Scheele's Green

[My Good Babushka]

In 1775 Swedish chemist Carl Scheele made a green pigment with copper arsenite that was used in wallpaper, paint, clothing, and as a food dye. In the 19th century the toxicity of arsenic compounds was not readily known. 19th century journals reported of children wasting away in bright green rooms, and of ladies in green dresses swooning. There is one example of an acute poisoning of children attending a Christmas party where dyed candles were burned. During Napoleon’s exile in St. Helena, he resided in a very luxurious room painted bright green, his favorite color. His cause of death is generally believed to be stomach cancer, and arsenic exposure has been linked to an increased risk of gastric carcinoma. Analysis of his hair samples revealed significant amounts of arsenic.

(pictured: Woman Embroidering by Georg Friedrich Kersting 1817)

[WinkyDink]

1. It is a clue in my favorite Agatha Christie novel, "They Came to Baghdad."