Trivia Tuesday

I pick up the oddest pieces of trivia looking through book catalogs, so I decided to share some with you. References are, of course, available upon request.

1) Beethoven died of lead poisoning.
2) The great plague of Athens, which led to the Athenians defeat in the Peloponnesian War, was caused by contaminated cereals.
3) In the Middle Ages, illnesses resulting from contaminated foods were often attributed to the wrath of God or malevolent spirits.
4) In 17th century America, the hallucinogenic symptoms of moldy grain were thought to be signs of witchcraft.
5) The madness of King George III may have been accidental arsenic poisoning.