CLASSIC: Arsenic: The Assassin's Dream Weapon

Ridiculous History

iHeartPodcasts

History, Society & Culture

4.3 • 4.4K Ratings

🗓️ 27 July 2024

⏱️ 40 minutes

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Summary

For centuries people from all walks of life sought to eliminate friends, strangers and enemies using the devious, subtle poison known as arsenic. Arsenic poisoning became such a well-known method of murder that people in Britain began calling it "inheritance powder". But what made it so popular? How did this particular substance become the stuff of history? Join Ben and Noel as they delve into the fascinating, morbid story of arsenic.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	You're thinking like what would be my dream way to kill this person?
0:07.6	All the time. No! Okay, maybe sometimes. I don't know.
0:12.1	Just to think about it. Put me on the spot. know. Just to think about it.
0:13.2	Put me on the spot.
0:14.2	Why don't you?
0:15.2	Well, for centuries, people have asked themselves this question,
0:21.3	historically speaking.
0:22.6	What would it take to just get rid of this inconvenient person in my life, right?
0:29.0	Without getting in trouble.
0:30.3	Yeah, without getting caught.
0:31.5	Turns out there is a perfect answer to this question.
0:35.6	And then you'll find it in all kinds of cool detective novels,
0:38.9	you know, Agatha Christie,
0:41.0	arsenic and old lace comes to mind, right?
0:44.0	Because arsenic was an odorless, tasteless, clear substance
0:51.0	that could very easily be snuck into somebody's cup of tea, you know, or perhaps
0:57.2	administered in various and sundry other ways without the person ever knowing, and again,
1:01.6	because of the lack of forensic technology that existed in
1:05.9	the days of yore was unlikely to ever be traced back to the perpetrator of said
1:12.2	heinous crime.
1:13.4	So tune in to learn how what our Brit friends call the old inheritance powder
1:19.2	became the assassin's Dream Weapon.
	...

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