Toxicologist Answers Poison Questions From Twitter | Tech Support | WIRED

Toxicologist Anne Chappelle answers the internet's burning questions about poison. How do antidotes work? Can a pencil give you lead poisoning? Can you overdose on vitamins? Anne answers all these questions and much more!


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[WIRED]

Some more info on fluoride from Anne!

"The whole reason that they found out that fluoride can help prevent cavities is that beginning in the early 20th century, scientists linked high levels of naturally occurring fluoride in certain community water supplies to low levels of tooth decay. Since then, fluorination has been recognized as an easy way to drastically improve oral health. Actually, parts of India, China, and Africa have areas with high natural fluoride levels in their water, and are taking measures to remove the fluoride. Some countries have programs that fluorinate milk instead of water. There has been more recent evidence that suggested pregnant women should not drink fluorinated water, as it may result in lower IQ scores in their children. But, how much is too much – has not been fully determined.

Should you – or should you not drink fluorinate water is a different issue than eating a tube of toothpaste. It should be obvious that eating a tube of toothpaste will make you sick.

Thanks again!"

- Anne

[hollokutya]

"what is poison gas?"
"first you go to Taco Be-"
No no, She's got a point

[allanberche]

I'm astonished by the amount of people trying to tell her facts about her own field

[thebeyonder]

"Every mushroom is edible, some are edible only once"
That is such a great line.

[Aconitums_Poisoned_Art]

“Did you know that toothpaste is fatal if consumed?” “Yes, I did.” Honestly the funniest toxicologist I’ve ever met.

[mistelroth]

"Every mushroom is edible, some are only edible once."

[TheSonOfDumb]

She's like a kind witch in the woods giving us valuable knowledge

[spaRKLES]

The number one thing I learned in my general toxicology class is "The dose makes the poison" meaning u could consume some of the most deadly poison in the world and still be fine as long as you don't consume over the lethal threshold.

[rachelblenkin]

When I was a kid, I thought food poisoning meant that someone had literally poisoned your food (I read a lot of medieval stories), and I remember being very confused because I thought people didn't really do that anymore... 🤔😄

[ItWasAMisinput]

I wish more media outlets would realise people are more interested in specialists than famous people with very little knowledge when it comes down to obscure topics

[PantMal]

Can't believe no one asked whether a poison is more or less deadly after it expires.

[supergirlfan]

My mom was bitten by a brown recluse and didn't know it until a few hours later when she was in the er. At 8months pregnant she started the morning being able to walk with a bit of pain, by 12pm she was in the ICU her leg almost having go be amputated due to her developing a neputizing fasulitis that was eating away at the muscle in her leg. Ended up having an emergency c-section, 4 years later and she's still not 100% but she is very lucky to have been able to keep her leg at all. Walking is still hard and her leg swells at random but it's better than the alternative

[BPJD]

This is incredible for me to know because I'm a beginner mystery writer, and these help make things interesting. Also, is anyone aware that if you put a hive of honeybees in a greenhouse with only Andromeda flowers, the honey they make will be poisonous? If ingested, it will cause paralysis of the limbs and the lungs. A fun fact I learned

[baconlettucepotato]

this woman looked so serious at the start that I genuinely did not see the taco bell joke coming

[xbarret]

"if you've been bitten by a brown recluse spider.. KEEP THE SPIDER"

My arachnophobia would be crying

[lillylilium]

Rule #1 when foraging for anything: Leave it be if you cannot identify it with 100% certainty.
In my opinion, taking kids foraging actually teaches them to not just put stuff in their mouths. We were never allowed to take anything if mum (or grandma) wasn't sure what it was. My mum has also taught us how to identify the poisonous stuff just as a precaution (like looking at the underside of a mushroom, looking for certain discolorations etc). It was tons of fun and I've loved foraging ever since.

[muhammadabdullah]

0:03 I kept the spider and it bit thrice

[regaro]

I think she's the type of professor who really gives great lectures but gives difficult exam questions lol. Still I would love to enroll in a class she would teach.

[LeonEllisZ]

I love how she breaks things down without dumbing it down. It shows she respects the audience.

[MrClickity]

Regarding water-soluable vitamins, I heard a good line once about all those fancy supplements pushed by "fitness gurus": "Your body can only process so much of that stuff at once. Those pills are just giving you expensive pee."