WordWacky

Discovery News reports that monks charged with writing Biblical texts may have been poisoned by the ink they used. Back before the 1500s (when texts started to be printed rather than hand written), a type of mercury, cinnabar, was used in ink for its red hue.

One scientist suggested an entry point for the mercury: 

He told Discovery News “it is very human to lick the brush, if one wants to make a fine line.”

The article goes on to speculate about the diets of the monks and rules out dietary and “medicinal” mercury exposures.

Little did they know that their precision and dedication was killing them, with a scenic stop at mad-as-a-hatter along the way.

 

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 29th, 2008 at 6:23 pm and is filed under writers, writing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.