The "Great Olive Poisoning" of 1919

[@censusgary]

What I learned from this: When your buddy says “This tastes like poison. Here, try it,” don’t take him up on the offer.

[@CantankerousDave]

"Does this smell like chloroform to you?"

[@Farweasel]

(Said)....... "When your buddy says tastes like poison. Here, try it,” don’t take him up on the offer". Evidently *some* people around here just lack the drive to take on a challenge. What could possibly go wrong?

[@debi909]

He said that the person said, it tasted funny ...

[@lilaralston6314]

Do not lick the science!

[@jujujupiter]

You had to watch a video to learn that?

[@urlton]

This channel is an oasis of high quality in a low-quality world.

[@epholson97]

Well said!

[@BanjoNoob2]

90% of everything is crud.

[@The_Touring_Jedi]

I can still remember the good old days of History channel...this channel and the quiality reminds me of those. The only channel that was always on back in days before YT and smartphones...

[@mauricedavis2160]

So true 👌❣️

[@paulashe61]

So true

[@UteraWoman]

I was fourteen/fifteen and snacking on a can of black olives over the kitchen sink. Grandma came in the room and started giving me crap about it. One of her sisters/my aunts ate a can of olives and got really sick. She told me to stop eating them. She started lecturing me I did not “need” to eat the whole can and they were meant to be eaten a few at a time. There was absolutely nothing wrong with them. I put them in the fridge and waited for Grandma to leave the kitchen. I resumed eating them. That story made absolutely no sense. Did the sister eat a bad can??? 1919/early 1920’s would be roughly the time this aunt ate this can of olives. I appreciate he can tell me this in a calm voice. I appreciate this is well researched. It filled in a gap for me This video was totally excellent!!!!!!

[@exudeku]

imagine surviving a monumental war that changes the history of warfare and got killed by a flu or some olive dish

[@AR-ws1gr]

Thats what I was thinking 😬

[@donaldstanfield8862]

Seriously!

[@goldgeologist5320]

Life is a fickle mistress!

[@prismstudios001]

Turns out the”Golden BB” is black and rubbery

[@JosieJOK]

The Spanish flu killed 20 million worldwide at that time, so I wouldn’t consider that as random as getting poisoned by olives!

[@robertgodwin7766]

I am a descendant of both the Morgan and the Gheris families of Alliance and this story , being part of our history, was told to my by my mother when I was a boy.

[@janetalkington7142]

Do you have any family photos of the victims from 1919? I could really use them in my forthcoming book!

[@dwderp]

I remember when I was a kid, my grandparents were absolutely fanatical about not buying food in a dented can. It was so important to them, that they made sure I (as a child) knew never to do it. Who knows but that this event might've been the reason for that fear.

[@drewgehringer7813]

Yeah, in the past dented cans could also be risky to eat because the lids were soldered with lead and dents could knock small pieces loose into the food inside the can.

[@828enigma6]

When I was a child, my parents were lower middle class. They shopped at a grocery store named Depot Salvage. They offered, among other things, dented canned goods at around 75% off. We never suffered any harm, but we didn't keep the dented cans very long.

[@queenbunnyfoofoo6112]

Commercial canning wasn't as safe then as it is now....the old timers used to call it ptomaine poisoning (toe main)...a catch all phrase from everything from your basic food poisoning to botulinum poisoning ( and in my area a euphemism for dying from an illegal abortion ). My grandmother and her sisters canned at home, and they didn't trust store bought canned goods until the WW2 era.

[@Donteatacowman]

My company volunteered us for a day at a local food bank. We sorted through donated "expired" or "damaged" food according to certain guidelines, eg chips are okay until x weeks after the "best by" date. Dents were one of them. Some dents are okay but if they were more than a certain measurement deep (along with some other criteria) they were a no-go.

[@johnengland8619]

@@828enigma6 us too, that's all we got. We did have wall to wall floors and real glass in the windows though

[@kevinwiskus8874]

THG never ceases to amaze on his ability to find the most obscure stories and make it captivating.

[@juliusnepos6013]

Yes

[@truckermikemct1]

He is one of the best.

[@Psychol-Snooper]

THC has a similar quality. XD

[@MmntechCa]

As someone with a BA in history, THG's channel is probably one of the best I've come across. Unbiased, well researched, well presented, no clickbait titles or sensationalism. I love hearing about these obscure stories.

[@toniaansaldo8140]

That's why he's The History Guy. His talent was wasted for decades in the insurance game. He would have been a brilliant professor.

[@williamstolley2165]

The Tylenol scare did more to change how products are sealed with tamper-proof packaging than anything else. Prior to that, food simply had a lid, such as cottage cheese or sour cream. It was a common practice in the fifties and sixties to simply throw out spoiled food as it had no expiration date.

[@scottkoenig6326]

Good memory. Before that, drugs such as pills or tablets, or capsules (the Tylenol case) had no seal under their caps. I think the culprit was centered near Chicago. Is that about right? THANKS!

[@aliassmithandjones9453]

way back when jars of peanut butter had no seal. Hungry while shopping? Just spin the lid and scoop out a finger-full!

[@chiefpontiac1800]

This is why I always soak my olives in copious amounts of chilled vodka, skewered with a sliver of pine. Shaken, not stirred.

[@kaseymeier5944]

Sounds like a smart plan. Lol

[@Stefonius]

I tried to tell my wife that olives give me a terrible headache. She told me it was more likely to be the vodka they're swimming in. I'm not sure I believe her.

[@toniaansaldo8140]

Just a tiny bit of good Vermouth...

[@dwlopez57]

@@Stefonius to test this switch from vodka to gin

[@BuzzinVideography]

You're living in 2030, oh great one.

[@briangarrow448]

Both my parents were frugal children of the Great Depression and our family canned and preserved many foods that people buy flash frozen today from supermarkets. Food safety standards and horror stories about botulism were par for the course as we kids learned about the correct way to preserve food. Thanks again for another great explanation about our fascinating history!

[@jameswilber518]

in the 80s, I worked in the Conservation Dept of the Henry Ford Museum. Charlie Simmons (of Simmons mattress) was the curator of furniture, came in one day with a very old canning jar of something. "In 1914 Henry Ford went on a European tour and somewhere on that trip was given this jar of.......yak butter." How would you ever know if it was 'off'?

[@costrio]

@@jameswilber518 Benny Hill Show, Closing chase scenes, Yakety Sax is the theme tune. ;-)

[@queenbunnyfoofoo6112]

My folks and grandparents also had endless stories of what could happen if you didn't can your food properly. Remember when you cooked anything that had been canned you had to bring it to a rolling boil then continue to boil it for a minimum of three minutes? My parents wondered why I chose to preserve my garden in the freezer😂.

[@katydid5088]

Boiling foods removes a lot of the nutritional value (all the water soluable vitamins) and denatures other macro and micro nutrients (not when cooked properly but when overcooked as is often the case when things are canned.). It technically doesn't make much of a difference if you have access to fresh food for at least part of the year but that is not always the case especially if your poor in a major city. That and freezing preserves the color and flavor of a fruit or vegetable when you cannot eat something fresh.

[@ArachneAnathema]

@@queenbunnyfoofoo6112is that why my mother boiled all canned foods for twenty minutes? There is a reason I rarely eat canned veggies to this day….

[@crassenti]

I had a very sobering year when I was in grade 6 back in the early 90s. Our teacher's parents were infected with botulism and for reasons unknown to me he felt it was appropriate not only to share the entire ordeal with our class but keep us informed as the situation progressed. His mother and her friend survived but his father died. If i remember correctly it was a result of some home canning of vegetables. Needless to say that's stuck with me my entire life.

[@The_Touring_Jedi]

I lived trough bad times...civil War on Balkans former Yugoslavia. The food we had was not always fresh, but it seems we had luck or maybe just did not think about it cause we had no other options. Caning vegetables is still tradition in our country and we nevet had any issue or health problem to be honest. We still make for exaple canned cabbage and paprika during the Winter which is rich with vitamin C if properly canned. Never heard of any health issue from canned vegetables but...eggs and meat can be risky anyway. We never had to much meat on our table when I was young in the 80's and to be honest I do not eat it too much even today.

[@ProperLogicalDebate]

Many years ago I was grocery shopping and observed a woman open a condiment jar, taste it and close it. I immediately asked for the Manager and told what I saw. He took the jar off the shelf and banned her from shopping there again.

[@toniaansaldo8140]

That's disgusting. Kudos to the manager. 👍

[@OldSethOnetooth]

Check the videos of people opening tubs of icecream, licking it, putting the lid back on and putting it back on shelf.

[@markwallace1727]

@@toniaansaldo8140 Agree. Kudos to Gregg also for not ignoring it. 👍

[@geoben1810]

@@OldSethOnetooth Yeah, I'd like to catch some one doing that. Seriously, I would. 👊

[@Grimenoughtomaketherobotcry]

One of the reasons why I usually take from the back of the shelf. Often the products there have a substantially later best before date, too, so it's fresher.

[@IJustWantToUseMyName]

My 8th grade Home Ec teacher spent most of the food preservation part of the course telling us all how we could kill someone if we canned something and that it would be a horrible death. She was so graphic in her description, I went 35 years before attempting to can something. I decided last year was the year and canned some pear sauce. I opened the jars and tossed the contents three days later because I was sure I would kill someone. I was thinking about trying again this year, but I think you just cured me of that ambition.

[@suetrunnell9524]

I share your feelings. Never tried to can. Love that people do and are very good at it, but I will leave it to the professionals, lol.

[@calamityjean1525]

Most fruit is acidic enough that botulism can't grow in it. Your pear sauce was probably safe.

[@Silverstar98121]

The formula for canning safety is acid in heart and/or pressure. Acidic things like tomatoes only need heat canning. Non-acidic things like green beans need heat and pressure, unless you pickle them. Canned a lot of stuff with my grandparents, and as a young wife many years ago. Of course, I'm so old we had agricultural extension courses on safe canning available to us, and learned it in 4-H.

[@scallywag1716]

As a person who works in food safety I really appreciate this historical poisoning.

[@nofaith5994]

I was born & raised in Alliance, Ohio and currently live in Canton. People here occasionally still talk about this weird tragedy.

[@castlejeta9019]

Same here, we were told as a kid don't eat the olives. I still don't!!!!

[@geosutube]

Do you still talk about the famous lady, “The Prizewinner of Alliance, Ohio?”

[@JTA1961]

Probably more so after they've been slightly pickled

[@The_Touring_Jedi]

@@castlejeta9019 Funny, I drown myself in olives and olive oil. Never heard in Europe about this issue...seems US have still issues regarding food. Well thanks to your FDA that still approves poison used in food industry even today in 21. century. On average the US citizens consumes more poison trough food products then rest of the World together...this is a sad fact.

[@robertqueberg4612]

Mom had two pressure canners, that worked hard every summer and fall while preserving food for the family. I do remember her conversations about the dangers from improperly canned food. And as you mentioned in your informative video, she did include green beans on the danger list. Another important thing for new “canners” to be aware of, is the need to have the pressure canners checked for accuracy of the gage and the pressure regulator mechanism( usually a weight on a fitting) on the lid. These items, when working together, assure that the temperature inside the jars will actually kill the botulinum toxin. There is also a pressure relief valve(plug) in the lid that will blow out before things get dangerous. Normally these things can be checked at a U.S. Agricultural Extension office in your area. This is a timely reminder that a hot water bath process is not adequate for many foods. Have you done a segment on the history of the “Mason” jar, and their various lid configurations over time?

[@ncplantdoctor]

I grew up around Meyer’s Lake and had never heard this story before, despite becoming a pathologist. The Lakeside Country Club had moved to a larger site and changed its name to Brookside Country Club long ago, but other Meyer family reminders like the Moonlight ballroom existed while I lived there. Thank you for retelling this story, as bacterial diseases are a favorite study of mine.

[@knuckleopera8378]

Harrowing. Anyone who has had food poisoning knows how terrible that experience is, but imagine the effects of this sort of poisoning lasting for a week or more. Excellent episode, sir.

[@cleoldbagtraallsorts3380]

I had food poisoning for 5 weeks and was so weak I could barely stand. These poor people.

[@whistlingsage9817]

I remember in the early 1970's being warned by my grandmother that I shouldn't eat canned black olives because they could kill me. I thought she was just being weird. Fifty years later, and I finally know why she thought a warning was necessary. Thanks, Mr. History Guy!

[@MmntechCa]

People: "Food was more pure and natural back in the old days" Me: "Care for an olive?"

[@masuganut2082]

Hahahahahaha

[@KokkiePiet]

Botulism is very natural

[@prismstudios001]

Botulism is natural and organic, just like arsenic and cyanide.

[@bbb462cid]

The people who say that are ignorant of facts. Even in the country, with the wells quite near outhouses and animal pens, unhealthy food was quite normal well into the 20th century.

[@jonathantillian6528]

Whenever someone says, "it's natural" I always say, "so is anthrax and the bubonic plague."

[@sennadesillva]

Not the same type of incident but my grandmothers brother, Melvy Gamel, had a similar story. He fought in Germany during WW2 as a driver/mechanic of a halftrack for the 390th AAA Battalion. They took fire, shot down planes and pushed through Germany to meet up with the Russians. A couple months after he got back here to California, he was killed in a car crash. Crazy how things can work out like that. Thanks for another amazing episode History Guy!

[@realwealthproperties5671]

I’m genuinely curious what your story has to do with the video. Please explain because I’m confused.🤷🏻‍♂️

[@allanlank]

He lived through a war, and a flu pandemic then dies at the celebration of surviving both, by eating an olive. THAT IS WAY TOO MUCH IRONY.

[@jeffreyflathers5]

Irony? Does that mean the olive contained too much Iron?

[@wandagrayson646]

I would love you to do the history of lace. It was such a key cultural and economic product of Europe in the 16th/17th century and it’s definitely history that deserves to be remembered. 😉

[@jesseostone386]

Yes, this would be interesting!

[@drboze6781]

I remember holiday dinners at my Grandma's house. Seemed like she always served a dish of string beans. My mom would look at it and ask, "did you can these beans?" Grandma would say yes. "But Momma, you don't even have a working pressure cooker!" Grandma would just shrug and say she's been canning them in boiling water for years and hadn't fallen off the twig yet. I suppose we were all just lucky!

[@LuckysMotorcycles]

Once you have had food poisoning, you’ll get real pickie about what you eat !

[@toniaansaldo8140]

I've had food poisoning...Sick as a dog for three days. Totally bedridden the first 24 hours...But Botulism-Damn. KILLED people in the same amount of time. No joke.

[@darrellcook8253]

I've had it a few tumes and it keeps on getting worse every time. Maybe 6 times and a few other types of food poisoning. One lasted almost a full year of throwing up every morning and not being able to eat until 7 o'clock. Slept most of the time.

[@megancrager4397]

Or if you have Crohn's like me 😬 Everything hurts

[@LuckysMotorcycles]

@@megancrager4397 , Sorry for your Crone,s. , I had two friends and both suffered from something like that. I never really asked what the problem was, I just knew they both had some kind of constant intestinal problem and figured they would bring up the topic if they wanted me to know. They were both old fraternity brothers of mine and both passed away in their 50’s. But, one had all kinds of other health problems as well. We are all very tough men , until we aren’t, then we are very fragile.

[@suburban404]

So many people get a touch of diarrhea and think they had food poisoning. I had three days of horrible vomiting and diarrhea. Terrible experience.

[@Evan-st5df]

This is like the social studies class they should have offered in high school. Only 50 years late.

[@saxman7131]

Foster Brooks said “if it weren’t for those olives I’d starve to death”

[@rhijulbec1]

😁 😁 😁

[@andrewhyde4812]

Being from Alliance myself this is a very well known story. Those who died were very important members of the community. Great Video!

[@doggedout]

"....eyes ancient jar of martini olives in fridge door suspiciously..."

[@stephenF250]

Can't beat waking up to a history lesson!

[@SGTDuckButter]

A BJ would beat it.

[@hushkit2119]

@@SGTDuckButter I came here to comment the exact same thing

[@DerekWoolverton]

Opens up a year old jar of olives in the fridge, eats a few for a snack. Tastes a little odd, I'm sure they're fine.

[@DarkAudit]

Can I have your stuff?

[@toniaansaldo8140]

@@DarkAudit 🤣👍

[@toniaansaldo8140]

@@DarkAudit Take the TV and computer. Leave everything in the fridge. 🤔

[@jamesrogers47]

Clostridium Botulinum, the bacteria that produces the toxin is an anaerobic organism that generally grows in low oxygen environments, which is why it can grow in sealed containers. If the product was properly processed when it was packed, the odds of a refrigerated open container being contaminated with C. Botulinum is vanishingly small; you run a larger risk of contamination by fecal coliforms, salmonella from raw poultry and eggs, and listeria from dairy products.

[@Evan-st5df]

@@DarkAudit I have a jar of old olives. At least a year or so old. Your address, please.

[@puirYorick]

I've actually had relatives say that to me: this tastes weird to me. you try one. Hell no!

[@78asasou]

When I was a young man I had 3 martini's in one hour. I got sick...It must have been the olives!!!

[@sinisterthoughts2896]

Obviously.

[@rosebelle3148]

Of course it was.

[@icegiant1000]

That is also why, even to this day, you hardly ever see black olives in jars, but you see green olives in them all the time.

[@highpath4776]

I do see black olives in jars, they do seem to go off if opened.

[@Llamarama100]

One of my friends recently got botulism from eating raw beans, they survived but had never been so ill

[@Noodlepunk]

I learn more from videos created by people passionate about a subject on KZbin than I ever did in school or college.

[@stevecannon4780]

Some years ago, we had a party at our place. Someone noticed I had a jar of pickled pigs feet on a shelf in the kitchen, opened the jar and smelled/tasted a bite, then put the lid back on the jar and put it back on the shelf so it wouldn't be noticed. Some time later, I was drinking a beer one night and thought a hog's trotter would be good with the beer. I ate part of one, but it didn't taste exactly right so I threw the rest away,. The next day, I was so sick I couldn't work. I heaved for 10 hours. It was then someone asked me if I had eaten any of the pigs feet. It was then I was told someone had opened and re-closed the jar. Had they been put in the refrigerator, it would have been fine, but you can't open jars and put them back on the shelf folks! No one would tell me who it was who opened and re-closed the jar but I was told that this person thought putting the lid back on would make it safe again and didn't think anything of doing it but when they found out I was sickened because of it swore to everyone they hadn't done it (even though there were several witnesses). No one thought it was that serious since I didn't require hospitalization and refused to tell me who the culprit was but everyone said "she" (I got that much info) felt badly about it, so I should just forgive and forget. She felt so badly she couldn't talk to me or apologize. Who opens jars in other people's kitchens? I'm still hurt that no one could be honest with me.

[@Dakktyrel]

Even in 1919 journalists used "the Russians did it", some things never change.

[@thomasriggle6371]

LOL I was thinking the same thing! Russia Russia Russia

[@shawnr771]

During the Black Death there were conspiracy theories blaming it on Jewish people.

[@arrow1414]

Funny thing I think the Russian politician/dissident Alexei Navalny would agree with the Russian poisoning hypothesis.

[@dancooper4733]

@@arrow1414 If Putin wanted him dead, Navalny would be dead.

[@arrow1414]

@@dancooper4733 Yeah yeah, poison magically appeared in his system or Russian intelligence officers can't make mistakes. 🙄

[@5roundsrapid263]

So that explains why ripe olives are always in cans, and green ones come in glass jars. I’ve wondered about that for a long time.

[@BatmanSeRiedeTi]

This continues to be one of the very best channels on the plataform.

[@JTA1961]

True dat

[@Wordsnwood]

Fascinating. We are so used to clean and safe food these days.

[@sinisterthoughts2896]

Most people have no idea how much safer a world we live in...

[@shawnr771]

I worked in a grocery store when I was younger. Our store managers would not allow us to put damaged goods on the shelf. If a can was dented or a package torn we removed it from the shelves. Unlike today where I continously see damaged cans on store shelves or in discount baskets. Be careful do not buy damaged canned goods.

[@Stefonius]

Dented cans aren't dangerous unless they have holes in them. A bulging can is a sign of problems within.

[@tommihommi1]

The bacteria grow in cans that weren't properly sterilized, not in cans that were slightly dented in shipping. You absolutely should never consume stuff from bloated cans or jars.

[@Chrisamic]

It used to be more of a problem when tins were actually "tins". That is, the sheet steel casing was covered in a thin coating of tin to prevent corrosion including (or especially) the inside. If a "tin" was dented it could cause the tin coating inside to break and the steel casing would corrode due to the acidic or ionic nature of the food, even leading to pinholes which would could let air in and cause contamination of the contents. During the Crimean war many UK soldiers died from botulism and other disease, caused by the tinned bully beef which along with hard tack was pretty much all they had for rations way back then. It's said that more men died of disease than died in action but it's hard to find good references. This appears to be particularly true on the Russian side but I'm not sure if the reasons are parallel. Modern tinned goods still have the same construction (more or less) but the inside is additionally lined with a polymer film (plastic by any other name) which acts as a further and almost impermeable barrier to corrosion even if the tin is dented, so a slightly dented tin is almost certainly not a problem. Having said that, I still avoid dented or damaged tins on the supermarket shelf, heeding the advice I was given in the very early seventies as a child, however it was already standard practice by then to line tins with extra protection to prevent problems. My great great great grandparents would have been alive in the Crimean war period (and some may have even served), so that's a lot of parental guidance handed down to reinforce the "avoid damaged tins" thing. It's almost a given today - no one is going to buy a damaged tin off the shelf, even if they aren't quite sure why that would be a bad idea. The Crimean war was maybe the last war that was about religion and religious persecution, was a major disappointment to all sides, is barely understood or even known about today, but it's very deeply rooted in our psyche and how we approach pre-packaged food hygiene. True story, and perhaps even history that deserves to be remembered.

[@beverlyanne5699]

My mom and i are very alarmed at the safety seals on products missing and the fill levels on products oddly low considering the space of the container. It happens in shampoo, lotions, fabric softeners, and even those re-sealable deli meat packages. I think it is the shipping companies or stock persons taking a bit of each, my mom is concerned things are tampered with. I would hope more things were inspected.

[@Stefonius]

Extra space in packaging is normal, because the containers are filled by weight and not by volume. Safety seals don't really do anything except provide the illusion of safety. They were added after someone put cyanide in Tylenol 40 years ago. It's still incredibly easy to tamper with products without damaging the seal.

[@psymons9133]

Thank You. You bring History Alive. Thank You

[@rhondahuggins9542]

It's like Agatha Christie meets NCIS! Thanks, HG🌞

[@AGDinCA]

Or Julia Childs meets Agatha Christy and NCIS st a dinner party. LOL

[@masuganut2082]

Hahaha loves these two comments.

[@davidblank9043]

Got food poisoning from a pizzeria pizza ending up in emergency back in the 70’s...twenty years later I owned a pizzeria...made sure everything was spotless. As a suggestion could you do a history lesson on the schooner “Bluenose?”

[@joekurtz8303]

Had a combo pizza w/anchovies, Once🍕.... lips& fingers swelled!! Probably old. J Geils song No Anchovies Please comes to mind!!

[@cmciff4054]

Great episode! I spent two years of my federal career at FDA and I love this kind of history. How we got to where we are on unsung but important issues like food safety.

[@wyominghome4857]

I'm surprised that the Pure Food and Drug Act, prompted by Upton Sinclair's 1906 book The Jungle (exposing filthy conditions in the meat packing industry) didn't have some impact on commercial canning as well. Home canning can still be deadly. A young couple in Russia were found dead just last year after eating pickles home-canned by Grandma (imagine how Grandma must have felt). One can't be too careful even with commercially canned goods. Just last week I tossed a jar of Kalamata olives that I found in the pantry with a loose lid. They didn't look quite right. After watching this THG episode I'm glad I did!

[@jamesradford9098]

I really enjoy your presentations. I have lived in Canton my whole life (66 years) and never heard that story. Thank you for bringing it to light.

[@Raycheetah]

6:14 Imagine that, a public health official making "[A] complete investigation of the tragedy, seeking the truth without bias or prejudice." =9[.]9=

[@royrice8597]

Lesson: Don’t eat strange tasting anything! 👍👍👍 The term “ botched” up slang for botulism but applies to anything that isn’t quite right.

[@waggtech8793]

Hence the word “bot” for those strange links that don’t appear quite right?

[@gregmannos]

I live in Canton and never heard of this. Thank you

[@RRaquello]

I came across this story some years ago in kind of an odd way. I collect and like to read old newspapers, and I bought a bound volume of a Cleveland newspaper at a yard sale from around this time period and this story was in it. Newspapers used to be bound with one month's issues together in one large book, so basically most of the story as it enfolded over a couple of weeks was covered in the bound volume I had. It explains, I guess, why you get green olives in jars, but black olives are only in cans.

[@grapeshot]

When I was in the Ohio Army National Guard one of the units I was in was the 148th Infantry M.

[@brianb2886]

While I enjoy your war related videos, I enjoy most these other videos about common yet uncommonly known things.

[@michaeldelvecchio41]

It's amazing how many people have paid the ultimate price because of human error. And yet, this is how millions of people are spared the same fate.

[@garywheeler7039]

My wife was a food scientist, properly known as a food technologist. She took these things very seriously. At home we are never allowed to switch one serving spoon from one container to another. And certainly one never uses their own spoon to dispense something another might eat. And when you keep this practice, things like salsa and olives, last much longer and can later be safely refrigerated and reused. Within reason of course.

[@jeg5gom]

Can't show this to my wife. She will FREAK OUT!! I love olives. Thanks HG!

[@patmcbride9853]

"Here! Eat this, it tastes weird." "Better yet, inject some into your wrinkles."

[@scottkoenig6326]

Interesting point. I almost forgot about that use (for forehead wrinkles).

[@korbell1089]

Our food is so safe we have to inject botulism just to get a feel of how our forebears felt everytime they took a bite of food 😀

[@mikepierson7447]

Great way to start my morning!!!

[@ian_b]

Authorities advise against poisoned olives for breakfast.

[@Ben-pz7wo]

Authorities advise to enjoy a healthy serving of poisoned olives for breakfast

[@kitgar61]

I just watched your "behind the scenes" video after I watched this one. I had no idea, and would never have guessed, that you sold insurance before this gig. I always pictured you as a history professor. I imagined your students recommending the prof with the bow tie to all of their friends so they could get their history credit and actually learn something at the same time. Maybe that's what you were in a past life. Either way, I enjoy watching your videos and learn something new from you with each and every one. History actually does deserve to be remembered. Thanks for all you do!

[@truckermikemct1]

The History Guy is in my top 5 subs.

[@JTA1961]

Same here

[@jimbob3332]

Not to be confused with the Great Salmon Mousse Poisoning of 1983 where 6 people lost their lives after someone used tinned salmon for a salmon mousse

[@isobot9376]

Classic, thank you!

[@ivartillotson835]

Is this the incident portrayed in the Monty Python film “The Meaning of Life”?

[@jimbob3332]

@@ivartillotson835 The award-winning ethnography, yes.

[@jbmbryant]

"Smell it!" Sniff... "It has absolutely no no smell at all.." "It's good. Put it back, somebody's saving it!" RIP George Carlin

[@Evan-st5df]

"It's still good Leave it!"

[@harrisonlewis6853]

Thanks for telling me about black olives. I've eaten them all my long life but only now, find out, how I've been rolling the dice.

[@jonathanperry8331]

Can you imagine how difficult it would have been back before refrigerators to keep fresh food fresh and you would constantly have to maintain it and without any knowledge of how bacteria works. That's why they drink wine at the last supper. The alcohol killed germs they did not know that but they knew they couldn't drink the water in certain places or they would get sick.

[@nicklovell5872]

I absolutely love your gentle yet authoritative delivery style. You make history enjoyable and interesting in a way that is entertaining and informative. Have you considered doing a presentation on the Penobscot Expedition?

[@misternewoutlook5437]

The "best before" or "use by" dates are something most people take note of - perhaps too dogmatically. One has to remember that spoilage bacteria can't read labels. This edition of THG reminds us to always pay attention your senses before consuming.

[@sinisterthoughts2896]

Yup. I just got rid of some dregs of milk that were a week over and it was fine, I've also had milk turn into pink cottage cheese a week early. That was creepy.

[@misternewoutlook5437]

@@sinisterthoughts2896 Yes, I cannot deny it works the other way. Those dates can make you waste perfectly good food.

[@Tracymmo]

@@misternewoutlook5437 Ah, my ongoing frustration with my family. They throw out a lot of perfectly good food because of "sell by" dates and "best by" dates. Those dates are set more by attorneys than food scientists. Caution is good, but a box of crackers or vinaigrette salad dressing doesn't magically go bad at midnight.

[@markwallace1727]

Use by dates should be respected, as they are about food safety. Though you're 100% about also using your senses of course. Sell by and best before dates are about food quality and taste. So generally are safe to eat. But I can't stress enough MisterNewOutlook's point of "pay attention to your senses". That certainly trumps any date, as other factors can change when spoil happens. Like damage, mistakes, storage, etc. We have a nose and taste for a reason, use it.

[@ManTroubled]

Fantastic research and presentation.

[@marcomcdowell8861]

Guys: "This tastes horrible, try it." Other guys: "Gimme that rotten food, I'll show ya how a real man eats it."

[@aaronburratwood.6957]

Ew.

[@shwetaseth1352]

@@aaronburratwood.6957 do you remember me I

[@tyree9055]

Chefs and cooks do it all the time. The waiters / waitresses (as many consumers too) can't tell when food is going bad (it takes experience to fully understand a food's exact state of quality), and they come to the kitchen staff asking "Is this bad, it doesn't taste right?" Then they get either "Throw it away." or "It's fine." It's a shame that the chef died, but as we can see, their Culinary Duties haven't changed since the early 1900's! ☝😜 I came across a coworker in another field who told me she threw away any food that was older than 3 days (stored). I smiled (laughing to myself), because I routinely keep food until it goes bad, which is generally closer to 7 - 14 days, but I'm an experienced line cook too. For example: Milk's taste starts to change before it actually smells bad (not counting the jug's rim - make sure you test it using a clean glass, so you can test it properly), and once you're familiar with this taste change, you know that you need to use it up and get rid of it within the next day or two (at most). If this makes you squeamish, then use it up in some kind of hot dish where the heat kills the bugs growing in it. Then there's no waste and no one's getting sick, etc. 😉👍

[@billd.6847]

@@tyree9055 I ate some black eyed peas, I told the waiter that they tasted sour and got something else. A guy at work was once a manager for that company and said they cook a fresh batch and throw in the previous day's leftover serving.

[@blackcountryme]

Is that food rotten? Here hold my mould..

[@deltavee2]

Suggestion for the show contained here: Fascinating, Lance. I had never heard of the olive/botulism poisoning saga, being in Canada. This doubtless explains in part why warnings about insecure or perforated coverings are pretty much universally found on sealed containers of all kinds. The perforation reference applies to a rash of poisonings brought about by people deliberately injecting materials into containers than replacing them on the store shelves. I believe this happened around the '80s in Canada and the US but that's a guess. I don't know if you've covered the subject of food being injected by miscreants but you might want to check it out. It wouldn't take long. Cheers from Canada

[@andrewphillips6563]

Great history lesson, as usual. Events like these are virtually lost to time, but are given a last gasp of recognition by THG. Please don't ever stop mining history for gems like this.

[@gordonlawrence1448]

We had a lesson on this at school. I'd forgotten about it. I'm in the UK so the story made it all the way over here. It's interesting how much impact this is even having today.

[@scottmaag1]

I need to start this comment by saying I have learned more from KZbin University than I ever cared to try and learn from traditional schools, and your podcast and videos are at the top of my enjoyment of learning new things. Some surprise me, some make my cry and some make me ashamed that what I was told as a child in the 70’s wasn’t true. Please think about finding subjects about American history that allow us to find pride yet humility in how this part of the world became the center of many cultures trying to find a way to survive. In the year 2020 we all became much more aware of the true problems of the past but we can also find a way to not repeat mistakes without forgetting as humans all we’ve tried to do is improve ourselves. Please keep up the good work and thank you for all the education. I’m slightly smarter after each viewing.

[@jdlives8992]

Jesh fight through a horrible war just to clipped by a olive. Love the channel

[@stanwolenski9541]

My wife tries eating something, makes a face says, “It tastes terrible, here you try it”.

[@JTA1961]

Till death do us part...

[@harrysweeten9417]

Stan it might be a setup.

[@masuganut2082]

I cannot tell you how much I enjoy your channel. Your voice is soothing and clear. I could listen to you for hours. Can I just say, ugh the poor bunny. So thankful to the people who worked hard to change things for the future and makes things safer

[@scottkoenig6326]

I agree with you about the History Guy- his content and voice are top-notch. Question though- If they had used a lab rat, instead of a rabbit, would that have been easier to swallow? THANKS!

[@tonyk1584]

Dying from a poison olive is really the pits!

[@harrysweeten9417]

Clever observation.

[@jonathantillian6528]

"We knew something was up when the mutton barrels began to explode." -- Private Bourke _Jingo_

[@ajg617]

And I had ripe olives on my salad today....but I always remembered my mother telling me to look for swollen cans or lids that came off of jars without vacuum as she used to can a lot of fruit and vegetables. Decades later, we kept some spare cans of food down in the basement and one can of tomatoes had swollen so badly that I don't know how it did not burst apart. Scary stuff.

[@throne1797]

During WW2 my grandmother would can the produce we raised on the farm ( tomatoes, cabbage, beans,etc) using her german heritage cooking and canning methods. I recall one Thanksgiving at her place, while we were feasting on her prepared food, I heard what sounded like bumping sounds from the cellar. My uncle told me that some of her canned foods were bursting their glass jars. No one at the table seemed concerned. I just ate meat and potatoes at her house from then on.

[@Sevenigma777]

It's channels like these that make KZbin the best of all platforms.

[@richardschmitt5042]

Olive The History Guy 💘

[@droppedlung]

Another on-point episode of nearly forgotten history... Thank you History Guy. Keep up the great work. Also...kudos to your staff for the behind the scenes work they put into every episode. Great topics and excellent research, topped with some passionate storytelling. 👍

[@QPRTokyo]

Thank you .

[@rshallmark6877]

Thank you THG! I benefit so much from your "mini-documentaries."

[@amyferebee]

Love your shows 😎 Please do one on the history of Mayonaise as compared to that of "salad dressing" ie Miracle Whip, in the context of the advent of refrigeration and the cultural implications. Thank You

[@TaxPayingContributor]

1.2 million subscribers, 168k views, 14k likes, 766 comments. No every story is for everybody, but it is history that deserves to be remembered.

[@donaldpayton7153]

Nice job on this sir! I'm from that area. Just glad to see my local history on your channel. Helen Sebring Gahris being the daughter of Frank Sebring. One of 3 brothers that founded Sebring Ohio.

[@frankgulla2335]

A fascinating piece of history. Well done, sir. You do a great job in delivering the tale.

[@neverlearnitall]

This was so informative! Thank you! I really love your channel!❤

[@marlenec1022]

Morning everyone coffee and the History Guy , wow what a great way to start our day . 😀🙌☕☕☕

[@MarshOakDojoTimPruitt]

thanks

[@prjndigo]

I'm tired but it sounded like you said that he was awarded the French Legion d'Honor for successfully getting the US Soldiers out of France... which would be so totally French.

[@james-p]

Certes!

[@mauricedavis2160]

Not a fan of olives, I wonder why, another excellent and enlightening episode, thank you THG&Crew!!!🙏👍👻❣️

[@murdelabop]

Anytime anyone complains about "over regulation of food", show them this.

[@suburban404]

Agree! Raw milk is an example. There is a very good reason for pasteurization.

[@murdelabop]

@@suburban404 : The major reason for pasteurization of milk is that Big Dairy doesn't have the time, and doesn't want to spend the money, to keep their herds healthy enough, and their facilities clean enough, to produce safe raw milk. And they swing a big checkbook in the halls of power so they push through legislation to make sure all milk producers have to play by their rules. Raw milk can be produced safely but it takes an order of magnitude more attention to the health of the herd and to the cleanliness of production facilities than the processed stuff. It's better for you too. So, to my original point, legal mandates for milk pasteurization are not over-regulation, but they are incomplete regulation, as they do not include mandates for herd health monitoring and facilities monitoring that would allow producers who would rather go that route to produce a safe, legal raw product.

[@turpialito]

Your choice of subjects is always fascinating. Cheers, mate.

[@goodun2974]

There was a family in Westchester County NY who contracted botulinum poisoning in 1971 from canned vichychoisse, potato soup which is traditionally served cold, sparking a national recall. (Note that heating the soup thoroughly, and then re-chilling before serving, would have destroyed the toxin). The case was profiled for the New Yorker Magazine in an article by Berton Rouche', who wrote a number of such "medical detection" articles, later compiled into book form (The Incurable Wound, and Eleven Blue Men), which I devoured 🤫 😁 🤮 as a kid. (Yes, I was, and to some extent remain, a geek, a science nerd). Fortunately, by then, most (all?) canned foods were being stamped with lot numbers and so it was possible to track and trace the contaminated cans, preventing further deaths. I would not have expected olives to be a source of botulism (and my half-Greek heritage shudders at the thought). I do love Kalamata and Mammoth Black olives! Bacteria, especially anaerobic bacteria like Botulinis, can apparently thrive in almost anything. My understanding is that the bacteria eventually suffocate in their own waste products (yum!) but the toxin remains. By the way, another food poisoning case I remember from the Rouche' books was pre-sliced supermarket watermelon that harbored salmonella ---- the sugar and water content made for a surprisingly good growth medium.

[@joanhoffman3702]

I read Rouche's books years ago. True scientific detective stories are fascinating, from the outbreak to the search for the culprit to the solution. I remember the watermelon story. It was cross contamination on the cutting area.

[@DocLaw172]

Never knew about this. Thank you for educating an old dog.

[@bobkarigan4512]

This is the most amazing channel I absolutely love history keep the podcast coming, Thank You!

[@marklatimer7333]

Many thanks Lance - you have put me off eating olives ever again - makes me wonder if some parts of history are best forgotten?

[@pillager6190]

LOL 🤣

[@fbksfrank4]

I never liked green olives anyway.

[@toniaansaldo8140]

@@fbksfrank4 Green Olives are great. Not ripe,nice and firm.

[@vernonbear]

So the millions of olives that have been safely consumed since aren’t enough to convince you? Or the food standards agencies around the world aren’t sufficient? Perspective is crucial, yes it was tragic as lives were lost but they were a tiny minority. If one video puts you off then you are the issue, not the history being remembered. All history should be remembered or we are doomed to repeat it.

[@fbksfrank4]

@@vernonbear no....I just don't like the flavour.

[@Jimmie2429]

I just opened my fridge and tossed all the olive jars out.