Arsenic: The Poison of Kings

Throughout history, arsenic has had many uses. It was the ingredient in certain medications, used in pigments, an ingredient in fly paper, rat poison, cosmetics, pesticides, and a great deal of industrial uses. For a few millennium, arsenic has also been used as a murder method. Because it was odorless, and tasteless, the poison was considered a great choice to kill someone — although it was a painful way to go for the poison’s recipient.

During the 19th century, the poison has garnered the nickname ‘inheritance powder’, because people would often poison someone, in order to get…