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It's Friday, April 29th, 2022. I'm Jackson Bird today. How an innocent trip to the library could give you arsenic poisoning. Plus, a new pterosaur fossil seems to confirm the prehistoric reptiles had some pretty cool feathers. And how would you like to meditate with Yoda and Chewbacca?

Here's some cool stuff for your ride home.

If you come across an old green book at an antique store or in the rare collections department of a library,

maybe don't touch it. It could be poisonous.

Its cover or labels laced with arsenic. Now, granted, you probably won't be in danger if you

merely brush your hand against the book or pick it up briefly. To really get the fatal effects

of arsenic poisoning, you'd have to literally eat the whole book. But booksellers,

librarians, and other people who handle these books with regularity could be at greater risk

of ingesting particles of arsenic from the pigment used in the tomes, leading to side

effects like lightheadedness, stomach cramps, and possible irritation or lesions on their

skin. But where did these books come from and why are they laced with arsenic? That's down to a

particular type of pigment used widely back in the 19th century called Emerald Green, quote a national

geographic, also known as Paris Green, Vienna Green, and Schoenfert Green, and Schoenfert Green, quote a National Geographic. Also known as Paris Green, Vienna Green, and

Schoenfeldt Green, it's the product of combining copper acetate with arsenic trioxide, producing

copper aceto-arcinates. The toxic pigment was commercially developed in 1814 by the Wilhelm

Dye and white lead company in Schoenford, Germany.

It was used everywhere, from clothing and wallpaper to fake flowers and paint.

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