The Poison Squad
5/8/202643 min
In 1902, twelve young men volunteered for a government experiment. They agreed to eat food laced with chemicals like formaldehyde, borax, and salicylic acid every day, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They were called The Poison Squad. Deborah Blum’s book is The Poison Squad. Say hello on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. Sign up for our occasional newsletter. Follow the show and review us on Apple Podcasts. Sign up for Criminal Plus to get behind-the-scenes bonus episodes of Criminal, ad-free listening of all of our shows, invitations to virtual events, special merch deals, and more. We also make This is Love and Phoebe Reads a Mystery. Artwork by Julienne Alexander. Check out our online shop. Episode transcripts are posted on our website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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First 90 secondsPhoebe Judge· Host0:00
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Speaker 10:27
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Deborah Blum· Guest1:06
Flour was routinely laced with gypsum, which we use in wallboard. Uh, spices were sometimes eighty to ninety percent adulterated. Brick dust was used in cinnamon. Floor sweepings were used in pepper. Ground bone was