases

Arsenic and its Discontents Despite its poisonous nature, arsenic was very easy to get a hold on in the 19th century. It could be found in many household products.  Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele mixed copper, arsenic, hydrogen, and oxygen to produce a brilliant green pigment. These pigments were used in everything from children’s toys to soap, wallpaper, fabric, and even sweets! The fabric of a lady’s green ball gown might contain 100 grains of arsenic--and it takes only 4.5 grains to kill an adult! Just as problematic were accidental uses. In 1858, 20 people died in Bradford, England,...

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Affairs of the Heart: A Valentine's Day Post

Given that it is Valentine's Day, we are taking a short break from our series on forensics and poisoning. (Granted, a number of those poisonings were, themselves, "affairs of the heart!") Today, we celebrate the history of cardiac care, and of Cleveland, where so many of those innovations began. In the 1930s, Western Reserve surgeon Claude Beck perfected operations to improve heart circulation. That might not seem like a feat, but when you understand the circumstances, it becomes a matter of life and death. When Beck performed cardiac surgery, the heart sometimes went into ventricular fibrillation--in other words, heart muscles twitched...

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Early Forensics: The Problem of Arsenic

In the early part of the 19th century, a fine, white powder was all the rage among murderers (and some would-be beneficiaries). It was easy to acquire and easy to administer, too. Tasteless and colorless, it might be added to food or water and ingested. It was even called the "inheritor's powder" because it aided in the rapid passing of the rich and elderly. What was arsenic doing on shelves to be purchased, you might ask? In the 19th century, arsenic was used in wallpaper, beer, wine, sweets, painted toys, insecticides, clothing, hat ornaments, coal, and candles (A further list...

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Death in the Pot

Poison. It's whats for dinner. In 1820, Fredrick Accum wrote A Treatise on Adulterations of Food, and Culinary Poisons  to exhibit "the Fraudulent Sophistications of Bread, Beer, Wine, Spiritous Liquors, Tea, Coffee, Cream, Confectionery, Vinegar, Mustard, Pepper, Cheese, Olive Oil, Pickles, and Other Articles Employed in Domestic Economy." This work promoted awareness of food poisoning--and the need for food safety oversight. It was controversial at the time, because it threatened the burgeoning food processing industry. Nonetheless, as the title page suggests, there was often death in the pot. Food Processing in the 19th century In the 18th century novel Humphrey Clinker, the father...

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