MERCURY POISONING - Lincoln suffered from it

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BBC Tuesday, 17 July, 2001, 10:40 GMT 11:40 UK Lincoln 'suffered mercury poisoning'

Abraham Lincoln may have been poisoned by the medication he took to combat depression, research suggests.

The former US president was famous for his patience.

But earlier in life he was also prone to outbursts of uncontrollable rage.

One such episode occurred during a debate which took place in 1858.

It is recorded that Lincoln reached over and picked a man up by the coat collar at the back of the neck and shook him "until his teeth chattered".

He became so angry "his voice thrilled and his whole frame shook."

Erratic behaviour

A new study suggests that Lincoln's erratic behaviour may have been linked to the pills he took to treat his persistent "melancholia".

The pills, known as blue mass, contained the metal mercury in potentially toxic doses that exceeded modern day safety limits by nearly 9,000 times.

The researchers believe that this toxic effect may have had a profound impact on Lincoln's mood.

Lead researcher Dr Norbert Hirschhorn said: "We wondered how a man could be described as having the patience of a saint in his fifties when only a few years earlier he was subject to outbursts of rage and bizarre behaviour."

His colleague Dr Robert Feldman, from Boston University, added: "Mercury poisoning certainly could explain Lincoln's known neurological symptoms: insomnia, tremor and the rage attacks.

"But what is even more important, because the behavioural effects of mercury poisoning may be reversible, it also explains the composure for which he was famous during his tenure as president."

Gave up medication

Lincoln stopped taking blue mass in 1861, a few months after his inauguration as president, having noted that the pills made him "cross".

The researchers set out to determine how toxic the mercury in the blue mass pills was likely to be.

They used a nineteenth century recipe to recreate blue mass.

The ingredients included, besides mercury, liquorice root, rose-water, honey and sugar and dead rose petals.

The researchers found that the solid element of mercury absorbed from two pills would have been 750micrograms.

The US Environmental Protection Agency indicates that only up to 21micrograms of any form of mercury per day may safely be ingested.

Someone who ate the common dose of two to three little pills per day would have seriously risked poisoning.

Dr Hirschhorn said: "The wartime Lincoln is remembered for his self-control in the face of provocation, his composure in the face of adversity.

"If Lincoln hadn't recognised that the little blue pill he took made him 'cross,' and stopped the medication, his steady hand at the helm through the Civil War might have been considerably less steady."

The research is published in the journal Perspectives in Biology and Medicine.

-- Anonymous, July 17, 2001

Answers

With all due respect to the EPA, I doubt that there is *any* amount of mercury that can be "safely" ingested per day. I think it's likely they are stating 21 micrograms per day because they know we can't get away from the mercury contamination completely. Fish and other things, including water in some places, is contaminated with mercury. The EPA has to leave a small "loophole" in this debate. If they say there's no safe level they are going to crush a lot of businesses and food providers. That would be a politically incorrect thing to do.

As to Lincoln grabbing some shmuck at a debate and shaking the sh*t out of him, well, who *hasn't* wanted to do that to some of those who are so intent on some selfish course they are trying to put in place. Maybe Lincoln just had a low tolerance for dishonesty. Can't blame him.

-- Anonymous, July 17, 2001


but, but, I thought there was a definitive article from a month ago proving that he suffered from arsenic poisoning...

-- Anonymous, July 17, 2001

Maybe you're thinking of Napoleon!

-- Anonymous, July 17, 2001

Git, yes that's it!

One of the problems with mercury is that it was an ingredient in old- time pesticides. The general rule is that any contamination resulting from lawful use of pesticides isn't contamination. So, arsenic (above natural background levels), mercury, and other cool stuff often shows up in site assessments of land only previously used for farming. Of course, there is no way to know whether the farmer used his pesticides lawfully.

-- Anonymous, July 17, 2001


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