Poison. In an animal or plant, it can be a
defense mechanism - and in the hands of a villain, an untraceable murder tool. But
which poison packs the deadliest punch? Here are the ten deadliest poisons in the world. #10. Brodifacoum Rats! If a place has a vermin problem,
they probably take action fast to get rid of the disease-spreading rodents. One of the
most effective methods is using pesticides, which can take out a large colony of rats
quickly through poisoned food. And Brodifacoum, a powerful anticoagulant poison, has become one
of the most widely used pesticides in the world. Not only does it make it difficult from the blood
to clot, leading to severe bleeding, but it stays in the blood for up to nine months. It’s not a
surprise it’s a best-seller for exterminators. But it can target larger animals too. Brodifacoum is powerful enough that it can take
out larger pests like opossums - but humans aren’t safe either. Any human who ingests it can
survive - but only if they’re treated quickly, with infusions of Vitamin K and possibly
blood transfusions. And these treatments will need to continue until the poison is
out of the blood, which can be months - if it’s caught before heavy bleeding begins. The
good news is, it’s not too easy to ingest this! Most cases involve people accidentally
consuming rat poison - or being poisoned with it. But this potent poison isn’t something
humans are likely to come across regularly. Neither is this next one - but that
doesn’t keep people from seeking it out. #9. Tetrodotoxin The sushi chef carefully slices the fish.
But he’s not just looking to avoid wasting valuable fish with sloppy cuts - he’s
attempting to avoid painful death for the diner. That’s because he’s slicing pufferfish, which contains the lethal tetrodotoxin - one
of the most powerful neurotoxins in the world. While the poison is found in other animals
like the Blue-Ringed Octopus and Moon Snail, it’s actually produced by bacteria - and it
packs a punch. This sodium-channel blocker poison basically shuts down the nervous
system and keeps muscles from contracting. And if it affects a human, the odds are grim. It can enter the bloodstream by being eaten,
injected, or absorbed by the skin. It causes paralysis, trouble breathing, vomiting, seizures,
and eventually total respiratory failure. Death comes within six hours, while the victim is
usually completely paralyzed but still conscious. There is no known antidote, but some people
have survived thanks to fast-moving respiratory aid - keeping them alive until the poison
starts wearing off. They usually recover fully - but the majority of those infected by
this deadly neurotoxin never get that chance. You may be surprised by just how
often you eat this next poison… #8. Cyanide It’s oddly sweet, almost like a marzipan
flavor. You may have tasted it when you bit into an apricot pit as a child. But don’t get
addicted - that harmless-looking fruit pit is actually packing a deadly punch. It’s loaded
with cyanide, a chemical compound that is poisonous in many forms. It’ll take a lot of
eating apricot pits to get poisoned, though, which is unlikely - except when some health
food companies started marketing the pits as a nutrition-packed food! But most of us consume
this chemical regularly with no ill effects. But that doesn’t mean cyanide will stay harmless. When processed, cyanide gains a much more powerful
toxic kick. Sodium cyanide and potassium cyanide are two of the deadlier forms, and can affect the
heart and central nervous system. And when it’s turned into a gas, hydrogen cyanide, it can become
a deadly aerosol that can incapacitate or kill a large group of people. Fortunately, an antidote is
available, since the compound hydroxocobalamin can neutralize cyanide and turn it into a compound
that the kidneys can eliminate. That’s one of the perks of a much more common poison - it’s
easier to crack the case of how to stop it. This next poison also comes
from an unassuming source. #7. Strychnine The Strychnos nux-vomica tree is a nice, mid-sized
tree that grows in India and Southeast Asia, but it has another name - the poison nut
tree. That’s because its nuts contain the deadly poison strychnine, a powerful
neurotoxin. It works by shutting down the nerve fibers in the spinal cord, which makes
it impossible for the muscles to contract. The poison is a defense mechanism for the tree,
because it’s only absorbed if the nuts are chewed. Birds will eat them whole, poop
them out, and spread the seeds, but mammals aren’t likely to - so
they’ll rarely eat them more than once. Strychnine is deadly - but it also has its uses. It’s highly poisonous, and as such makes an
effective pesticide. It’s usually used to wipe out mid-sized or even large pests like gophers
and coyotes. However, using it as rat poison has fallen out of favor because the potent
baits can kill anything that comes across it - including pets. For humans, it causes
muscle spasms, possible kidney failure, seizures, and respiratory failure in high doses. While
there is no specific antidote, the best chance for recovery is neutralizing it or removing it
from the stomach - so get that stomach pump ready. This next poison is so deadly,
it made its way into war. #6. Ricin The castor oil plant has many uses, but its
seeds pack a powerful punch. They contain ricin, a carbohydrate-binding protein that’s
one of the deadliest in the world. It can kill easily by being inhaled, injected, or
eaten - and can even be absorbed through the eyes or through minor wounds on the skin. It causes
the body to not be able to synthesize protein, and can cause damage to the gastrointestinal
tract. But if it stays in the system long enough, it can start to affect just about every
organ including the central nervous system. It’s deadly enough that it even
attracted the attention of world powers. World War I was notorious for its use
of toxic gas and poison as weapons. The United States looked into Ricin as one of
its agents, considering coating bullets with it or using it as a dusting weapon. The
war ended before it could be weaponized, but both the US and the USSR wound up keeping
weaponized samples in store - that were thankfully never used. While it was never used in war,
it was used to assassinate several dissidents in Russia and Eastern Europe, and Ricin powder
was sent to politicians in the US in letters. While right now treatment is limited, the US and
UK militaries are testing the first Ricin vaccine. And now we’re getting into the top five -
starting with the deadliest man-made toxic. #5. VX It looks like engine oil, but this
synthetic nerve agent compound is packing only one thing - killing power. When
ICI developed it as an insecticide in the 1950s, they discovered it worked a little too well. It
interferes with the transmission of nerve cells, and causes muscle contractions and respiratory
failure. So volatile and dangerous, it was eventually taken out of development as a
pesticide, but it wouldn’t be long before other powers realized it could be used for something
else - a deadly, hard to stop assassination tool. And VX became world-famous in 2017. Kim Jong-Nam was the half-brother of the notorious
leader of North Korea, Kim-Jong-Un. He had left North Korea and was traveling to a resort in
Malaysia when he was approached by two women. They splashed him with a liquid and exposed
him to more of the substance with a cloth. He was taken to a hospital, but died soon after -
and an investigation revealed the poison was VX. As VX is a liquid, the best way to avoid
death is through early decontamination and injection with sedatives, but only standard
antidotes for nerve agents are available. You may be tempted to give the source of this
next poison a little pat on the head. Don’t. #4. Batrachotoxin. They’re among the most striking creatures in the
jungle. Tiny frogs with skin that combines black with brightly colored patches. But they’re
also among the most poisonous creatures in the world - their skin is coated with a potent
neurotoxin named Batrachotoxin. It affects the peripheral nervous system in a way that blocks
nerve signal transmission to the muscles, causing permanent and fatal paralysis. Not
only that, but it has a powerful effect on heart muscles and leads to cardiac arrest.
Even scarier, no antidote is available. But that doesn’t keep some
people from coming close to them. These frogs are most famous by another name -
poison dart frogs. That’s because indigenous residents have been using them for a long time -
very carefully. They scrape off a small layer of the poisonous skin coating and use it to coat a
dart that they then shoot out through a blowgun. It turns a mildly annoying weapon into a deadly
one to deter any invaders. While the poison is one of the deadliest in the world, some success in
treating it has come from an unexpected source - tetrodotoxin, which is found in puffer fish and
can reverse the effect on the nerve membranes. To find the source of this next
toxin, look towards the sea. #3. Maitotoxin Algae blooms in the sea can provide a pop
of color in the water, but they can also create some of the most deadly toxins on the
planet. The tiny dinoflagellate, a plankton, creates a compound that has one of the
most complicated structures of any toxin. This makes it a massive challenge for scientists
to understand and develop treatments for - which is a big problem for anyone who encounters this
deadly cardiotoxin. It activates extra calcium channels in the cells, leading to heart
failure that is almost invariably fatal. And it packs a lot of power in a small package. Testing on this toxin is limited,
because it’s so rarely encountered. But results indicate that less than one nanogram
is a fatal dose of Maitotoxin for a mouse. No one knows the exact dose that will kill a human
- but the odds are that any amount encountered in nature would be enough. So be careful around
any colorful patches in the ocean, although not everything swimming around is vulnerable.
Oddly, scientists have observed that certain fish native to coral reefs are immune to the
toxin - and can eat all the plankton they want. But what is the deadliest toxin around? #2. Botulinum Toxin This toxin hides where you least expect it
- in your food. In 18th century Germany, a case of food poisoning linked to sausage
led to the discovery of Botulinum toxin for the first time. Six people died, and
it became known as “sausage poisoning”. Future incidents revealed that it was likely to
happen with improperly canned or preserved foods. A tiny bacteria that can kill an
adult human with only a few nanograms, it’s a neurotoxin that affects muscles and nerves
and causes paralysis. While it exists in nature, it only grows and activates when it’s starved of
oxygen - making it deadly in enclosed atmospheres. But it’s turned out to have some unexpected uses. During World War II, studies
were conducted on weaponizing it, but it was never released in combat. It would find
a second life, though - in medical science! The toxin is highly effective at causing paralysis,
and when processed and neutralized partially, it can be used to control disorders causing
involuntary eye disorders. But this deadly toxin would have its breakout moment when it became one
of the most popular cosmetic treatments - Botox! Regular injections create localized paralysis
in the facial muscles and reduce wrinkles. But one deadly substance outclasses it all. In fact, a single drop packs enough deadly
power to kill everyone on the planet. #1. Polonium Bacteria. Neurotoxins. Plant extracts. All
of them pack some deadly toxins, but none can approach the poison level of one chemical
element. Polonium, a heavily radioactive metal, is one of the rarest elements in the world.
It was first identified by the Curies in 1898 and it has one key characteristic - it is
extremely radioactive. And with radioactivity comes toxicity to humans. While it has some
scientific applications, it is so potent that any use of it is extremely risky, because it takes
very little to cause fatal radiation poisoning. How little, exactly? Estimates are that as little as seven trillionths
of a gram of polonium can kill any adult - and a whole gram might be able to kill an entire
country. Because it’s both toxic and radioactive, there is no effective treatment or antidote and
exposure is invariably fatal - as former FSB agent Alexander Livinenko found out the hard
way when he was poisoned in London by Russian agents. The good news is, you’re not likely to
come across it in your everyday life - it can be produced from uranium, but it would take tons
of uranium to produce a single dose of polonium. A procedure to irradiate bismuth with neutrons
has also been shown to produce polonium, but it remains one of the trickiest elements
to produce. And the only people with access are nuclear-powered nations. Let’s
hope they use that power responsibly. For more on one of the most notorious poisons,
watch “How Does Cyanide Poisoning Actually Work”, or watch this video instead.
