... Don't tell me that they were waiting for the fugu's poison to kick in? I guess nobody told them that even the Japanese make a point of only minimizing the amount of fugu poison in their fugu-based dishes.

Don't worry ya silly girls, its not like pufferfish poison makes you violently twitch in your seat as your body goes full derp... right?

I hear much about the potency of their toxin, do they beat the Black Mamba's venom?

Searchwanted said:

I hear much about the potency of their toxin, do they beat the Black Mamba's venom?

Honestly, potency of poison only matters in one thing: Can it kill you?

For fugu poison, answer is: yes, it can. People do die from improper preparation of fugu dishes, albeit rarely since MOST people do a good job.

Farran said:

Honestly, potency of poison only matters in one thing: Can it kill you?

For fugu poison, answer is: yes, it can. People do die from improper preparation of fugu dishes, albeit rarely since MOST people do a good job.

By that logic, water is a poison as people die from drinking too much of it. I generally base how toxic something is based on how much of it is needed to kill you. Fugu's poison does pretty well in that department.

Unlike Pola, poor Zara here doesn't have all that alcohol flowing through her to kill off any potential new threat.

Emerald_Acid said:

Unlike Pola, poor Zara here doesn't have all that alcohol flowing through her to kill off any potential new threat.

It wouldn't work on nerve agents like the neurotoxins in fugu fish.

I do want to give Graf a huge reassuring hug. And get Iowa ice cream.

I need some fried fugu now... Such magnificent flavor...

OOZ662 said:

By that logic, water is a poison as people die from drinking too much of it. I generally base how toxic something is based on how much of it is needed to kill you. Fugu's poison does pretty well in that department.

Excerpt from Toxipedia

The Material Safety Data Sheet for tetrodotoxin lists the oral median lethal dose (LD50) for mice as 334 μg per kg. Assuming the lethal dose for humans is similar, 25 milligrams (0.000881 oz) of tetrodotoxin would be expected to kill a 75 kg (170 lb) person. The amount needed to reach a lethal dose by injection is much smaller, 8 μg per kg, or a little over one-half milligram (0.00002 oz) to kill a 75 kg (170 lb) person.

Yes, exactly. Water has an LD50 too. It works out to about 6 liters for a human of average weight. Heck, there's even an ICD code for water intoxication.

Granted, it takes an awful large dose, so water is for most purposes "practically non-toxic", but people do die from water intoxication (excessive water kills by disrupting the electrolyte balance in your body) occasionally. Mostly it only happens to athletes and idiots who get involved in water-drinking contests, or hazing. Like in a certain infamous Hold Your Wee For a Wii contest a few years back.

The American Chemistry Society even collaborated with Reaction in a video describing this here.

Hell, even oxygen is toxic in a high enough concentration, with a corresponding ICD code.

"All things are poison and nothing is without poison," as the Father of Toxicology (Paracelsus) once said, indeed.

NNescio said:

Yes, exactly. Water has an LD50 too. It works out to about 6 liters for a human of average weight. Heck, there's even an ICD code for water intoxication.

Granted, it takes an awful large dose, so water is for most purposes "practically non-toxic", but people do die from water intoxication (excessive water kills by disrupting the electrolyte balance in your body) occasionally. Mostly it only happens to athletes and idiots who get involved in water-drinking contests, or hazing. Like in a certain infamous Hold Your Wee For a Wii contest a few years back.

The American Chemistry Society even collaborated with Reaction in a video describing this here.

Hell, even oxygen is toxic in a high enough concentration, with a corresponding ICD code.

"All things are poison and nothing is without poison," as the Father of Toxicology (Paracelsus) once said, indeed.

In the end, moderation and good old common sense leads to survival. That wee for wii is funny, in a sad and stupid way. Can't believe people really do things like that.

Another miscellaneous fact:
Although virtually anything is toxic (or, have a non-infinite LD50), the way poisons work vary greatly.

Excessive amounts of water would either disrupt the ion balance or flat out rupture your stomach.

Tetrodotoxin (abbreviated TTX, found in pufferfish) causes paralysis and makes you unable to breathe, but there is a fair chance of survival without residual effects if you somehow make it to the hospital in time and the doctors keep you breathing.

Cyanides, a "popular" type of poison, acts rather chemically and makes your cells impossible to breathe. Treatment would require some antidotes in this case.

Lastly, things like Caesium-137 or Polonium-210 will irradiate your organs to death. This kind of poisoning more or less has no effective countermeasures, just some ways to reduce the radiation dosage as much as possible.