Harry Potter and the Bizarre Bezoar

Warner Bros. Studio

Any wizard or witch worth his or her weight their salt knows that if their friend has just been poisoned by a potion the best thing in the world you can do for them is to shove a bezoar down their throat.  For heaven's sake even first years at the world-renowned Hogwarts School of Witchcraft of Wizardry know that.  Of course, the only reason that I, as a non-magical person (muggle) know this is thanks to J.K. Rowling's fascinating seven-part biography of one of the Wizarding World's most honored figures, Harry Potter.

Sound advice.

What you may not know is that muggles utilized bezoars in attempting to cure poisons back in the Middle Ages.  In fact the word "bezoar" is Persian and translates to "antidote".  The stones are formed when material that cannot be digested collects in the digestive tract, most commonly these materials are plant fibers and hairs.  These were often obtained from goats, llamas and antelope.  

"No, you may not cut me open for my turd stones!  What's wrong with you?!"

Unfortunately some jerk named Ambroise Pare ruined bezoars for muggles everywhere when, in 1575 he "proved" that the turd-stones people had been ingesting to cure themselves were not able to cure all poisons as most people believed.  He tried curing a condemened man who had been poisoned by giving him a bezoar.  The man died, and his death was a vital blow to the reputation of bezoars.  Of course we don't know what poison the man had been given.  The only thing bezoars cannot cure is basilisk poison.  

If you asked me the whole thing seems suspicious.  I'm betting Pare was a wizard who was not fond of muggles (he lived during a time when witches and wizards were heavily persecuted) and so he sought out to convince them that bezoars were useless, thus enabling wizards and witches to poison muggles without any trouble.  It's a conspiracy.  Get informed.

Seriously, this guy just looks like a psychopathic, genocidal dark wizard maniac. 

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