# Surpisingly dangerous food **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 27, 2010, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surpisingly-dangerous-food/534001 "2010-03-27T05:57:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surpisingly-dangerous-food/534001/1 "2010-03-27T05:57:49Z")
The wrong bits of fugu will poison you, a coconut to the head will knock you out, and toddlers and preschools choke on hot dogs. But did you realize that [brown rice chips](http://www.riceworkssnacks.com/new_index_USA.html) won’t soften from saliva at all if they get stuck in your throat? My poor carb-loving doggy found that out recently. She eats any bread, chip, or cereal you set in front of her, including spicy rice crisps. When she last tried to chomp a spicy-sweet rice chip, she didn’t break the chip up enough to swallow without getting it stuck in her throat for several days. (She lived off of broth mixed with psylium until she managed to cough it up. That, and her massive fat reserves. She’s better now.) What other food stuffs are dangerous but don’t seem like they should be? ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surpisingly-dangerous-food/534001/2 "2010-03-27T06:08:36Z")
I read a murder mystery long ago about a woman that beat her husband to death with a frozen leg of lamb. It was thawed and in the oven by the time the cops got there, and I want to say she served the murder weapon to them for dinner… ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surpisingly-dangerous-food/534001/3 "2010-03-27T06:33:09Z")
**Oakminster** , I haven’t actually read the story, but I’ve seen that adapted for television. Makes you think about frozen meat in a different way, certainly. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surpisingly-dangerous-food/534001/4 "2010-03-27T06:38:40Z")
That was “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” Lamb to the Slaughter (1958) > **["Alfred Hitchcock Presents" Lamb to the Slaughter (TV Episode 1958) - Plot -...](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0508189/plotsummary/)** > > "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" Lamb to the Slaughter (TV Episode 1958) - Plot summary, synopsis, and more... “For all we know, it [the murder weapon] might be right under our very noses.” (Never saw the episode, but I read the bit in the book “Cult TV”) ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surpisingly-dangerous-food/534001/5 "2010-03-27T07:23:37Z")
I had a friend catch a Dorito the wrong way and drive it into his gum requiring stitches. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surpisingly-dangerous-food/534001/6 "2010-03-27T15:32:01Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > I had a friend catch a Dorito the wrong way and drive it into his gum requiring stitches. I did that once, too - didn’t do it as badly, but that bastard got right in there and gave me righteous hell. Popcorn and stomach ulcers don’t mix, either - ow ow ow ow. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surpisingly-dangerous-food/534001/7 "2010-03-27T15:38:34Z")
My beloved popcorn… Ever had a single hull stick, upside down, right on the back of your tongue? Being concave, it creates like a suction and it is \*IMPOSSIBLE \*to get it loose without finger intervention. Which, of course, being so far back on the tongue, sets off the gag reflex. Ugh. Doesn’t stop me from eating it tho… snackfood of the gods! ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surpisingly-dangerous-food/534001/8 "2010-03-27T17:19:25Z")
> [@PapSett](#): > > My beloved popcorn… Ever had a single hull stick, upside down, right on the back of your tongue? Being concave, it creates like a suction and it is \*IMPOSSIBLE \*to get it loose without finger intervention. Which, of course, being so far back on the tongue, sets off the gag reflex. Ugh. > > Doesn’t stop me from eating it tho… snackfood of the gods! Crikey, I thought that only happened to me. Then, if I have any length of nails, I end up \*scratching \*my tongue, trying to dislodge the thing. Uck. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surpisingly-dangerous-food/534001/9 "2010-03-27T18:37:59Z")
> [@PapSett](#): > > My beloved popcorn… Ever had a single hull stick, upside down, right on the back of your tongue? Being concave, it creates like a suction and it is \*IMPOSSIBLE \*to get it loose without finger intervention. Which, of course, being so far back on the tongue, sets off the gag reflex. Ugh. > > Doesn’t stop me from eating it tho… snackfood of the gods! Kevin James. The bit about the popcorn starts at about 1:00, but do yourself a favor and watch the whole thing! ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/vCnUXZX_6eo/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/vCnUXZX_6eo?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surpisingly-dangerous-food/534001/10 "2010-03-27T18:40:30Z")
My brother in law, the EMT told me that the number one thing that kills small children (2 and under I think) when they choke on it is peanut butter, since it’s so sticky they can’t cough it up. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surpisingly-dangerous-food/534001/11 "2010-03-27T18:48:10Z")
> [@PapSett](#): > > My beloved popcorn… Ever had a single hull stick, upside down, right on the back of your tongue? Being concave, it creates like a suction and it is \*IMPOSSIBLE \*to get it loose without finger intervention. Which, of course, being so far back on the tongue, sets off the gag reflex. Ugh. > > Doesn’t stop me from eating it tho… snackfood of the gods! Popcorn hulls slip down deep in between my gums and teeth. Annoying, not deadly. Supposedly falling coconuts can and do kill people yearly, as opposed to simply knocking them out. Some mushrooms can kill you as well. ---
**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:** [March 27, 2010, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surpisingly-dangerous-food/534001/12 "2010-03-27T18:57:47Z")
> [@](#): > > That was “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” Lamb to the Slaughter (1958) > > ["Alfred Hitchcock Presents" Lamb to the Slaughter (TV Episode 1958) - Plot - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0508189/plotsummary) > > “For all we know, it [the murder weapon] might be right under our very noses.” > > (Never saw the episode, but I read the bit in the book “Cult TV”) > > * * * > > Last edited by GIGObuster; Today at 02:41 AM. Actually, it’s Roald Dahl’s _Lamb to the Slaughter_\*, which existed as a short story before being dramatized on Hitcyhcock, and later on _Roald Dahl’s Tales of the Unexpected_. It was one of my mother’s favorites, and it took me some time 9in the pre-Internet days) to track it down from her description. I ended up giving her a copy of it. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surpisingly-dangerous-food/534001/13 "2010-03-27T19:03:10Z")
The original story “A Leg of Lamb” was written by Roald Dahl (better known for _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_ and other children’s books). ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surpisingly-dangerous-food/534001/14 "2010-03-27T19:40:31Z")
When I was real young, I swallowed a Dorito without chewing it enough and it messed my throat up bad. There’s enough scarring that I have to have a drink with me if I’m eating something because everything stops halfway down and very slowly moves its way down. I have to take a sip of water to make it go fast so that I can eat a meal in a decent amount of time. I’ve only choked bad once, usually it stops far enough down that I can breathe fine, I just can’t swallow anything. For something stuck real bad, any water I swallow comes back up and I just have to wait for the food to dissolve. I’m one of those strange people that hates food and would take pills for all of my nutrition if possible. Summary: Avoid Doritos or chew them thoroughly. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surpisingly-dangerous-food/534001/15 "2010-03-27T19:43:30Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > That was “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” Lamb to the Slaughter (1958) By Roald Dahl, actually. While it was performed on the Hitchcock show, it was also done as an episode of _[Roald Dahl’s Tales of the Unexpected](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0717455/)_. ---
**Author:** ![Rrose\_Selavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bcef8e/32.png) [@Rrose\_Selavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rrose_Selavy)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surpisingly-dangerous-food/534001/16 "2010-03-27T19:55:24Z")
Proabably already known by many but raw red kidney beans are poisonous if not cooked properly. > **[Red Kidney Bean Poisoning is an illness caused Kidney Bean Lectin](http://www.foodreference.com/html/artredkidneybeanpoisoning.html)** > > The syndrome is usually caused by eating raw, soaked kidney beans, either alone or in salads or casseroles. As few as 4 or 5 raw beans can trigger symptoms ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surpisingly-dangerous-food/534001/17 "2010-03-27T20:11:15Z")
The Daily Telegraph [reports](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/6153518/Crumbs-half-of-Britons-injured-by-their-biscuits-on-coffee-break-survey-reveals.html) that up to 25 million Brits have been hurt by biscuits. [QUOTE=The Daily Telegraph] Hidden dangers included flying fragments and being hurt while dunking in scalding tea through to the more strange such as people poking themselves in the eye with a biscuit or fallen off a chair reaching for the tin. One man even ended up stuck in wet concrete after wading in to pick up a stray biscuit. [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surpisingly-dangerous-food/534001/18 "2010-03-27T20:45:35Z")
Pizza can cause some really nasty burns if you eat it too fast. ---
**Author:** ![In\_Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a8b319/32.png) [@In\_Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surpisingly-dangerous-food/534001/19 "2010-03-27T20:46:56Z")
Pizza burn on the roof of the mouth can be nasty… ---
**Author:** ![In\_Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a8b319/32.png) [@In\_Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surpisingly-dangerous-food/534001/20 "2010-03-27T20:47:57Z")
Hmmmm…great minds…? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surpisingly-dangerous-food/534001.md?page=2)