On Monday, November 19, 2001 at 11:11:24 AM UTC-8, Deborah Wright wrote:
> Hi!
>
> I know this isn't, strictly speaking, about an Historic Food, but I hope
> somebody can help me here.
>
> 'The Histories' by Herodotus (circa 5th century BC Greece) refer to
> "drinking bull's blood" as a way to commit suicide. One of the 'Falco'
> novels (70's AD Rome) also mentions this. In 'Wide Sargasso Sea' by Jean
> Rhys (1830's Jamaica) the Jamaican servant offers strong coffee to her hated
> master saying "Taste my bull's blood".
>
> Since drinking bull's blood generally isn't fatal I take this to be the once
> common discription for some kind of poison, the identity of which has since
> been forgotten. Does anybody know what bull's blood really was in this
> connotation, please?
>
> The only promising result I had searching the internet was a reference to
> Bull's Blood Beetroot - but I rapidly concluded that the only way this could
> prove fatal would be if someone swollowed one whole and choked! A less than
> noble end.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Deborah
> *******

it's u
off