By Dan Holbrook
The Irish Potato Famine One cause was the potato blight Phytophthora infestans Water mold Can also affect tomatoes
Famine Continued Why Summer of 1845 Damp and Chilly Continued on after 1845 Over three million people dependant on potato crop
Famine Continued Results 1845 forty percent of crop destroyed 1846 ninety percent One million deaths One million leave Population of Ireland at the time was eight million
The Salem Witch Trials Ergot poisoning Grows on rye and other similar plants Causes LCD symptoms Symptoms match those affected
Salem Continued Record Matches Linnda Caporael Journals tell of warm rainy summer Those affected live near swamps Land records show affected owned large fields
Salem Continued Symptoms Muscle Contractions Affects central nervous system Causes hallucinations LSD derived from ergot
Penicillin Penicillin Penicillium sp. Fungus Alexander Fleming 1928 Accident
Penicillin Continued Impact Widely used antibiotics (WWII) End of disease? Over 200 trillion units used by 1950 Resistant strains Help for future use Still used today
"Ergot Poisoning (LSD) - the Cause of the Salem Witch Trials - PBS Secrets of the Dead." Hiawatha Broadband Communications, Inc. | Office Numbers: Winona St. Charles Wabasha Toll Free Web. 27 Oct Henahan, By Sean. "GREAT FAMINE." Access the National Health Museum. Web. 27 Oct Money, Nicholas P. Triumph of the Fungi: A Rotten History. New York: Oxford UP, Saeed, Sheikh Arshad. "Penicillin." Penicillin. Web. 27 Oct Wainwright, M. "Penicillin: Triumph and Tragedy." Social History of Medicine 20.3 (2007):