Warning, if you become easily paranoid, proceed with caution. What do you think of when you hear the words arsenic, hemlock, cyanide, and mercury? Well, since you're reading this and you're obviously still alive, then you're probably smart enough to know that all of these substances are extremely lethal. For instance, in the average adult, ingesting just 100mg or a mere 8 leaves of hemlock will result in total paralysis and death. Fun fact: When Socrates was condemned to death, he was killed with a very concentrated dose of hemlock in the form of a drink. OK, enough of this hemlock nonsense. Have you ever wondered how much of something is enough to kill you? No? Well, keep reading anyway because some of these facts are actually pretty comical.
Let's start with the simplest of all beverages: water. Don't freak out yet! Staying hydrated and drinking at least eight cups of water a day is still very important, but there is such a thing as consuming too much water. Drinking approximately 25 cups or six liters of water in a short period of time causes brain cells to swell, leading to headaches, seizures, and even death in very extreme cases.
Water a little too boring for you? If you're a coffee lover, you'll really love this! For an individual that weighs about 150 pounds, drinking 70 cups of black coffee can cause cardiac arrest and death. However, I wouldn't worry too much. Basically, you'd have to be really tired and really stupid to die of a coffee overdose.
I know what you're thinking: what about alcohol? This one is actually a little scary. Taking 13 consecutive shots of hard liquor can be lethal for the average person. And no, when I say average person, I am not talking about your football team's outrageously obnoxious, always intoxicated frat boy that chugs a case of Bud Light for breakfast and finishes off his night with a bottle of Jack.
Speaking of the munchies, if you're a chocolate lover, pay attention. Consuming 85 bars of chocolate at once is enough to produce a lethal response and your body will literally shut down.
If you don't have a sweet tooth, you're not out of the clear just yet. Ingesting too much salt and not enough water is lethal as well. The condition of hypernatremia is defined as a high concentration of sodium in the blood. This has the opposite effect of consuming too much water and actually causes your cells to shrink. However, the negative impact is the same and you will still experience headaches, seizures, and eventually death. How do you ingest too much salt, you ask? Well, consuming 48 tablespoons of your favorite seasoning at once will do the trick. Maybe hold off on adding all that extra cumin next time you're cooking up your favorite Indian dish.
Oh, you're a health freak you say? Well, guess what? All those fresh cherries that you eat, they can actually kill you if you're not careful. Biting into one or two cherry pits can release cyanide ions into your body. These ions then activate an enzyme that inhibits all the cells in your body, making them unable to use oxygen.
If I haven't freaked you out enough already, check out AsapScience's short video "This Much Will Kill You" to learn more. Moral of the article: when you're pulling that all-nighter studying for your organic chemistry final, try not to overdose from caffeine by drinking too many peppermint mochas, and don't chug the entire bottle of tequila in a matter of five minutes after finding out you aced it.
