the.com/cyanide
A fast-acting poison that blocks cells from using oxygen, causing rapid death.
means A fast-acting poison (a salt or compound containing the CN⁻ ion) that stops cells from using oxygen to make energy, causing rapid death.
from From Greek 'kyanos,' meaning dark blue — the same root as 'cyan.' The name traces back to Prussian blue, a deep-blue pigment made in the early 1700s; chemists later isolated a gas from a related compound and called it 'cyanogen' (blue-producer), with 'cyanide' following as the name for its salts. So a word for a killer poison started life describing a paint color.
- smell tell
- smells like bitter almonds, but 40% can't smell it
- actual kill
- stops mitochondria from making energy, not lungs
- apple seeds
- contain trace amounts, harmless unless you chew thousands
- antidote exists
- hydroxocobalamin, basically vitamin B12's heavy-duty cousin