# "I've Spent Years Building up a Resistance to Iocane" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 28, 2006, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-spent-years-building-up-a-resistance-to-iocane/354597 "2006-04-28T15:07:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2006, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-spent-years-building-up-a-resistance-to-iocane/354597/1 "2006-04-28T15:07:32Z")
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** > **[The Princess Bride (1987) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093779/)** > > The Princess Bride: Directed by Rob Reiner. With Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Christopher Guest. While home sick in bed, a young boy's grandfather reads him the story of a farmboy-turned-pirate who encounters numerous obstacles,... 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/](http://www.10cane.com/) You can easily see the numerals “10” as the letters “Io”. Is Goldman a rum fan? ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2006, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-spent-years-building-up-a-resistance-to-iocane/354597/2 "2006-04-28T15:51:24Z")
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… ---
**Author:** ![The\_Weird\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@The\_Weird\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Weird_One)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2006, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-spent-years-building-up-a-resistance-to-iocane/354597/3 "2006-04-28T16:00:53Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2006, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-spent-years-building-up-a-resistance-to-iocane/354597/4 "2006-04-28T16:05:04Z")
Intriguing idea, but appears it may be the [other way 'round](http://www.10cane.com/10cane_press_release_040705.pdf) 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! ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2006, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-spent-years-building-up-a-resistance-to-iocane/354597/5 "2006-04-28T17:17:06Z")
“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. ---
**Author:** ![Petey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f1d935/32.png) [@Petey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petey)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2006, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-spent-years-building-up-a-resistance-to-iocane/354597/6 "2006-04-28T19:53:08Z")
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.” ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2006, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-spent-years-building-up-a-resistance-to-iocane/354597/7 "2006-04-28T20:09:57Z")
> [@](#): > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2006, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-spent-years-building-up-a-resistance-to-iocane/354597/8 "2006-04-28T20:10:52Z")
Hee hee. That’s one of my favorite jokes in the movie. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2006, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-spent-years-building-up-a-resistance-to-iocane/354597/9 "2006-04-28T20:16:16Z")
Search Wikipedia for “iocane” and it just sends you to _The Princess Bride_. It’s got to be the most powerful placebo in fiction. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2006, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-spent-years-building-up-a-resistance-to-iocane/354597/10 "2006-04-28T20:55:56Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > It’s a joke. It doesn’t really make any sense, but it has a sort of logic to it. Humperdink is a bit of a fool, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2006, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-spent-years-building-up-a-resistance-to-iocane/354597/11 "2006-04-28T21:03:13Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2006, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-spent-years-building-up-a-resistance-to-iocane/354597/12 "2006-04-28T22:11:01Z")
> [@Petey](#): > > 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.” Yeah, he probably had a few ideas of what poison might be the culprit, and iocane was the only odorless one. ---
**Author:** ![cardsfan1975](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f9b8f/32.png) [@cardsfan1975](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cardsfan1975)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2006, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-spent-years-building-up-a-resistance-to-iocane/354597/13 "2006-04-29T03:20:33Z")
The word “iocaine” was made up for that movie? INCONCEIVABLE! cf’75 ---
**Author:** ![Large\_Marge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/50afbb/32.png) [@Large\_Marge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Large_Marge)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2006, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-spent-years-building-up-a-resistance-to-iocane/354597/14 "2006-04-29T03:38:35Z")
> [@cardsfan1975](#): > > The word “iocaine” was made up for that movie? INCONCEIVABLE! > > cf’75 I do not think that means what you think it means. ---
**Author:** ![hawksgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ed655f/32.png) [@hawksgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawksgirl)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2006, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-spent-years-building-up-a-resistance-to-iocane/354597/15 "2006-04-29T03:43:54Z")
Argh! Where is **Inigo Montoya** when you need him? If ever there was a thread requiring his username… ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2006, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-spent-years-building-up-a-resistance-to-iocane/354597/16 "2006-04-29T04:18:19Z")
Perhaps the name was inspired by [ibogaine](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibogaine). Which would make it kind of interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2006, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-spent-years-building-up-a-resistance-to-iocane/354597/17 "2006-04-29T04:22:34Z")
> [@Snooooopy](#): > > Yeah, he probably had a few ideas of what poison might be the culprit, and iocane was the only odorless one. 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. ---
**Author:** ![hawksgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ed655f/32.png) [@hawksgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawksgirl)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2006, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-spent-years-building-up-a-resistance-to-iocane/354597/18 "2006-04-29T04:24:03Z")
No no no, Wesley (aka Roberts) brought the poison himself. Vizzini and Humberdink did not plan that. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2006, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-spent-years-building-up-a-resistance-to-iocane/354597/19 "2006-04-29T06:42:59Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > 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** 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… ---
**Author:** ![hawksgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ed655f/32.png) [@hawksgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawksgirl)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2006, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-spent-years-building-up-a-resistance-to-iocane/354597/20 "2006-04-29T06:54:07Z")
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! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-spent-years-building-up-a-resistance-to-iocane/354597.md?page=2)