Gee, Cecil. If someone actually put all of that nutmeg into one dose of brownies, I think they would be plucking harp string. (or whatever alternative they qualify for)
Nutmeg in large doses is poisonous. While one person would have had to eat the whole batch, there still could be some nasty effects. Maybe they were just looking for that “extra” high.
Bev
Welcome to the Straight Dope Message Board, Bev! Pull up a chair, sit down, and have a read around. I think you might like us. Just don’t say anything about goats or sheep or treadmills. :eek:
When we start a thread here, we like to have a link to the article you are discussing inserted into the first post. Here, I am thinking you are discussing Alice B. Toklas brownies: the recipe!. You don’t have to be that fancy; you can simply copy and paste the url from your browser’s address window to the post window like this: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a940225.html .
In case anyone wants to know how toxic nutmegs can be, here is a simple beginning discussion: Wikipedia: Nutmegs - Risks and toxicity. From the looks of that site, I’d say that a single nutmeg, even for a child, wouldn’t be necessarily fatal, but certainly you’d start feeling the effects of the toxin. :eek:
I am thinking the article under consideration might be http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_114b.html.
Um, I suggest re-reading the OP carefully. 
{Hint: “nutmeg into one dose of brownies”}
Ah… You are correct. Guess I shouldn’t have had that extra brownie after lunch.
According to Wiki 60g is bad and a seed is 5-10 grams.
Did I not read that recipe right, or does this “fudge” or “brownie” recipe contain no fricking chocolate?!? Gross!
Besides, everybody knows that just crumbling pot into your brownies yields a nasty, “bits of twigs” mouth feel. A much better alternative would be to cook the plant matter in butter, creating an infusion, then straining the woody bits out and using the butter. Much less gritty.
Spot on, EJsGirl. Twiggy brownies are for high school kids.
I’d also like to point out the omission by Cecil of the fact that Toklas is a homophone of tokeless. For those who may be unaware, one “tokes” pot when smoking it, and the brownies are a “tokeless” way to enjoy.
Funny I should read about Alice B. Toklas…I just saw on Friday, the most remarkable musical in New York City, entitled, “In Circles”. It’s a musical adaptation of a Gertrude Stein play and the characters of Stein and her companion, Alice B. Toklas, distribute brownies and cookies to the audience as the show begins. Synchronicity.
Which came first, though? Is it plausible that someone heard a friend talking about “Toklas brownies”, interpreted it as “toke-less brownies” since he’d never heard of Ms. Toklas, and invented the verb “to toke” as a result? Anybody have an O.E.D. handy?
http://www.answers.com/topic/alice-b-toklas?cat=entertainment supports that theory (near the end), and http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/toke says the first known usage of “to toke” was from 1968, well after the cookbook in question, but I’d like to hear from the O.E.D. on the subject…
UmberGryphon
(who wishes access to the online O.E.D. cost less than $295 a year)
To toke on a cigarette is cited as a verb from 1952.
As to whether you can get the online OED cheaper, first thing to do is check your local library. They quite often have online access.