16 Exotic Foods That Can Actually Kill You Would you eat cheese filled with maggots or
shark meat that tastes like urine, or a fish a thousand times more toxic than cyanide? All three of these foods are on a list of
the world’s most dangerous foods, and all three of them are still immensely popular. Today, we're going to look at these foods
and see maybe you'll want to try some... if you dare. But first, we dare YOU to click subscribe
and the notification button as well. Now before we being, keep in mind that some
of these foods are illegal, some of them are just highly-regulated. Some of them are delicious, others are widely
considered disgusting (see the aforementioned pee-flavored shark) What all of them have
in common is that people eat them, even though they’re dangerous or even deadly. What would spur someone to eat some of the
world’s most dangerous foods? Keep watching to find out more about these
dangerous delicacies! Dangerous Food Number 1. Fugu: The poster child for tasty toxins, the
fugu (blowfish) is so toxic without proper preparation, that the method of prepping the
famous fish is heavily regulated in its native country of Japan. The culprit is a neurotoxin called tetrodotoxin,
which shuts down nerve signaling. It’s 1,200 times more toxic than cyanide,
and there’s enough of it in one fugu to kill someone if the toxic parts aren’t removed. Dangerous Food Number 2. Hakarl: This Icelandic delicacy, where a raw
Greenland shark is cured and dried for 6 months, is dangerous if the proper preparation isn’t
followed. That’s because Greenland sharks filter their
waste through their skin, meaning that the skin is likely to be filled with toxic substances
like urea. Dangerous Food Number 3. Ackee: This red/orange fruit is common in
West Africa and Jamaica, and it splits open when it’s fully ripe. You really don’t want to eat it before it
splits, because the unripe flesh carries a toxin called hypoglycin, which stops the body
from converting food into simple sugar, resulting in dangerously low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). Clinically, ackee poisoning has the charming
name of “Jamaican vomiting sickness.” Dangerous Food Number 4. Cassava: Native to South America, cassava
root is delicious when cooked. But, when eaten uncooked or without fermentation,
it releases an enzyme that turns another chemical in the root into cyanide. There’s enough cyanide in improperly cooked
cassava to give someone a case of acute cyanide intoxication! Dangerous Food Number 5. Pangium Edule: Also known as “the football
fruit,” the pangium fruit is toxic enough that they have to be boiled and then fermented
while buried in ash and banana leaves for forty days. That gives enough time for the hydrogen cyanide
to finish being washed out of the fruit itself, or the seeds. Dangerous Food Number 6. San-nakji: This Japanese preparation of raw,
long-arm octopus isn’t poisonous, like many of the others on the list. But, since the fish is killed right before
being presented, the octopus’ complex nervous system means that the tentacles can still
twitch. That presents a problem to the careless diner,
with the potential for flailing suckers to stick to the inside of an esophagus. People have actually died this way. Dangerous Food Number 7. Casu marzu: An Italian delicacy, this sheep’s-milk
cheese is filled with live maggots capable of launching themselves up to 6 inches. Because the maggots are capable of jumping,
and because the cheese is considered best eaten with the still-living maggots in it,
diners are advised to hold their hands over their food to prevent the maggots from leaping
out at their eyes. But the real problem happens if the maggots
are able to survive the whirlwind tour through the digestive system, as they can make a cozy
little home in your intestines and cause nausea, vomiting, and blood filled diarrhea. Mmm! Sounds worth trying that cheese! Dangerous Food Number 8. Hot dogs: Eaten in the barbaric wilderness
known as “North America,” the “hot dog” (made of processed meat) is the top cause
of food-related choking deaths in children under three. The problem is the food’s cylindrical shape,
perfectly-suited to lodge in a small esophagus. Dangerous Food Number 9: Absinthe. Maybe you've watched the movie Euro trip,
or maybe you've heard legends about this wacky drink, either way, this stuff is dangerous,
especially if you aren't prepared for it. The liquor, which is made of woodworm, fennel,
and anise, is sweet to the taste but not so sweet to the brain. The ingredient woodworm contains a chemical
that has psychoactive properties. What does that mean, you ask? Oh, it can just cause hallucinations. Imagine that– you're having fun at a club
or at a pre drink when suddenly– BOOM! You're mid acid trip. Luckily, the stuff you get in North America
usually isn't strong enough to induce hallucinations... or maybe that was just something we dreamed... Dangerous Food Number 10: Death Cap Mushroom. We all know not to eat mushrooms off the forest
floor... right? Well, you will after today. Enter the Death Cap Mushroom, which is as
treacherous as it's name sounds. This fungi which is largely spread across
Europe (for now just Europe, but this thing is spreading fast) might taste good, but consumption
of this plant will mean big trouble for whoever has the displeasure of eating it. First off, if you eat just a little you'll
get some pretty nasty abdominal pain, as well as a spot of vomiting. Eat a lot and you're gonna be in a bad spot. Lots of this mushroom will cause liver, kidney,
and heart damage. Huh. We guess it's pretty aptly named, then. Dangerous Food Number 11: Blood Clams. We were first really grossed out when we figured
you would eat blood in the clams. We were... sort of pleasantly surprised? Apparently, they get their name thanks to
the red hemoglobin liquid inside the soft tissues, which is a step up from eating blood...
we guess? Any ways, the fact that you may or may not
be eating blood isn't the reason these babies are dangerous. They're usually made in China and are boiled
and eaten so fast they hardly have time to lose the diseases they carry. Which diseases? (sarcastic) Oh, just little insignificant
ones like typhoid, hepatitis A, and dysentery. No big deal. Dangerous Food Number 12: Cherry Seeds. Cherry Seeds! But we eat cherries all the time! How can they POSSIBLY be on the list with
things like Fugu, Casu marzu and (shudder sound) hot dogs. Well, we'll let food and medical expert DR. KANTOR tell you: "Spit out your cherry seeds
because they contain the poisonous compound hydrogen cyanide,". Hold on, don't start a panic, you don't need
to burn down your local grocery stores for trying to poison you just yet. Luckily for you, a person would need to ingest
hundreds of cherry seeds before they would kill you. According to the folks at the NATIONAL INSTITUTE
OF HEALTH, an average human can consume 703 milligrams of hydrogen cyanide per day. How much is in a cherry pit, you ask? 0.17 grams of lethal cyanide per gram of seed. So you're fine. Probably. Just put those torches out. Dangerous Food Number 13: Rhubarb. No, this doesn't mean you'll have to stop
enjoying your grandmother's rhubarb pie. It does, however, mean you'll have to stop
enjoying that pie made of Rhubarb leaves that crazy man down the street keeps giving you. They contain high amounts of oxalic acid,
which leads to kidney failure in humans. If you want to know when you've eaten too
many rhubarb leaves, then you'll know once you experience trouble breathing, diarrhea,
eye pain, and red urine. Or maybe, just maybe, you lay off the rhubarb
leaves all together? Dangerous Food Number 14: African Bullfrog. You've heard of frog legs, but this is ridiculous
(that you, TV Tropes). Any ways, believe it or not, in places like
Namibia they skip the whole cutting off the things' legs and just eat the whole amphibian. Sure, you could experience kidney failure
because the frogs' skin and organs contain a variety of substances toxic to humans, but
then you'd miss out on... uh... eating a frog. It's all good, the locals say that once the
thing is finished mating, they're safe to eat. Tempting... but we'll probably not take the
chance. Dangerous Food Number 15: Elderberries. These things sound like some thing out of
Lord Of The Rings, and their poison to goodness factor exemplifies that fact. The berries themselves are great in jams,
jellies, and medicines. The leaves, twigs, and seeds, however, are
dangerous if ingested, and can lead to some nausea, as well as other severe forms of sickness. Dangerous Food Number 16: Cashews. Don't worry, you don't have to put down this
awesome nut if you're eating them out of the bag. We're just talking about the cashews that
you might find in the wild, or more specifically, raw cashews. Some of them may contain urushiol, which in
large quantities can in fact be fatal. And if you see a bag labeled "raw cashews"
at your local grocery store, don't be fooled. Those kernels have actually been steamed to
rid them of the dangerous chemical. And now we have to wrap up our list of dangerous
foods. What did you think? Are you tough enough to try any of these hazardous
meals, or did we scare you off of any? Did we forget some of the most perilous? Let us know in the comments section below
what we may have missed!
