I would like to share with you one of my favourite series of documentaries. It is called “The Hiden Killers” and it was produced by the BBC. The host of the series, Dr Suzannah Lipscomb, shows us the deadly everyday objects of the past. I've selected an episode for you guys about the Victorian Era. It was a time of progress and invention that had many dark secrets. In this episode, we can learn more about the usage of arsenic. Arsenic has been a known poison since the first century AD. There is even a theory that Napoleon Bonaparte was poisoned by it.
Do you think we have a hidden killer of our time? What could it be?
Do you like the aesthetics of the Victorian interior? If not, what interior aesthetics suits you?
Do you know any story about a historical figure who was poisoned?
Comments
Thank you, it was an interesting video. I haven`t known before about wallpaper with arsenic in the Victorian era.
Answering the first question, I am not an expert and don`t know exactly about the hidden killer of our time. Maybe it could be cosmetics with toxic ingredients such as hydroquinone or parabens. I have read that these substances can cause cancer.
2.Do you like the aesthetics of the Victorian interior? If not, what interior aesthetics suits you?
Yes, I like the aesthetics of the Victorian interior with its rich dark colours, textured walls and carved furniture. I got pleasure while watching TV series Victoria because of the palace interior. It seems like you immersed in the romantic atmosphere of that time.
But, to be honest, I like just watching Victorian houses. I don`t want my own home looks like this, I prefer minimalism style in the interior. Maybe you really need a palace not to become tired of such exquisite and pompous furniture.
3.Do you know any story about a historical figure who was poisoned?
The first story that came to my mind is the story about Grigory Rasputin who ate cake with cyanide and stood alive. There are different versions of how he wasn`t poisoned. One of them is that poisoners accidentally used citric acid instead of cyanide crystals, another one told that Rasputin liked garlic, which can remove metals from the organism.
2. It’s not my cup of tea, I wouldn’t decorate my house that way. But there is something quite magical or special in this kind of aesthetics. Maybe it’s because I’ve seen it so many times in various movies and screenplays that always made Victorian interiors classy and elegant and people colorful and sophisticated (even though that is a HUUUGE lie). But yeah … I wouldn’t like to wear these heavy dresses while trying to move around in my cluttered, dark and definitely overwhelming living room.
3. Unfortunately, it’s impossible for me to recall anyone right now, but I can recommend a book that mentions this topic – “Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln's Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities by Amy Stewart”. Its unbelievably interesting to read about people beliefs and trusts that often let to their death or serious injuries.
I think we do have a hidden killer - it's probably carbon monoxide (CO). It's emitted when a furnace, or a stove etc. is malfunctioning; it kills about 150-400 (different sources say different values) Americans per year, and in Poland it kills around 80-100 people a year. It's not a "new" hidden killer, but it's still an issue. I think few weeks ago a teenage girl in Poland was found dead in her bathroom, probably poisoned by carbon monoxide.
I love Victorian aesthethics, it's one of my favourite. I love Victorian fashion and their architecture. I also love art nouveau, Alfons Mucha is one of my favorite artists from that period, and I love western-european architecture from the early 1900s. Also, gothic architecture from 1300-1400s is just gorgeous.
I know a lot of stories of people got poisoned by their enemies or murderers, but I can think of only one poisoned (if I can call it that) by the thing they were exposed to every day. It's Marie Curie, she was exposed to radiation for years working on Radium and Polonium. I don't know if it was the cause of her death (as far as I remember, she died because of heavy anemia that was getting worse in lightning speed), but it must've damaged her in some way. And well, if we count alcohol poisoning, there's a lot of celebrities that unfortunately died because of that.
I know that currently plastic is a great threat to us, especially as various types of containers for food products. Some chemical compounds can pass into food and then into our body. It's a good idea to use BPA free containers, which gives us a better chance of not consuming harmful chemicals. Unfortunately, containers of this type are a bit more expensive, so it is not that popular, but fortunately it happens that it is possible to buy a product in such a package.
2. Do you like the aesthetics of the Victorian interior? If not, what interior aesthetics suits you?
Not knowing that's exactly what the name is called, I just use the term "retro"... :)
In any case, I like such decorations very much.
Antique furniture made of real hard wood can last for many years. This is really good quality of such products. I think it is hard to find someone to have an interior in this style, because it's hard to get components for such a decor. Even if you can find such a product, it costs a lot.
Thanks to this style, you can feel how aristocrats once lived
3. Do you know any story about a historical figure who was poisoned?
I do not have much knowledge in this topic, but I found an interesting list with various human poisonings.
Link here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_poisonings
The first reported poisoning is Socrates, who reportedly poisoned himself using a hemlock potion, Conium maculatum.
It's funny because I'm going to be a conspirator, but all the people in the world are poisoned all the time. Who is guilty? Of course the United States. Virtually all of us fry something in a frying pan, it turns out that Teflon is a carcinogenic material. The company that invented and patented Teflon - DuPont, despite the fact that it is punished every year, does not do anything about court judgments. I recommend reading about this case, and watch the movie "Dark Waters" (https://www.filmweb.pl/film/Mroczne+wody-2019-838093)
2.Do you like the aesthetics of the Victorian interior? If not, what interior aesthetics suits you?
Certainly, Victorian interior has a lot of style, many people like this style, but I associate this type of interor with a museum. I couldn't find myself in such an interior. Additionally, I think that a Victorian interior would be hard to adapt to remote work 😊
As for me, I feel best in the modernist style. Additionally, I like minimalism combined with spacious interiors and electronics. Someday I would like to manage the whole house using a smartphone.
3.Do you know any story about a historical figure who was poisoned?
Honestly, I didn't even think there were such theories that Napoleon was poisoned. I believe that this is a very dishonorable way of eliminating people. It can be seen that this is a very popular method of eliminating Vladimir Putin's political opponents. Recently, an attempt was made to poison Alexei Navalny, but he seems to have survived the attack. Who else, perhaps the most popular case in recent years is the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko - a former Russian intelligence officer.
2. I like it in museums and films but I can never imagine myself living in a similar one. For me, they are too busy and I would feel uncomfortable and distracted all the time.
3. To be honest, nothing pops into my head straight away. Except maybe one of the most recent ones I can recall is the Alexei Navalny's poisoning case.
2. In my opinion Victorians had a sense of style that we lack today.
The interiors of every high-class household were really stylish, full of over the top furniture, but the most iconic part of the interiors were stunning, colorful tapestries (even thought most of them were poisonous).
3. The only person i know who was allegedly killed by poison is Napoleon Bonaparte. Scientists discovered that samples of his hair show high levels of arsenic. This could mean that he was in fact poisoned.
Hello Anastasiia! Thank you for your comment. You are right, some of the ingredients in cosmetics might be toxic. I guess we will probably not going to find out during our lifetime.
I loved these TV series “Victoria”. The costumes, music, vibe, and actors were great.
I would agree that Victorian-style seems not so useful these days.
Rasputin was a very mysterious character. I've never heard of these stories. Thank you for describing them to me.
2. Victorian style is pretty dope. Combination of black and green also implies Decadence in my mind, which is also kind of cool direction in art. So yes, I like victorian style, it looks rich and interesting. I am also glad that we move away from minimalism these days.
3. Former president of Ukraine, Viktor Yuschenko got poisoned during his campaign in 2004, if I recall correctly. He survived, but things with his face got ugly. Nonetheless he won the elections later this year.
Hello Olga! I think our hidden killer might be white sugar. Well, it’s not so hidden since we call it “white death”.
By the way, I also adore elegance in victorian style. Did you know that you can buy those colourful wallpapers even today? I know there is a company in the UK that makes the same patterns which were present during the XIX century (but without arsenic of course). Unfortunately, they are pretty expensive.
Hi Roman.
As you said that everything tries to slowly kill us, that’s completely true. Everything is poisonous! It just depends on how strong you are as an organism and how much of a dose you have taken. You can get killed even from drinking too much water and nothing will happen to you if you consume little amounts of arsenic. I would even say this topic is philosophical. Our cells strive for growth and therefore death. We have death encoded in our genes.
Thank you for your comment! It made me think.
About the victorian style and minimalism, I feel a connection with you. Victorian is beautiful but minimalism seems to be more useful and practical.
5G! Of course, I'm joking. Although certainly exposed to all electromagnetic radiation, it will have a minimal impact on our health one day. It's not without reason that it's said constantly carrying the phone in your pocket can cause testicular cancer. I think processed food is one of the silent killers. Our grandparent were healthier because didn't use any preservatives.
Do you like the aesthetics of the Victorian interior? If not, what interior aesthetics suits you?
I don't like the aesthetics of the Victorian interior. This decor contains too much splendor. I prefer minimalistic and bright interiors. It's much easier to keeping clean. Minimalistic is incomparably cheaper and looks neatly and it's aesthetically nowadays because the era of minimalism and simplicity has come.
Do you know any story about a historical figure who was poisoned?
I don't know any story about a historical figure who was poisoned in details to be honest. I can say only I feel sorry for the people who have been poisoned because health service wasn't very effective.
It's sad for me to hear that paint in the victorian era was so deadly. I very much like this style, especially the patterns on the wallpapers and carpets. I hope today's paints are not poisonous!
I've heard a story that the Emperor of China - Emperor Qin, I believe - was taking pills that were supposed to extend his longevity or even make him immortal. The fun fact is those pills contained mercury. Nowadays everyone knows what are the effects of ingesting mercury.
2) Not really, mostly because I’m a little “blind for art”. For me these wallpapers look mostly the same and I don’t really care about the style of my house. I’m looking for things that could be useful not fancy. If I can be honest, these color of green looks a little bit awful – even for me it's just ugly. This shade of green is just unnatural and making me sick, and I was only from watching that clip for a moment.
3) The first person I through of is Sokrates. He wasn’t poisoned by someone but he killed himself (with poison of course). I like his idea of life and a little bit strange hobby – proving people that they're dumb (in shortcut). Probably like everyone know he wasn’t making excuses for anyone – even for politician's, which was deadly for him because he was prison break. The poison wasn't any secret in that story but more likely a sign or resistant and independence of his beliefs.
2) I am definately not a fan of such interiors. My taste is much more about minimalistic interiors which are simplier and in my opinion have a potential to stay fresh for a much longer period of time.
3) Throughout the history there have been many and many influencive people who were poisoned. The first one who comes to my mind when I think about poison is Rasputin but ironically he was the person on whom poison didn't have much impact.
After reading all your comments it seems like you can either love or hate Victorian style (nothing in between).
I haven’t heard before about Emperor Qin. Did you know that nowadays you could get poisoned with mercury by eating intoxicated fish (for example salmon)?
Hi Krzysztof! Yes, Sokrates is a well-known victim of poisoning. Do you know what poison he used?
I literally hate the Victorian interior. It is impractical, redundant and motley. Good luck finding the cigarette that fell on the Victorian carpet. Personally, I am fascinated by futuristic design with a hint of brutalism. Practicality is always my priority when it comes to interior design. The role of lights and backlight can make a huge difference. Modifiability of the interior is something difficult to achieve with impractical solutions like in the Victorian era.
I heard the legend about murdering a Rasputin. In addition to other ways to kill him, such as a knife or a gun, Rasputin was given wine in poisoned glasses. Story says Rasputin drank several times from that glass and it didnt work. I don't remember exactly right now, but I think it was cyanide.
2 / YES I like the aesthetics of the victarian interior. Victorians opted for soft, muted tones, nothing flashy or flashy. Delicate pinks, lavender or sage are ideal colors. The Victorians were fans of paintings and used them in everything from curtains to pillows, and from carpeting to wallpaper.
Victorian interior design sounds amazing and looks even better.
3 / The mother of the Persian king Artaxerxes II, Parysatid, was terribly jealous of her son for his wife Statira. As a result, everyone was afraid of being poisoned. Any attempt at poisoning would kill both the victim and the perpetrator. However, the mother-in-law turned out to be more insidious, once the women were served a roast. Parysatida snapped her portion and began to eat. Statira, seeing that her mother-in-law was alive and well, also ate calmly, and died a few hours later. Before cutting the meat, Parysatida smeared the side of the knife facing her daughter-in-law with a strong poison.
I think it could be plastic. I have read that for example plastic bottles we drink from transfer some of the substances into the fluids inside the bottles that we drink. One of the significant substance is derivative of estrogen - female sex hormone. It isn’t really dangerous for women, but for men there are really serious consequences, for example infertility.
2. Do you like the aesthetics of the Victorian interior? If not, what interior aesthetics suits you?
I somewhat like it, but I wouldn’t necessary want to live in house build in one. I prefer brutalist architecture from communism times. It is cheaper to make, so there is more money from more important staff, like medicine or allowances.
3. Do you know any story about a historical figure who was poisoned?
The most famous person that was poison was Rasputin. He was poisoned several times and lived through them all.
Thank you for this video, it was super interesting.
I think the most dangerous silent killer of our times is microplastics which are small fragments of any type of plastic material. Microplastics have been found in a variety of environments, including oceans and freshwater ecosystems. They also are a source of air pollution, occurring in dust and airborne fibrous particles. They've been also found in human organs, however the health effects of microplastics inhalation are unknown.
2. Do you like the aesthetics of the Victorian interior? If not, what interior aesthetics suits you?
I do love Victorian interiors, the beautiful colors, lots of ornate details, big wooden pieces of furniture and those floral "in your face" wallpapers :D However, I'm not sure if I would like to live in such place, it feels a bit like a museum to me.
3. Do you know any story about a historical figure who was poisoned?
A few come to my mind, like Napoleon, Socrates, but I don't know the exact stories, like who poisoned them, with what and why. Anyway, it doesn't seem like the most pleasant way to die.
I considere sugar as hidden killer of our times. Because sugar is added to absolutely everything and is a significant factor of diabetes which can cause death.
Do you like the aesthetics of the Victorian interior? If not, what interior aesthetics suits you?
I like the interior from historical point of view. I would highly enjoy seeing interior like this in person but probably wouldnt like to own one myself. I like either very raw, scandinavian way of arranging interiors or lately loft interiors
Do you know any story about a historical figure who was poisoned?
I dont remember any at the moment. But poisons were very popular way of secretly killing people in the history. Mainly i associate it with policits or highier spheres of society.
2. No. I like some patterns and pieces of furniture, but altogether it is too much for me. I admire clean, cold interiors, such as in Scandinavia. Although they use a lot of wood, I prefer patternless materials. In my flat, I have only white walls and furniture, grey floor and for contrast, I have a lot of plants. It is clean but somewhat warm. I am a highly allergic person, so my aesthetics are heavily influenced by my condition, even my sofa has a removable lining that can be washed, however, I do like those simple interiors best.
3. I can't recall any...
I do like the Victorian interior, although I prefer a lot more simplicity and practicality.
Two people with poison stories come to my mind, the Empress Gong'ai during Han Dynasty and Socrates.
It thinks that the hidden killer could be plastic that ends up in the oceans and is then eaten by fish that are later eaten by humans.
2.Do you like the aesthetics of the Victorian interior? If not, what interior aesthetics suits you?
It looks very interesting and I could spend a few days in this type of interior, but I can't imagine living in a flat in this style. I prefer minimalist interiors.
3.Do you know any story about a historical figure who was poisoned?
Alexander the Great probably was poisoned or died of alcohol poisoning.
Except for sugar we might consider meat as a hidden killer. Meat production is one of the highest CO2 emmision factors.
2. Do you like the aesthetics of the Victorian interior? If not, what interior aesthetics suits you?
I don't like that kind of aesthetics. I prefer more modernist style, where every thing in the room has some useful role.
3. Do you know any story about a historical figure who was poisoned?
Except the one (Napoleon) mentioned in the article I think that Adolf Hitlers wife poisoned herself with a cyanide capsule. The same thing was probably used on Goebbels children (by Goebbels and his wife).
I think we do, it could be talking long hours on the cellphone, this could have some serious consequences in the long term.
2. I don't think it's that bad, but I prefer to have something more modern.
3.
Alexander the Great was most likely poisoned by someone.
As for the questions, I would like to start with modern day hidden killers and answer it in two parts - the hidden killer we might not know about may be substances used in state of the art replacements for cigarettes - IQOS, e-cigarete, whatever you name it. The effect of long-term consumption of substances used in such products are not well studied and I fear that those substitutes may not end up being good replacements for traditional cigarettes. The second part would be a different kind of view on the question - there may be a hidden killer in products that are widely known as being detrimental to health and, despite that, people still overconsume them. White sugar, for example. It is known that it's harmful when digested in certain amounts and people do not deny that (!). Despite that, people keep consuming it like there is no tomorrow. There is something scary in the fact that people just accept the white, slow death.
Moving on, I do like the aesthetics of the Victorian interior. I find it fascinating and pleasant to look at, but this is, more or less, where I cross the line. There is a fine distinction between joy and comfort. While I do admire that very style, I think I would prefer to have my home organised in a more "modern" style. Can't, however, tell for sure - I have not tried the Victorian style. Just a hunch :)
Off the top of my head I couldn't think about any famous poisoning, but quick Google search reminded me of my favourite historical figure who was poisoned - Socrates. It's quite amazing - this seems to be the very first historical figure that, to our knowledge, was surely poisoned (with documentation of such act). He was sentenced to death via poison injection due to being found guilty of "both corrupting the minds of the youth of Athens and of impiety". Truly a sad ending to a person of such wisdom...
Hello Maciej. The Goebbels family story is bloodcurdling... It reminds me of Sylvia Plath suicide. She didn’t kill her children but she closed them in another and poisoned herself with CO. Have you heard about this poet before?
Hi Viktor! Thank you for your comment.
I’m not convinced about the fact that extended usage of cellphone might be harmful… Why would you think so?
2. I don't like the Victorian aesthetics, there are too many patterns, too many things that are happening with the interior aesthetics. I personally prefer much more minimalistic approach to aesthetics. I like unicoloured walls without any unnecessary patterns, the same goes for furniture.
3. If i remember correctly, Grigorij Rasputin was poisoned. Other than that, I don't remember any historical figure that was poisoned.
Hello Grzegorz! Well, I think Victorian people were convinced about their knowledge of chemistry and potential threats just as we do :)
What do you think about sugar? Could it be a hidden killer of our times?
1. In think that is highly possible that there are some of hidden killers that can harm us, even kill us, but what it is could be - I have no idea.
2. Honestly, I don't like the victorian aesthetics of the interior. This is not my style. I prefer minimalism and modernity, bright and subdued colors. And as little visible details as possible.
3. Hmm...The only poisoning case I remember well is the poisoning of a former Russian agent, Alexei Navalny, who was poisoned probably last year in the United Kingdom.
Hello Igor! How are you!
I have not heard of this situation with a Russian agent before. This is a very interesting and tragic story. What do you think about carbon dioxide? Could it be the hidden killer of our times?
1. Do you think we have a hidden killer of our time? What could it be?
Such an interesting question. What could it be? I would say it is sugar. Well, one might say it's not really hidden as we are all aware of the risks connected with its consumption, but rarely we do acknowledge how high our avarage daily consumption is.
Do you like the aesthetics of the Victorian interior? If not, what interior aesthetics suits you?
Victorian aesthetics is the exact opposite of my taste. I prefer minimalistic, cruel and brutal interiors. Like Kayne West's NYC apartment.
Do you know any story about a historical figure who was poisoned?
It's really just Napoleon Bonaparte that comes to my mind at the moment. I realize the concept was fairly popular in medieval ages and not quite sure if it would work nowadays, when pathologists can very precisely identify time and cause of the death
I think that our times differ from past years in such a way that we are always in a hurry. There is a lot of anxiety, everyone has own treadmill of constant activity, hustle and bustle all around. Our ancestors spent days or even weeks travelling from one place to another – we travel to another continent just in hours. Civilization achievements made everything faster, every decision, every process, every travel. That makes for us more time to spent – unfortunately most of us choose to spend this time for work. This creates more stress than a human being can bear, which results in many dangerous diseases – from obesity to autoimmune diseases.
I admire victorian style when visiting museums, but it is for sure something I could not choose to have at home. Maybe just one piece in this design, let’s say: chest of drawers or armchair. That would be enough.
I’m not good in history… I remember only a famous case of our time, which is poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko.
1. Do you think we have a hidden killer of our time? What could it be?
I can have a few guesses that are possible but I don't think they actually are going to be the hidden killer of our time - for example sweeteners or GMO vegetables.
2. Do you like the aesthetics of the Victorian interior? If not, what interior aesthetics suits you?
The vibrant colors are very visually pleasing but for the long term I would probably like something less cluttered. Personally I really enjoy minimalistic, light grayish interior.
3. Do you know any story about a historical figure who was poisoned?
I don't think I do, other than the most recent case that was spoken loudly about - the Alexei Navalny poisoning. I think he fully recovered so at least this story had a happy ending.
We had a couple of silent killers. For example azbestous was very common material for roofs and it turned out that this is very dangerous and cause dead even.
2.Do you like the aesthetics of the Victorian interior? If not, what interior aesthetics suits you?
I am more minimalistic person. The Victorian interior is a little overwhelming for me. I like Scandinavian style much more.
3.Do you know any story about a historical figure who was poisoned?
The polish queen Bona Sforza was poisoned, but i don't know the whole story.
2. I do like them! I find them unrepeatable and very stylish. I would not live in such interior, but it is still beautiful and attractive.
3. I don’t, but I do know that it was quite “popular”, and poison used to be a basic product on the markets. I am truly happy that times have changed and killing items are sold with tomatoes by the same person.
Yes, I think we are surrounded by hidden killers every day, and every day each of them does us their share of harm. It can be harmful fumes in the form of carbonic oxide, junk food with chemical substitutes and additives, harmful detergents and poor-quality hygiene products, cigarette smoke and many other things that together bring us big harm and tame our lives every day.
Do you like the aesthetics of the Victorian interior? If not, what interior aesthetics suits you?
I love minimalism but I also really like the Victorian style, I associate it with British aristocracy. I am not a connoisseur of art and architecture, but when I visit such places it always fascinates and creates the impression that such places have a special atmosphere and live their own lives.
Do you know any story about a historical figure who was poisoned?
I can't remember the history of a certain person, but I know that earlier many monarchs, kings and simply influential people were immunized from early childhood by using poisons in small doses, which often had consequences with age.