Today’s Semi-Paralyzed Yet Truly Morbid Fact!
A fatal case of mass mercury poisoning occurred on the British ship HMS Triumph in 1810. The Triumph had taken on a cargo of mercury from a Spanish ship that had been driven ashore in a gale. Originally, the mercury was placed in the hold where the crew’s spirit rations were kept, but there was so much of it that soon the bags were being stowed in sleeping quarters as well, such as those of the petty officers, pursers and surgeons, all of whom became badly effected from mercury poisoning. They found their tongues swelling and their mouths salivating to an alarming degree. The salvaged mercury had been held in leather bags in wooden boxes, but it was only the bags that were salvaged. Many of them had split and spilled their contents. Soon large amounts of the metal were sloshing about below decks and indeed some of the officers had it rolling about on the floor beneath theri bunks. By April 10, 1810, around 200 men on board the Triumph were suffering from mercury poisoning which caused excess salivation in some, while others were semi-paralyzed and many suffered ‘bowel complaints’.
The sick were taken to other ships where they soon recovered while the Triumph itself was sent to Gibraltar to be decontaminated. Not that this was effective because a new crew also started to suffer in the same way. The ship was dispatched back to England on June 13th and then things did begin to improve somewhat, thanks to the movement of the vessel and the ventilating of the lower decks. Even so, 44 sailors and marines had to be transferred to other ships. All the sheep, pigs, goats, and poultry on the Triumph died, as did the ship’s cat, a dog, the mice and rats – and a canary. Five men eventually died, two of gangrene of the cheeks and tongue. A woman passenger, who had a fractured leg and was confined to bed during the voyage, lost all her teeth and the skin on the inside of the mouth all peeled away.
Culled from: The Elements Of Murder
I just finished reading the above-mentioned book, The Elements of Murder: A History Of Poison, by John Emsley. It was a very interesting book that will provide many morbid facts in the future, although Emsley is a rather dry author and it was hard to get through parts of it. There were also times when I felt like he rushed through the interesting stuff (the tragedies) and belaboured the dull stuff (chemical formulations and other technical details), but on the whole it was a worthwhile read. I’d have to give it 3 1/2 skulls out of 5.
This is why people shouldn’t go on cruises.