Eating food that is known to be poisonous is like playing Russian Roulette. Some people believe the thrill of flirting with death is worth the risk. Then there are those foods that we all eat, but didn't know they were poisonous -like almonds!
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The poison is present only in a specific species of almond, namely the “bitter” ones, which are a broader and shorter version of the sweet almond. Although each bitter almond only contains tiny amounts of cyanide, the substance is dangerous enough that it is illegal to sell raw almonds in the US. Nowadays all almonds must be processed through heating in order to eliminate germs and render the poison harmless.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almond
I recommend reading Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs & Steel for a really fascinating look at the history of domesticated almonds.
The real deaths were from people trying to make Absinthe without uhhh Absinthe. They would use chemicals to try to make it green and cloudy
Absinthe has been frequently and incorrectly described in modern times as being hallucinogenic.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absinthe
Most of the bad stuff we had associated with Absinthe was either due to unscrupulous makers of the stuff, or lies by the temperance movement.
While Lawrence makes a good point about absinthe, and one that I agree with, he makes a small error. Absinthe is indeed toxic, it's actually rather toxic, It's not not more toxic than a comparable amount of any other source of alcohol.
Off the top of my head: Mustard, Rhubarb, Salt, Liver, and the ever dangerous Dihydrogen Monoxide.
http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Windex