# Botulinum toxin: 636 grams can kill the population?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botulinum-toxin-636-grams-can-kill-the-population/607827
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [December 30, 2011, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botulinum-toxin-636-grams-can-kill-the-population/607827 "2011-12-30T14:15:05Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@CheeseDonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CheeseDonkey)
#### Post date: [December 30, 2011, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botulinum-toxin-636-grams-can-kill-the-population/607827/1 "2011-12-30T14:15:05Z")
I just read the unsourced claim on Yahoo Answers that 636 grams (about 1.4 pounds) of botulinum toxin would be enough to wipe out the entire world’s population.
Is that true?
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### Author:  [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)
#### Post date: [December 30, 2011, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botulinum-toxin-636-grams-can-kill-the-population/607827/2 "2011-12-30T14:25:19Z")
Wiki puts the LD50 of Botox at 50 nanograms. Making a wild ass assumption that 100 nanograms is a 100 percent lethal dosage that means 1 gram could kill 10,000,000 people or 636 grams could kill 6.3 billion people.
EDit: nanograms are 10-9 !!!
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### Author:  [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)
#### Post date: [December 30, 2011, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botulinum-toxin-636-grams-can-kill-the-population/607827/3 "2011-12-30T14:31:46Z")
> [@CheeseDonkey](#):
>
> I just read the unsourced claim on Yahoo Answers that 636 grams (about 1.4 pounds) of botulinum toxin would be enough to wipe out the entire world’s population.
>
> Is that true?
Interesting question. The LD50 (the dose which is lethal for 50% of people) for \*inhaled \*botulism toxin is only 3ng/kg. If we assume (big assumption, but I can’t find data) that the average person weighs 50kg (110 pounds), then you’d need only 150ng of aeresolized botulism to kill someone. Estimate the world population at 7 billion, and that’s 1,050,000,000,000ng of toxin. Move your decimal, and that’s 1050g, or about 2.3g.
So 2.3 pound will give you enough botulism toxin that, can you aeresolize and distribute it evenly, you’ll have enough to kill HALF the population, because it’s the LD50 dose. (The other half will probably be very, very sick for a while and then recover.)
The LD50 for oral botulism is higher, so you’d need more.
So no, that answer is not correct.
ETA: **coremelt** , you forgot to multiply by kilograms. LD50 is in ng/kg
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### Author:  [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)
#### Post date: [December 30, 2011, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botulinum-toxin-636-grams-can-kill-the-population/607827/4 "2011-12-30T14:33:27Z")
That’s like saying one sword could kill ten thousand people. Sure, if they all stood in line patiently waiting to be stabbed in a fleshy vital organ.
Lethal dosage doesn’t exactly factor into account distribution, resistances, etc. Good luck getting a concentrated 1.4 lb dose spread across 7 billion individuals.