Where did the name “Iocane” (sp?) come from? It’s the colorless, odorless, tasteless poison that the disguised Wesley used in the contest against Vizzini in the Rob Reiner/William Goldman movie the Princess Bride
I never really wondered about it. But the other day I picked up a bottle of wine, and on my way out I saw a display of this:
http://www.10cane.com/
You can easily see the numerals “10” as the letters “Io”. Is Goldman a rum fan?
I always just assumed it was a made-up drug name similar to cocaine or novocaine. But, yeah, you may be on to something there…
Oo, yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised if that was it. I wonder what other names Goldman nicked? The ones I know of are:
Humberdinck - either the German opera writer, or the modern singer
Florin and Guilder - names of Dutch currency (like cents and dollars) until they adopted the Euro
I’m sure there most be plenty others. Can anyone add to the list?
Intriguing idea, but appears it may be the other way 'round if there is a connexion.
Iocane in the movie is a powder…t’would then be…sugar? And the little, fat, ill-tempered villain would be a diabetic! It’s all making sense now!
“I’m called Little Buttercup — dear Little Buttercup,
Though I could never tell why,
But still I’m called Buttercup — poor little Buttercup,
Sweet Little Buttercup I!” – HMS Pinafore.
I’ve always wondered:
If iocane is odorless, why does Humberdinck smell the bottle, and say “Iocane, I bet my life on it.” Or does he think, “I smell nothing, it must be Iocane.”
It’s a joke. It doesn’t really make any sense, but it has a sort of logic to it.
Hee hee. That’s one of my favorite jokes in the movie.
Search Wikipedia for “iocane” and it just sends you to The Princess Bride.
It’s got to be the most powerful placebo in fiction.
Humperdink is a bit of a fool, anyway.
Not really. He really was a great hunter. He’s a sadist and a coward; but a great hunter. He could, afterall, track a falcon on a cloudy day.
Yeah, he probably had a few ideas of what poison might be the culprit, and iocane was the only odorless one.
The word “iocaine” was made up for that movie? INCONCEIVABLE!
cf’75
I do not think that means what you think it means.
Argh! Where is Inigo Montoya when you need him?
If ever there was a thread requiring his username…
Perhaps the name was inspired by ibogaine. Which would make it kind of interesting.
The other option is that, since he’s the one who hired the kidnappers, he also provided the poison, and sniffing the vial was an act to cover for knowledge he already had.
No no no, Wesley (aka Roberts) brought the poison himself. Vizzini and Humberdink did not plan that.
Iocane, as we all know, comes from Australia. And Australia is entirely populated by criminals. And criminals are used to people not trusting them, just as YOU are not trusted by ME…
You fell victim to one of the classic blunders! The most famous is never get involved in a land war in Asia, but only slightly less well-known is this: never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line!