F*ck, Marry, Kill: Aqua Tofana, The Original Husband Poison

This week, we’re talking Giulia Tofana and the infamous Aqua Tofana — the legendary 17th-century poison rumored to be colorless, tasteless, and almost impossible to detect. We break down the history, the myths, and why this story still fascinates people today, especially its ties to women secretly poisoning abusive husbands in a time when divorce wasn’t an option.Plus, because it’s us, we’re playing Fuck, Marry, Kill inspired by the episode.If you love dark history, true crime legends, and chaotic commentary, this one’s for you.SOURCES: Griffiths, Arthur. “Female Criminals.” The North American Review 161, no. 465 (1895): 141–52. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25103561.Review of Inorganic Poisons, by Paul Dittrich, Franz Erben, and R. v. Jaksch. The British Medical Journal 2, no. 2556 (1909): 1802–3. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25289004.Johann Wilhelm Archenholz recounted the story of “Aqua Tofana” in his travel narrative England und Italien (1785)https://www.folger.edu/blogs/shakespeare-and-beyond/women-and-early-modern-poison/Dash, Mike. “Aqua Tofana,” n.d.From the greater book “Toxicology in the Middle Ages and Renaissance”Ferraro, Joanne M. “The Power to Decide: Battered Wives in Early Modern Venice.” Renaissance Quarterly 48, no. 3 (1995): 492–512. https://doi.org/10.2307/2862872.Monson, Craig A. The Black Widows of the Eternal City: The True Story of Rome’s Most Infamous Poisoners. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2020. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.