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I Survived the “Destroying Angel” (2006)

blog.mycology.cornell.edu

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Re: I Survived the “Destroying Angel” (2006)

#11

Post by egdod »

gbronner wrote: post #4

I'm curious if parents still admonish their kids not to eat wild mushrooms. The first time I was with a family friend and watched him pick and eat wild mushrooms, it was as if I'd discovered a new strain of magic. Today, I'll eat chicken mushrooms if they look exactly like the ones I've seen before. Otherwise I'll pass. I sort of feel like those killer whales that have to be taught by other whales that fish are food,…

> I'm curious if parents still admonish their kids not to eat wild mushrooms.

Absolutely. Really, eating anything you find in the wild is risky unless you’re completely sure what it is. (Wild strawberries are pretty easy to identify, for example.)

Re: I Survived the “Destroying Angel” (2006)

#12

Post by throwaway2048 »

ayakura wrote: post #2

When I was younger, I was taught not to pick up or eat colorful mushrooms - the more colors they had, the deadlier they were, supposedly. At the time, I thought it made sense as the same rule applied for poisonous frogs. After reading the article and looking at Wikipedia's list of deadly fungus species, I'm not so sure if that rule also applies to mushrooms: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_deadly_fungus_species

There are essentially no general hard and fast rules like that when it comes to mushroom hunting, there is no substitute for knowing how to positively identify specific species, where specific species should be growing, and knowing what distinguishes them from similar poisonous species.

Re: I Survived the “Destroying Angel” (2006)

#13

Post by daveslash »

I grew up deep in the woods. Like any good mother, mine was a little over-protective; I was instructed to not even touch any mushrooms (or other fungus). Period. But if I did touch them, to wash my hands as soon as possible. To this day, I generally leave them alone. If I do pick one up while on a hike, I'll generally wash my hands with whatever drinking water I have on me.

Re: I Survived the “Destroying Angel” (2006)

#14

Post by mrleinad »

arkades wrote: post #10
anyfoo wrote: post #8

Huh: "I mistook them for inky caps [...] even though I spotted an Amanita nearby [...] I should have been more suspicious as mushrooms do grow in colonies." "I couldn’t find my Mushroom book, was in a hurry, so I trusted my judgment, fried them up in olive oil, and ate them as a side dish." "I should have recognized then that they weren’t inky caps, because inky caps exude a black substance when you fry them." "At th…

I found interesting that he closes his post with an excerpt about how safe mushroom picking is, and how adverse outcomes only happen to ignorant fools who know nothing about mushrooms and don’t bother learning. In an article that opens with “here is a list of things I know and books I read, and here’s how I poisoned myself anyway.”

Because he got himself poisoned right when he ignored everything he knew should do.

Re: I Survived the “Destroying Angel” (2006)

#15

Post by daveslash »

egdod wrote: post #11
gbronner wrote: post #4

I'm curious if parents still admonish their kids not to eat wild mushrooms. The first time I was with a family friend and watched him pick and eat wild mushrooms, it was as if I'd discovered a new strain of magic. Today, I'll eat chicken mushrooms if they look exactly like the ones I've seen before. Otherwise I'll pass. I sort of feel like those killer whales that have to be taught by other whales that fish are food,…

> I'm curious if parents still admonish their kids not to eat wild mushrooms. Absolutely. Really, eating anything you find in the wild is risky unless you’re completely sure what it is. (Wild strawberries are pretty easy to identify, for example.)

On a 3 day backpacking in Wyoming trip I once ate a fist-full of Rubus phoenicolasius, thinking they were wild raspberries before I looked at the leaves and realized.... "those are not raspberries". Turns out they're fine...as anecdotal evidence shows... but now I'll generally conduct a thorough examination of the whole plant before eating anything; especially if I'm in a region in which I didn't grow up. When I'm home, I still eat all kinds of wild berries without really checking that thoroughly (strawberries, blueberries, cranberries -- both types, etc..).

Re: I Survived the “Destroying Angel” (2006)

#16

Post by anyfoo »

arkades wrote: post #10
anyfoo wrote: post #8

Huh: "I mistook them for inky caps [...] even though I spotted an Amanita nearby [...] I should have been more suspicious as mushrooms do grow in colonies." "I couldn’t find my Mushroom book, was in a hurry, so I trusted my judgment, fried them up in olive oil, and ate them as a side dish." "I should have recognized then that they weren’t inky caps, because inky caps exude a black substance when you fry them." "At th…

I found interesting that he closes his post with an excerpt about how safe mushroom picking is, and how adverse outcomes only happen to ignorant fools who know nothing about mushrooms and don’t bother learning. In an article that opens with “here is a list of things I know and books I read, and here’s how I poisoned myself anyway.”

Yeah. And after my quotes above, the author notes that even after realizing that the intense sickness is likely related to the mushrooms, they still kept denying it.

But they do find time in the article to pass some judgment on "busy" "city" folks and their presumed inability to endure silence. Even though that's a different kind of "judgment" than the kind demonstrated above, I find it somehow hard to be receptive to it... 8)

Re: I Survived the “Destroying Angel” (2006)

#18

Post by thaumasiotes »

catalogia wrote: post #6

> "With early diagnosis, another experimental treatment includes massive doses of penicillin to stimulate the liver’s defenses." The solution to fungus is... more fungus! Really goes to show the incredible breadth of this form of life.

How so? This is pretty much the same idea as an Irish petty king inviting in some Norman troops to show the other petty kings who's boss. (It turned out to be the Normans, of course.)

Penicillin works by killing other similar things.

Re: I Survived the “Destroying Angel” (2006)

#19

Post by dmurray »

throwaway2048 wrote: post #12
ayakura wrote: post #2

When I was younger, I was taught not to pick up or eat colorful mushrooms - the more colors they had, the deadlier they were, supposedly. At the time, I thought it made sense as the same rule applied for poisonous frogs. After reading the article and looking at Wikipedia's list of deadly fungus species, I'm not so sure if that rule also applies to mushrooms: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_deadly_fungus_species

There are essentially no general hard and fast rules like that when it comes to mushroom hunting, there is no substitute for knowing how to positively identify specific species, where specific species should be growing, and knowing what distinguishes them from similar poisonous species.

I don't see why this could possibly get downvoted, it's absolutely true. If you do have a "hard and fast" rule in mind, it may work in your region but not in other places.

Re: I Survived the “Destroying Angel” (2006)

#20

Post by duxup »

daveslash wrote: post #13

I grew up deep in the woods. Like any good mother, mine was a little over-protective; I was instructed to not even touch any mushrooms (or other fungus). Period. But if I did touch them, to wash my hands as soon as possible. To this day, I generally leave them alone. If I do pick one up while on a hike, I'll generally wash my hands with whatever drinking water I have on me.

Interestingly the toxin in the mushroom from the story apparently isn't absorbed through the skin.

But I probably would wash my hands too.

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