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Aflatoxin, which is a toxin produced by a fungus, is highly carcinogenic, and is found in peanuts.

- i was researching that this morning!

its only contaminated peanuts that are bad - good peanuts may contain anti-cancer things.

tomatoes contain trace amounts of nicotine and solanine.

potatoes also contain various poisons and the commercial varieties had to be specially bred to reduce them down to a safe, legally-defined level.

Last edited by psych on 02 Jan 2006, 1:10 am, edited 2 times in total.

Legend has it that in the 70's a US agency tried to prove scientifically that cannabis was carcinogenic.

The lab-rats didnt get cancer, and a few of those that had cancer anyway actually started to get better! Further research was promptly banned and the files destroyed.

Recently several other countries (spain, austrailia iirc) repeated the experiments. And the legend was true! - Its no miracle cure but so far, chemicals in cannabis have been found to have a slight reduction effect on 3 types of tumour.

Kilauea Volcano on the island of Hawai'i, has been erupting continuously since January 1983.

The Sports Illustrated Swim-suit edition is the world's most frequently stolen magazine.

Tomatoes were once thought to be poisonous.

The atmosphere on Venus contains sulfuric acid which would burn the skin and lungs if inhaled. The abundant carbon dioxide produces a greenhouse effect that traps heat making the surface as much as 900 F. In spite of it being further from the sun than Mercury, this makes it the hottest planet in the solar system.

The world's diamond industry is regulated such that an artificial shortage is maintained to keep diamonds from depreciating in value.

Common colds are not caused by cold weather, getting wet or a lack of vitamin C. They are caused by the virus transmitted from an infected person. The reason why colds are more frequent in the fall/winter seasons is children are back in school, thereby catching viruses from fellow classmates and bringing them home to their parents. Since people also stay in doors more, this makes them more suseptable to being inclosed within a space shared by a sick person.

There is little evidence that herbal remedies such as St Johns Wort are effective for treating depression and may even delay the sufferer from seeking further treatment in time.

it is possible to create a hat from a newspaper and wear it without compromising your fashion sense

When Jon, Garifield's owner, constructed an entire outfit out of newspaper comics, he walked out and hit on a woman- then it rained, and his outfit melted. Her response: "Your puncline is showing."

People who have sickle cell anemia are resistant to malaria.

In 1945 a computer at Harvard malfunctioned and Grace Hopper, who was working on the computer, investigated, found a moth in one of the circuits and removed it. Ever since, when something goes wrong with a computer, it is said to have a bug in it.

Father of cryptography Alan Turing died after eating a cyinide laced apple.

All members of the Euphorbia family have toxic sap to some degree. Some are worse than others, the milk bush probably being the worst. The poinsettia, E. Pulcherissima, is mildly toxic but not poisonous. Eating it will probably make you feel a little ill and maybe some tingling and swelling of the throat, not much more.



True, the story of the nightshade family is an interesting one. Various cultures have either revered or despised different species of the family. Close relatives of the tomato include: Eggplants, potatos, tomatillos, sweet. and hot peppers. Belladonna (deadly nightshade) is the famous poisonous one- actually most species from this family contain toxic alkaloids... the ones we eat are almost free; still, some people have a reaction to them and can't eat them.

And random fact from brain:

Cows can produce on average 4 quarts of methane a day.... now there is an alternative fuel source.

I beg to differ, based on what I consider an excellent source document.

Anyway, glad to see you're back.

Hi aylissa, upon review I may have been a little blunt, which happens sometimes, sorry!

I worked as a gardener for several years and learned my plants well, let's say it was like going to horticulture school. I'm really just going on that knowledge- I do know most of the plants in the family are irritating to toxic, but maybe I'm just going with the CW on this one... in which case I'll bow before your source gracefully...

thanks for the welcome back, the Adirondacks were really nice.

Since I'm posting again:

The Adirondacks are the largest state park in the country, nearly 6 million acres.

There are over 2000 mountains, Mt Marcy, 5,344, is the highest point in the state...

Speaking of the Adirondacks, did you know that it snows in Hawaii (this is a picture of Mauna Loa - 13,000 feet - I took last January)