Thursday, August 30, 2007

The enigmatic red mushroom-o'-certain-death

While living in Germany, the Millers became obsessed with the deadly white-spotted red mushroom and all representations thereof. Why? Only Alverna could tell us, and she's sadly unavailable for consultation. Here are two of many photos that refer to the lethal fungi. One is of the 'room itself, taken in the fairy-tale-like forest near Ansbach, West Germany. The second is a truly unpleasant-looking ride at the Frankfurt Zoo. Just get us down, please, Dad! We'll be good, we promise! Alverna always told us never to take a bite of the pretty mushroom because death would be instant and horrible beyond imagining. However, we seem to recall Chris sampling it without blinking an eye, a keen disappointment to his sisters at the time. When we Googled this European mushroom, we found that it's in the family Aminitaceae and is a "powerful psychodelic delirium" fungi. Aha! That explains everything.

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