Quote from: Jillian-TG on Yesterday at 05:50:56 PMI always wonder how society figured out what to eat and what not to eat. Clearly they discovered it was toxic raw - people died! I just which brave or stupid person watched others die and then tested a roasted or steamed version to see if it remained toxic.
I had a history teacher who wondered the same thing about cooking meat. He figured some caveman came in from the snow, built a nice fire to warm up, and left his kill too close to the fire. It got hot enough that the fur caught fire, and he panicked, grabbing it. A piece of burning meat stuck to his hand and burned him, so he stuck his fingers in his mouth.
Hmm. That actually tastes better!
Maybe with cashews, someone was plotting to poison someone by putting these toxic nuts into a stew?
There is a short story about a note that was found during a renovation in the White House kitchen. The note was a confession by President Washington's chef. He admitted to trying to poison Washington by serving him a salad decorated with fruit from the deadly nightshade plant.
Unfortunately, we now know the plant as a tomato bush.
