Saturday 16 June 2012

Meet your friendly local poisoner.


This is from a 1907 British Medical Journal:

'We have also examined a sample of Setterie's Compound Syrup of Formates, prepared by the British, Pharmacal Company (155, Marlborough; Road, Hornsey Road, N.). This preparation contains formates of sodium, iron, quinine and strychnine in the form of a moderately sweet, and agreeably flavored syrup; the combination will go doubt find favour as a tonic.'

Image thanks to Savage Cats on Flickr


Strychnine? Strychnine? Thomas Neil Cream the Lambeth Poisoner was hung in 1892 for using strychnine, so it's not like people didn't know there were problems with the stuff. 
I'm off to light a candle to the Archangel Raphael in gratitude for the NICE and the FDA. Thank the heavens for bureaucrats.

File:ChartreusePavie.jpg
Perugino, Certosa di Pavia Polyptych (Raphael healing Tobit on the right) 
Wikimedia commons image.

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