[Gllug] ist that right that the Oyster card got RFID on it?

[Richard Jones]

On Thu, Jan 18, 2007 at 03:39:57PM +0000, t.clarke wrote:
> I was under the impression that only the green bits of potatoes were poisonous:)
> Admitedly though even if not poisonous, potatoes would be pretty horrible
> eaten raw!

No.  The green stuff in potatoes which have been exposed to the light
is just chlorophyll.  This develops in potatoes just because you've
left them in sunlight.

There are some poisonous alkaloids in potatoes (in small quantities
they contribute to the taste, in large quantities they can cause all
sorts of nasty problems, up to and including death).  The quantity of
the alkaloids in potatoes is crucial, and depends on how they are
handled.  Since the alkaloids are not visible there is no way of
knowing just by looking how much is present.

Now, on to the common belief that green == poison.  One of the ways to
develop high levels of alkaloids is bad growing or handling, another
is exposure to light.  So potatoes go green when exposed to light, and
this also causes them to develop higher levels of alkaloids (although,
it must be said, very unlikely to kill you), thus going green is an
indicator that you should throw the potatoes away.

Now how do you _really_ tell if there are high levels of alkaloids?
Bitterness: the alkaloids have a bitter taste, so if you eat some
potatoes and they taste unusually bitter, throw the rest away.

(Cooking doesn't do anything to the alkaloids BTW.)

> Rhubarb on he other hand is I believe very nasty if eaten raw !

Rhubarb leaves contain high levels of some chemicals which can be
poisonous (even cooked), but then the stems which you eat also contain
some nasties, though not quite as much.  I eat tons of rhubard --
absolutely love the stuff -- and it ain't killed me yet :-)

Rich.

-- 
Richard Jones
Red Hat UK Limited
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