Kick up the Arsenic! Trivia Quiz

Answer: False

Arsenic in its natural state is not very poisonous and, in fact, has been used over the centuries for medicinal purposes.

Answer: Feldspar

This is composed of Silicates of aluminum.
The others are forms of arsenic.
Realgar is orange-red arsenic.
Loellingate is tin-white arsenide.
Orpiment is yellow arsenic trisulfide.
Arsenic has the Atomic Number 33, and is a solid at 298º K

Answer: True

A metalloid is a nonmetallic element that has some of the chemical properties of a metal or that can form an alloy with metal.
In its solid form arsenic is either yellow or grey(metallic) in colour. It is a very brittle, crystalline solid.

Answer: Signora Toffana

She is reputed to have been responsible for the deaths of over 600 people. She sold her 'Agua Toffana' or Water of Toffana as a cosmetic, in vials with the picture of a saint on them. Her customers were generally wives using the 'tonic' to kill their husbands. She was executed in Naples in 1709.

Answer: True

Yes, someone decided that a deadly poison would make a great contraceptive. And not just Arsenic, Mercury and Strychnine have been used as well. Other options have included animal faeces or urine, so maybe it was a tough choice.

Answer: Napoleon Bonaparte

The latest theory is that he was slowly poisoned by fumes from the wallpaper in his prison. A pigment containing arsenic was used to color the paper. Research has shown that a mold, formed from damp in the animal glue used in those days, can react with this pigment and cause the production of toxic arsenic vapor.

Answer: Mary Ann Cotton

Dorothy Cotton is a character from the TV show "Eastenders".
Mary Ann Nichols is the first credited victim of Jack the Ripper.
The other, I made up.
Her motive is believed to have been purely monetary, as she benefited from various insurance policies. Her method of administering the poison was generally cups of tea (a very British method).
Suspicions were raised and a post mortem was carried out on one of her several dead children. This confirmed death by poisoning. She was convicted of six murders in 1873 but is believed to have killed more than 20 in a 20 year period.

Answer: Pope Alexander VI

He was born Rodrigo Borgia January 1st 1431. He died August 18th 1503, supposedly after sharing a bottle of wine with Cesare. Unfortunately it was a bottle they had prepared as a 'special' bottle for people they wished to do away with. Cesare lived however.

Answer: Elderberry wine

Cary Grant starred in the movie version, and evidently hated it due to the overacting (see IMDb). A TV version starred Lillian Gish, Helen Hayes, Bob Crane and Fred Gwynne

Answer: Marsh Test

James Marsh was an English chemist who developed the test in 1836. It was a refinement of a test developed in 1775 by Carl Scheele. It is sensitive enough to detect 0.02 mg of arsenic.