Mark Twain once said, “Be careful about reading health books. You could die of a misprint.” Seems celebrity-chef recommendations aren’t always safe either.
According to The Globe and Mail, a popular chef and TV personality mistakenly urged readers to toss a potentially lethal leafy green to their organic salad mix. He waxed poetic about the virtues of henbane, a member of the deadly nightshade family, when he really meant the edible weed commonly known as “fat hen”.
Fortunately, there have been no casualties so far and enough press to keep people away from anything with a name resembling poultry. I predict it will be a bad year for gooseberry growers.
Upon reading this news story, Andrew wondered if vengeful spouses would use this misinformation to avoid divorce court. While I can’t speak for others, I reassured him of his safety with a quote from another famous author. “Fool! Don’t you see now that I could have posioned you a hundred times had I been able to live without you!” (Shakespeare’s Cleopatra)
Photo of deadly nightshade © zenera, published under a Creative Commons License.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I wonder if Andrew found your recitation of that particular Bard quote comforting.
And I’ve got to say, whenever I read about a faux pas like the one that chef made about henbane, it makes me consider getting liability insurance. We’re all susceptible to slips like that, even those of us who pride ourselves on our stellar research skills.
I know it is serious stuff, but you post made me smile. I am glad no one got hurt.