Thursday, July 17, 2008
ONE FOR THE DARWIN AWARDS
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — A woman who ate poisonous wild mushrooms nicknamed death angels that she found growing near a highway rest stop just outside New York City died.
Westchester County's health department says Zoila Tapia found the pure-white mushrooms July 6, in a wooded area along Interstate 684 in Bedford, a town about an hour's drive north of Manhattan.
The 61-year-old White Plains resident was hospitalized after eating the mushrooms and died July 10. The mushrooms are among the prettiest but deadliest in the world and often are called the destroying angels.
The health department warns against eating mushrooms found in the wild because it's difficult to tell which ones are safe.
Westchester County Medical Examiner Dr. Millard Hyland told The Journal News that by the time Tapia sought medical help, her kidney and liver functions were compromised and her chances for survival were quickly declining.
The state Department of Transportation cleared the mushrooms from the rest stop.
------
Okay, some commentary now about the above story. Is it just me, or was the first or second thing drubbed into your head as a child -- shortly after "DON'T DRINK THE BOTTLES WITH THE SKULL AND CROSSBONES ON IT" something along the line of NEVER EAT A MUSHROOM THAT'S GROWING THE YARD -- YOU COULD DIE!" ?
I remember MY mom saying that. Of course, she also warned us against eating anything that didn't come directly from a store -- like forest blackberries would be poisonous, but the ones at the store were okay. (This of course is bullshit -- we had blackberries growing at the end of our back yard that were TONS tastier than the store stuff.)
I don't mind mushrooms one way or another. If they're on the pizza, I'll eat them. If they're in the salad, no problem. If not, no big deal either. They don't so much provide taste as texture, anyway.
I've never tried psychedelic mushrooms. To be honest I've never tried any mind-altering drug other than alcohol. But if I WAS gonna do something it'd be mushrooms because the effect doesn't stick. It does its work and goes away.
Or so I'm told.
------
I don't hold to the belief that celebrity deaths come in threes, but with Bobby Murcer and Tony Snow checking out in rapid succession, I have to wonder who's next. Or maybe they were just the tail of George Carlin...
TT
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — A woman who ate poisonous wild mushrooms nicknamed death angels that she found growing near a highway rest stop just outside New York City died.
Westchester County's health department says Zoila Tapia found the pure-white mushrooms July 6, in a wooded area along Interstate 684 in Bedford, a town about an hour's drive north of Manhattan.
The 61-year-old White Plains resident was hospitalized after eating the mushrooms and died July 10. The mushrooms are among the prettiest but deadliest in the world and often are called the destroying angels.
The health department warns against eating mushrooms found in the wild because it's difficult to tell which ones are safe.
Westchester County Medical Examiner Dr. Millard Hyland told The Journal News that by the time Tapia sought medical help, her kidney and liver functions were compromised and her chances for survival were quickly declining.
The state Department of Transportation cleared the mushrooms from the rest stop.
------
Okay, some commentary now about the above story. Is it just me, or was the first or second thing drubbed into your head as a child -- shortly after "DON'T DRINK THE BOTTLES WITH THE SKULL AND CROSSBONES ON IT" something along the line of NEVER EAT A MUSHROOM THAT'S GROWING THE YARD -- YOU COULD DIE!" ?
I remember MY mom saying that. Of course, she also warned us against eating anything that didn't come directly from a store -- like forest blackberries would be poisonous, but the ones at the store were okay. (This of course is bullshit -- we had blackberries growing at the end of our back yard that were TONS tastier than the store stuff.)
I don't mind mushrooms one way or another. If they're on the pizza, I'll eat them. If they're in the salad, no problem. If not, no big deal either. They don't so much provide taste as texture, anyway.
I've never tried psychedelic mushrooms. To be honest I've never tried any mind-altering drug other than alcohol. But if I WAS gonna do something it'd be mushrooms because the effect doesn't stick. It does its work and goes away.
Or so I'm told.
------
I don't hold to the belief that celebrity deaths come in threes, but with Bobby Murcer and Tony Snow checking out in rapid succession, I have to wonder who's next. Or maybe they were just the tail of George Carlin...
TT
Comments:
Post a Comment
