Did Lincoln Suffer From Mercury Poisoning? (Poll)

Did Lincoln Suffer From Mercury Poisoning?

  • Yes

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • No

    Votes: 8 72.7%
  • Don't Know

    Votes: 3 27.3%

  • Total voters
    11
Based on the evidence in the article, I'm going to have to say no. The argument is quite weak, and the fact that his anger problems subsided promptly when taking the pills tell me it was something other than the mercury that was the problem. Mercury does eventually leave your system, but not very fast. Stopping wouldn't lead to a marked improvement for some time.
The wiki for mercury poisoning suggests a half life (IE half of the total quantity leaves the system) of 27.4 years

Plus, he apparently kept taking them.
From the wikipedia page for Blue Mass
There is, however, evidence that Lincoln continued to take blue mass. An interview given by his wife Mary Todd Lincoln to a correspondent from the Pittsburgh Chronicle suggests that Lincoln continued his use of the medication, despite his earlier statements to the contrary. In the interview Mrs. Lincoln described an instance in which her husband’s “usual medicine,” the mercury based “blue pills” made him terribly ill. Mrs. Lincoln “recalled the fact that her husband had been very ill, for several days, from the effects of a dose of blue pills taken shortly before his second inauguration.”

The page for Blue Mass has a specific section for "Use by Abraham Lincoln"
 
Yes, it's a silly article, I'm sorry, please do not be offended gem- nothing to do with you. Using loaded, subjective words like ' erratic behavior ' , describing the tail end of an incident we're told only the climax of is both misleading and manipulative. It's possible the guy needed a good shaking- we're not told what led up to it. It's just tough to take the whole thing seriously when you feel manipulated, you know?
 
We tend to forget Lincoln was a formidably strong guy? Ever pick up one of those ax's he used, much less swing it? It's a good thing he was so even tempered, goodness- quite a few smug, snarky and soft-around-the-middle politicians could have found themselves upside down in a bucket. He didn't lose it- one of the Lincoln experts would have to weigh in on what year he found himself in proximity with one of those long handled axes and performed some outrageous feat involving strength and dexterity saying " I just wanted to see if I could still do it ".

Suffering from mercury, or any poison, no.
 
Back
Top