Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-07-16
DOCTOR RISKS LIFE
T0PR0VE A THEORY
Prof. Rosenberger Now Knows
You Can Detect Poisonous
Olives by Odor
DUBS PET MOUSE "MOTHER"

Ripe olives containing deadly poison
can be distinguished from non poison
Gus ripe olives by their odor.
DR.. Randle G. Rosenberger, pro-
fcssor of hygiene and bacteriology at
Jefferson College, believed this and
riskcd his life to prove it.
He is still alive and kicking on the
top floor of the Jefferson College build
ing, at Tenth and Walnut streets.
among his test tubes. milk samples,
microscopes, slides. guinea pigs, white
mice and rabbits.
DR.. Rosenberger did not cat ripe
olives with bad odor to prove that
they would kill him. He ate ripe olives
with pleasantly aromatic odor. and
his loyal assistant ate them, too. to
prove that If an olive smells all right
it will not cause death by poison.
The bactrriologist took q keen inter-
est In the recent case at Greensburg,
Pa. where three persons died nfter
eating ripe olives at dinner party.
He not only obtained some of the olives
taken from the same bottle as those
which killed tho three persons, but he
also got ripe olives from the store at
which the deadly olives were obtained.
How to Tell EN- -.
Here is one of the deadly olives"
said DR.. RoScnbcrgcr. pulling the corl.
from bottle and showing It forward.
The olive and it's liquor gave forth an
odor slightly sharper and more-er
gamey-than roqucfort cheese. The
liquor was clOuded
He had noticed that odor immediately
upon opening the deadly olives. Th"
odOr was absent in the other bottles OF
olives obtained at Greensburg.
DIR. Rosenberg had also noticed this
In previous studies of botulism. Ue
was convinced that olives affected by
the poisonous bacillus could be dis
linguished by the odor.
Three guinea pigs were inoculatcd
with the liquor from the deadly olives.
One was given large quantity. 1t
died in six hours. Another was givcr
u small quantity. through inoculati"n
and it died In twelve hours. Still an .
other was inoculated with the liquor
pig died In forty eight hours.
Bread was soaked iR the liquor and
was fed to both guinea pigs and white
mice.
Did they die, too?" DIR. Rosen
berger was asked.
Hello, Mother"
"No," he saida leading the way to
his menagerie.
Hello, mother" he said, pctting a
mother mouse affectionately on the
nose. "Iou enjoyed the olives, didn';
you?'
He then pulled rabbits ear. spoke
few words to the guinea pigs that had
survived their olive juice dinner, and
returned to his laboratory.
After the three guinea pigs had died
of incubation from the ILL., smelling
eral olives from one of the pleasantly
odored bottles and ate them.
What did your wife say about
thatT' he was asked.
''She didn't know he replied.
AS he worked with his tubes and
retorts DR.. Roscnberger then told OF
the origin of botulism, or bacillus
botulinus.
"Botulism." he said, "was originally
described following poisoning from
meat, especially sausage, and was
known for long time as sausage
poisoning.
II Is uue TO an organism called
bacillus botulinus. That has been
found in most products causing cases
of poisoning. Apart from meats and
sausage. the same train of symptoms
has been found following the eating OF
other foodstuffs, particularly home
canned. vegetables, as beans, corn and
asparagus, and within the last two
years cases have come to our notice
through the eating of ripe olives.
Here's Warning
ANY food that is infected with this
organism gives off rancid, offensive
odor. A person who opens canned or
bottled stuff and detects an untoward.
rancid odor should throw the contents
away, for the simple reason that while
the organism cannot be found, n deadly
poison has been found and a mouse or
guinea pig succumbs to one -millionth
of cubic centimeter of that poison.
This can be demonstrated by the
incubation Of animals and feeding of
animals, as this is one poison that
causes symptoms and death through
the alimentary canal, whereas most
poisons are deadly only through In :
oculating either the skin or blood.
In these recent experiments, while
incubation of these olives caused death
in three guinea pigs. no effect was no /.
tlced in mice and guinea pigs when fed
upon these same olives.
THE symptoms come on in ,,I,
short time after eating food. The pro
nounced symptoms complained of are