1. Not All Mushrooms Are Delicious

2. Europe
Emperor Claudius fed Amanita phaloides (muscarine toxin) by his wife/niece Agrippina (54AD)
Pope Clement VII
Excommunicates King Henry VIII of England
Advocate of Copernican system

3. India
1500BC: Hindu Vedas mention the use of Amanita muscaria for spiritual awakening and communication with the gods

4. Mesoamerica Countless Mayan depictions of mushrooms
Psilocybe sp. use popular among indigenous cultures to this day
Magic mushrooms come to prominence in the West in 1960s

5. Russia
Before the invention of vodka in the 16th century, Amanita muscaria (toadstool) the intoxicant of choice.
Siberian practice of “mushroom recycling”
Peter the Great’s parents died from overdose (1694)

6. America
Boonesville, Missouri: sheriff responds to 911 call after resident hears woman screaming in the wood
Mushroom hunter shrieking with delight at each new discovery