Surprising Science — September 10, 2015

The Time an Entire Conference of Homeopaths Poisoned Themselves With Hallucinogenic Drugs

It took a 160-strong response team of paramedics, firefighters, and rescue workers to get the chaotic scene under control.

Simon Oxenham

The most surprising and impactful new stories delivered to your inbox every week, for free.

An astounding event occurred in Germany in September 2015, when 29 participants at a conference of homeopaths and alternative medicine practitioners were hospitalised after overdosing on a psychedelic drug believed to be 2C-E. The attendees were rushed to a hospital with many suffering delusions; five were treated in intensive care.

30 Menschen kaum ansprechbar: #Massenvergiftung in Tagungszentrum #Handeloh-Inzmühlen http://t.co/SAraM2r0St pic.twitter.com/XmjfU99ZQO

— BILD Hamburg (@BILD_Hamburg) September 4, 2015

The most surprising and impactful new stories delivered to your inbox every week, for free.

The image features the phrase "an excerpt from" on a red background next to the book cover of "Playful" by Cas Holman with Lydia Denworth, highlighting insights from play research.

Books

More than a game: How play helps wire our social brains

In this excerpt from “Playful,” Cas Holman surveys the research that brought the neuroscience of play into the mainstream.

A close-up of a spotted nudibranch with translucent, pointed cerata on a brown underwater branch against a black background, inviting reflection on the intricate nature of consciousness in marine life.

Books

What sea slugs can teach us about the nature of consciousness

In this excerpt from “One Hand Clapping,” Nikolay Kukushkin makes the case that neurons reveal how memory, meaning, and even consciousness emerge from the same biological roots in humans, sea slugs, and beyond.