I just thought he was telling fibs as usual. There's no lead in his pencil now. Like me, he probably used it all up years ago.

SimpleSimon1

Schadenfreude is a normal reaction and, luckily, eating daffodils only results in a nasty stomach upset for a few days.

Usually it is people eating the bulbs thinking they are onions.

"Usually it is people eating the bulbs thinking they are onions."

On that note, I once made a huge fool of myself in a posh Thailand hotel. I had dined in the restaurant - beautiful food - with my wife, and as we walked back out into the vast hotel lobby I noticed, by the entrance to the restaurant a small table, on which was a big bowl piled high with choice Macadamia nuts, a particular favourite of mine. Being a greedy pig I grabbed a handful of the nuts and stuffed them into my mouth, chomping greedily.

You've guessed it, they weren't nuts but big, juicy, industrial strength peeled garlic cloves. The lobby was crowded with sophisticated people, and there I was, with my mouth on fire, unable to do anything but run for the ornamental fish fountain and give the exotic fish a garlic meal.

My wife made for the lift, not wanting to be associated with the man that everyone was staring at.

john bunyan

The Dutch removed the outer layers and the very centre of the tulips before drying them and grinding them to make a sort of flour for making bread.

No-one knows whether the toxins are strongest in the centre, which they discarded, or whether cooking destroyed them. But it shows how serious the Hunger Winter was if people were that desparate.

john bunyan

There is usually an upside to even the worst situation. Scientists have learned a lot about the long-term effects of hunger by studying the Dutch. That work may help to reduce the harm done by modern day famines.