I’ve always wondered about the cassava root: a staple food product eaten by millions that contains cyanide. It takes a multi-step, multi-day process to make it safe to consume. How many bothans had to die to bring us this information? Something to ponder next time you’re enjoying some tapioca.
Unsolicited fun fact: you can test whether a berry is poisonous by first rubbing it on your skin, if there’s no reaction, rub it on the outside your face. Nothing? Rub it on your lips. Then eat a tiny bit. Then eat more!
Note: give yourself considerable time between each of these steps. Rub on arm, wait fifteen minutes. Rub on cheek, 30 minutes. Rub on lips, wait an hour. Put a bit on your tongue, and spit - wait two hours. Eat the teensiest bit, and wait 8 hours. If you still haven’t had a bad reaction, then maybe eat a berry or two, and wait another 8 hours.
If you rush the process, you might die.
What if I’m like, really hungry though
Worth it
I had something similar happen actually. I do remember when I was in like grade 1 or 2 there were some wild berries, and I thought they looked poisonous so I saw a kid was going to eat some during recess, I told him he probably shouldn’t but he did anyway. I never saw him again. Then again, I never knew who he was to begin with so that might be why.
The birth of the scientific method
