Grex History Conference

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Grex History Item 4: What happened to Zachary Taylor?
Entered by steve on Sun Jul 21 02:59:57 UTC 1991:

   Is there someone out there who is familiar with the whole deal
about Zachary being poisoned?  I heard on NPR of the supposed method
of poisoning--Arsnic laced grapes!
   But what about the exhumation and all that?  I thout I had heard
that the tests would be in in a few weeks.  I'm interested in learning
more about this whole incident.
   (Stay tuned for the book!)

9 responses total.

#1 of 9 by arthur on Sun Jul 21 05:48:36 1991:

   They thought his death symptoms were similar to arsenic poisoning.
There should have been remnants of poison in some parts of his
body (I'm guessing nails and hair, I don't remember).  They didn't
find any.

#2 of 9 by polygon on Sun Jul 21 10:51:51 1991:

I think the theory had to do with arsenic-laced cherries, not grapes.  The
tests did find some arsenic, but not enough to support the idea that it was
the cause of death.

#3 of 9 by chelsea on Sun Jul 21 12:55:59 1991:

There has also been speculation of late, that Abraham Lincoln was 
suffering from Marfan's Syndrome.  His physical stature, unusually
long arms and large hands, and other signs all point to his suffering
from this disease which, untreated, leads to a lifespan of only 
forty or fifty years.  So, if true, he was on borrowed time when
he was assassinated.

#4 of 9 by polygon on Sun Jul 21 14:53:12 1991:

I thought that Marfan's led to the hands being TWO DIFFERENT SIZES, which
apparently was true in Lincoln's case.  When I was in high school (1969-73),
we were told that he *did* have Marfan's, no speculation about it.  They may
have been wrong about the certainty, but in any case it isn't a new idea.

Isn't depression another symptom of Marfan's?

#5 of 9 by fes on Sun Jul 21 17:14:17 1991:

Marfan's has a variety of symptoms and you can have multiple symptoms without
having Marfan's. One of the effects (apparently) is a tendency for cardiac
problems and a shorter than average life span (bu not necessarily limited to
40 or 50).

#6 of 9 by keats on Sun Jul 21 18:34:39 1991:

interesting how this item satisfies our telecommunicative craving for
the instantaneous dirt and also throws us back...

#7 of 9 by genesis on Tue Aug 20 01:42:31 1991:

And the decomposed molecules in that dirt..

#8 of 9 by orwell on Thu Sep 21 04:39:37 1995:

Geez, i remember hearing this thing on the radio when i was a freshman in high
school..........wow, it is like Orwell IV : The Undiscovered Conference

#9 of 9 by jerrybriardy on Wed Aug 10 05:23:24 2005:

My best friend died last year from Marfans syndrome. He was 41 years old at
the time of death. The disease had severely weakened his heart and it
eventually exploded. He had open heart surgery which bought him another 18
months of a very painful and miserable life after the surgery. I don't know
if Lincoln had the disease but people who suffer from the illness often call
it "Lincoln's disease" and they take it for granted that he had it. The
prognosis for people who have the disease is very poor. The survival rate is
on a par with lung cancer.

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