It’s mentioned 9 times in The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas.
scotty79 · 10h ago
Definitely it had its mind share so it was possibly a tad bit overhyped.
cs702 · 4h ago
Great find! Thank you for sharing the OP on HN.
There's no evidence that "Agua Tofana" ever existed, and yet, for centuries, Europeans widely believed it was real, and widely feared it as a colorless, odorless, tasteless, undetectable, gradual-acting poison that could be added to anyone's food. Unscrupulous salespeople, as always, found clever ways to package and sell fake Agua Tofana -- similar to the fake snake-oil sold as "medicine" in the 18th and 19th centuries. The capacity of human beings to believe in things for which there is no evidence never ceases to amaze me.
scotty79 · 10h ago
What a pointless article.
1. That thing happened.
2. Maybe not. It might have been a legend even though some women were punished for this.
3. Maybe misogyny was the worst poison after all that poisoned society and law with suspicion.
It's like it's written by AI prompted with few tidbits of content.
Why not just openly state that most poisoners are still men because men lead in any class of murder (apart form infanticide). No need to perpetuate doubts.
There's no evidence that "Agua Tofana" ever existed, and yet, for centuries, Europeans widely believed it was real, and widely feared it as a colorless, odorless, tasteless, undetectable, gradual-acting poison that could be added to anyone's food. Unscrupulous salespeople, as always, found clever ways to package and sell fake Agua Tofana -- similar to the fake snake-oil sold as "medicine" in the 18th and 19th centuries. The capacity of human beings to believe in things for which there is no evidence never ceases to amaze me.
1. That thing happened.
2. Maybe not. It might have been a legend even though some women were punished for this.
3. Maybe misogyny was the worst poison after all that poisoned society and law with suspicion.
It's like it's written by AI prompted with few tidbits of content.
Why not just openly state that most poisoners are still men because men lead in any class of murder (apart form infanticide). No need to perpetuate doubts.
https://www.wired.com/2013/01/the-myth-of-the-female-poisone...