Facts/Notes:
In case you didn’t know, Botox is actually the brand name of a particular strain of neurotoxin called the botulinum toxin. And how exactly was this neurotoxin discovered? Way back in the 1820s, a certain Dr. Justinus Kerner was trying to figure out why a batch of blood sausages ended up poisoning several dozen Germans. Turns out, there was a toxin in the meat that caused their deaths. Dr. Kerner dubbed his discover “botulism” from the Latin root botulus, which means sausage, and the rest is history. So yeah—not exactly dinner party conversation but still interesting, no?