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A sick puppy.
A discombobulated sea captain.
A dead owl.
All three victims have been poisoned. Each got very sick from a toxic substance. One even died. What could have poisoned them? Was it something that they tasted, smelled, or touched?
What are poisons? Many plants and animals naturally produce toxins to fend off predators. Other animals, including humans, can stay safe by keeping away from them. But accidents can happen. Was that what happened here?
Can you solve these three poison mysteries?
Mystery #1: The Case of a Poisoned Pooch
Meet Skippy, a curious dog that loves to explore the yard of his Florida home. But today he’s in big trouble. Skippy’s owner finds him behaving bizarrely in the yard, and then Skippy suddenly collapses! Can you figure out what happened and try to save Skippy?
Mystery #2: The Case of the Queasy Sea Captain
On board a British sailing ship in the South Pacific, all is confusion and chaos. The captain and two of his crew can barely walk. They are nauseated and disoriented. And their hands and feet are tingling madly. Can you solve this poisoning case?
Mystery #3: The Case of an Owl Afoul
Outside a small hunting lodge in Minnesota, a naturalist finds an owl on the forest floor. Its wings are droopy, and it can hardly move. Suddenly, it twitches wildly and dies! What happened? Can you analyze the clues and find out why it died?
Find out more about poisons and how they work.
Image Credits:
Lake Erie Algal Bloom, NASA; Baking Chocolate, Imagebroker/Photoshot; Anabaena Circinalis, Biophoto Associates/Science Source; Calomel, Pfizer; Captain Cooks Antimonial Cup, Christie's; Chocolate Cake, Shutterstock; Dog Red Gum, Dogsintherrruff.com; Eastern Coral Snake, Jack Dermid/Photoshot; Ergot Rye Seed, Mary Evans Picture Library/The Image Works; Fugu Puffer Fish Sashimi, Hiroyuki Takeno/AGE Fotostock; Gas Pump, Purestock/Alamy; The Resolution by John Webber, © The Trustees of the British Museum/Art Resource, NY; Lagocephalus Sceleratus, Prof. Jean-Lou Justine; Lithium Battery, Shutterstock; Ingested Lithium Battery X-Ray, Giampiero Soccorso; Beach Advisory Cyanobacteria, NH Department of Environmental Services; PJs 1700s, Getty Images; Poinsettia Euphorbia Pulcherrima, Chris Harris/Garden World Images/AGE Fotostock; Scarlet Kingsnake, Suzanne L. & Joseph T. Collins/Science Source; Vet Examination Table, Woodsdale Animal Hospital; Dog X Ray, Shutterstock; Cane Toad, DK/Alamy; Eastern Coral Snake, ER Degginger/Science Source; Suburban Home, Cidney Conger/AGE Fotostock; Russell Terrier Lying Floor, Mode Images/AGE Fotostock; Garden Pond, Stephen Meese/AGE Fotostock; Southern Black Widow Female, Maslow/FLPA/AGE Fotostock; Cypress Trees, Sergio Piumatti/AGE Fotostock; Batteries, iStockphoto; Chocolate Bar, iStockphoto; Full Garbage Can, iStockphoto; Farm Fence, iStockphoto; Fence, iStockphoto; Suburban Brick Home, Larry Malvin/AGE Fotostock; Sunrise Trees, Craig Tuttle/AGE Fotostock; Two Story House, Linda Johnsonbaugh/AGE Fotostock; British Flag, iStockphoto; Chemical Bottle, iStockphoto; Ships Floor, iStockphoto; Tropic Boards, iStockphoto; Cane Toad Dog Food, Mark David; Arsenic Bird Taxidermy, MNHN Paris; Shrew, Dan Griggs/NHPA/Photoshot; Mourning Dove, The Natural History Museum/The Image Works; Warfarin Bait, Medical State; Pile Leaves, iStockphoto; Corn Field, Shutterstock; Shotgun, Shutterstock; Owl In Flight, Glenn Bartley/All Canada Photos/AGE Fotostock; Frog Engraving, Morphart/AGE Fotostock; Black Widow Spider Female + Male, James Robinson/Animals Animals; Timber Rattlesnake, Michelle Gilders/AGE Fotostock; Leopard Frog, Dave Reede/AGE Fotostock; Blister Beetle, David Cappaert/AGE Fotostock; Timber Rattlesnake, John Serrao/Science Source; Shrew, Scott Camazine/Science Source; Bird Hunting, iStockphoto; Lobster, Shutterstock; Ladybug, Shutterstock; Lead Shot Quarter, USGS; The Killer Shrews, McLendon-Radio Pictures; Crop Duster Plane, Tetra Images/AGE Fotostock; Insecticide, Prentiss Incorporated; Cabin Ship 1786, The Art Archive/Art Resource, NY; Benjamin Rush, North Wind Picture Archives/Alamy; Sandfly, Scott Camazine/Alamy; Captain Cook, The Granger Collection, New York; Spoon, iStockphoto; Stormy Sea, Paul Fleet/Panther Media/AGE Fotostock; HM Resolution, Private Collection/The Bridgeman Art Library; Champagne Pool NZ, Bernhard Edmaier/Science Source; Wheat Grains w/Ergots, Nigel Cattlin/Science Source; Stibnite, The Natural History Museum/The Image Works; Pit Viper, Stefan Dummermuth/AGE Fotostock; Rough On Rats, NYPL; Snow White, Mary Evans Picture Library; scorpion, CC0; magnifying glass, Superstock; plant, Morphart/AGE Fotostock; hand, Deposit Photos; Poison Skull/Bones, Deposit Photos.