Poisons, Toxins, and Harmful Things Quiz

Answer: Botulinum

Produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, botulinum causes botulism, a disease that weakens the muscles and body, leading to death. Though this is often due to poor food preparation, there are a number of ways in which spores can cause this in some individuals.

Interestingly, however, botulinum toxin is also used in a number of different medical treatments, notably as Botox, which is used in dermatological procedures (usually involving aging and wrinkles). Adversely, botulinum has also been highly studied since WWII particularly as a potential bioterrorist nerve agent alternative.

Answer: Black widow spider

The black widow spider is a dangerous arachnid often dwelling in tropical and temperate regions across nearly all continents. It produces a neurotoxin which, though debilitating and painful, is surprisingly not fatal in most cases. The aim is, generally, to stay away from the black widow which, as many know, has a distinctive red marking on its abdomen (often shaped like an hourglass).

Latrotoxin affects the muscles (including the heart) and can cause severe spasms and cramping. Interestingly, befitting the name, only female black widows have toxic venom.

Answer: DDT

DDT, or Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (what a mouthful), and its implementation were the subject of a Nobel Prize win in 1948 when Müller determined its notable success in killing a number of insects responsible for crop destruction around the world.

The real problem was that it was too strong a pesticide. As outline by Rachel Carson in the 1962 work "Silent Spring", DDT was also highly detrimental not only to ecosystems (due to its tendency to kill the birds that ate the dying bugs), but it had a high likelihood of being a dangerous carcinogen. Within ten years, DDT was banned for use in the United States, a choice that almost single-handedly saved the bald eagle and peregrine falcon populations from outright extinction.

Answer: Agent Orange

In 1962, the United States, on request of the South Vietnamese President, commenced Operation Ranch Hand, a military operation that resulted in a series of herbicides (including the devastating Agent Orange) being dropped throughout the Vietnamese countryside.

A defoliant, the chemical mixture here was designed to destroy weeds and plant life but had the notable side effect of causing irreparable damages to more than four million Vietnamese citizens and the American soldiers who utilized it and fought in the drop areas.

Not only did Agent Orange lead to a significantly higher rate of cancer for all involved, but it had severe effects on those born to people afflicted by it. Nearly one fifth of all Vietnamese forest land was sprayed, devastating the nation.

Answer: Genotoxic

If a substance is genotoxic, then it affects someone or something at a cellular level, creating mutations in living tissue that may lead to cancer. Although not all toxic things are genotoxic, many of those considered most dangerous on a wide scale are considered as such, especially when thinking of genetically-fuelled conditions like cancer. PAs, for instance, or Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids, are considered genotoxic in large enough amounts, and sometimes these can be found in greater degrees in certain plants or animals, often as an evolutionary defense mechanism.

If a substance is ototoxic, then it's capable of causing problems to mechanisms in the inner ear which, in turn, affect balance and hearing.

Answer: Thallium

Thallium is just a straightforward chemical element. It's just as toxic-- if not more toxic!-- than hydrocarbons, however, and is dangerous, even to the touch. Someone afflicted with thallium poisoning likely won't notice; it's virtually tasteless. It causes a shutdown of the nervous system and has, historically, been used as rat poison.

Hydrocarbons are still dangerous to ingest. To put it simply, hydrocarbons, named as such because of their chemical make-up of hydrogen and carbon, are used as fuel. Gasoline, for instance, is made of hydrocarbons (with other additives). Some hydrocarbons are carcinogenic, and others we put into cars-- not human bodies.

Answer: Carbon monoxide

Although deaths caused by carbon monoxide have decreased over the decades due to the general adoption of carbon monoxide detectors, it's still possible to fall victim to this unexpected gas, especially in enclosed places where fuel is combusted, leaving CO gas as one of its products.

Although acute carbon monoxide poisoning can cause flu-like symptoms, fatal cases can happen either all at once (often unnoticed during sleep) or over an extended period of time with worsening symptoms that alleviate when the afflicted leaves the enclosed space.

Answer: Blue-green algae

Cyanotoxins are one of the more interesting toxins to come from the natural world because they're a clear result of climate change. Lakes and waterways are delicate ecosystems that rely on certain conditions to make for adequate homes for the world's wildlife, even down to a bacterial level.

When lake temperatures and light intensity rise and lower, they can affect the growth of phytoplankton through a process called eutrophication. It's a noticeable process too, since it's characterized by high algae growth (or blooms).

This can, however, have a detrimental affect on larger animals; high algae growth has been responsible for wiping out fish and, if consumed by humans, can manifest numerous dangerous side effects leading to liver disease, harm to the nervous system, and death.

Answer: Sarin gas

One of the most dangerous inorganic substances created, sarin gas was discovered in 1938 by German scientists. Though originally intended to be a pesticide, it proved to be too potent to be used, so much so, in fact, that Adolf Hitler refused to let any produced amount be used during WWII.

It has since been used in rare events, mostly of a terrorist nature. Sarin gas is deadly enough to kill a full-grown adult with minimal effort. If inhaled, it can cause paralysis of the respiratory system within ten minutes.

Answer: Strychnine

Used in Agatha Christie's very first mystery novel, "The Mysterious Affair at Styles", strychnine's issues were known even then when she wrote the book (in 1916). Before then, however, it was used by elite athletes as a stimulant, allowing men to perform better at sporting events.

The problem was, even then, that strychnine was dangerous. Derived from the strychnine tree, it created a substance that caused severe muscle spasms which, if left unabated, would lead to respiratory failure and death. To give a fuller picture, it's treated, if caught, with activated charcoal, muscle relaxants, and anticonvulsants.