September 29: Poisoning People and Pigeons
On 29 September 1982, seven people died after taking Extra-Strength Tylenol that had been laced with potassium cyanide. Someone had taken Tylenol out of the capsules and replaced it was cyanide. The person or persons responsible for this then placed the tainted capsules back in the packages and set them on grocery and pharmacy shelves in Chicago.
Prior to the poisoning incident, Tylenol was the most successful over the counter drug in the United States. In total, 264,000 bottles of Tylenol were recalled. In “Case Study: The Johnson and Johnson Tylenol Crisis,” the author argues that “By withdrawing all Tylenol, even though there was little chance of discovering more cyanide laced tablets; Johnson & Johnson showed that they were not willing to take a risk with the public’s safety, even if it cost the company millions of dollars. The end result was the public viewing Tylenol as the unfortunate victim of a malicious crime.”
Later, Tylenol would introduce new packaging that would make future tampering unlikely; packaging that is widely used for many products today: a foil seal over the mouth of the bottle as well a plastic seal over the bottle cap and the bottle placed in a glued box.
Potassium cyanide is a white substance that looks like sugar. Its legitimate uses are to extract gold and silver from ore, as an insecticide, in electroplating, and in photography. It is also a popular poison used by mystery writers such as Dame Agatha Christie.
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In Christie’s And Then There Were None, ten individuals arrive as guests at an island home where each find the copy of the poem “Ten Little Soldiers.” The first person to die is Anthony Marston who has had cyanide put in his tea. His death corresponds with the verse:
Ten little Soldier boys went out to dine;
One choked his little self and then there were nine.
Cyanide is also featured in Tom Lehrer’s “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park;” a song in which he explains that “When they see us coming the birdies all try and hide, but they still go for peanuts coated with cyanide.”
–Steven L. Berg, PhD
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Adam Zimmer
Tylenol has not been the only drug to cause death. Many other drugs can and have caused death when they were used wrong. Brian Adams, a professional wrestler, took pain medication one night at his home. The next day he was pronounced dead. Paramedics believe that he had actually obtained illegal steroids that contained nandrolone, testosterone, and HGH (Adams), all considered deadly when used under malpractice.
“Brian Adams (wrestler).” Wikipedia. Web. 5 December, 2012