### q1 botulism spores are omnipresent > A few years later, scientists discovered something even more remarkable. The spores that produce these deadly bacteria were almost everywhere. They were found in the soil, on the surface of vegetables, in animal faeces and within riverbeds. They could survive being boiled, being frozen, and cope with highly acidic environments. Thankfully, these spores were also harmless, passing through humans unchanged if ingested. But under the correct conditions, they would turn back into bacteria, producing a deadly neurotoxin. If this toxin was ingested, even in the tiniest quantities imaginable, it would produce a slow paralysis moving down the body, eventually shutting down vital processes like breathing. For anyone unlucky enough to consume it, the survival rate was around 60 - [View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01fn6rhxh1w8gbfq6hs8dw3b2c) - [[Botulism is the World's Deadliest Thing by Anthony Warner#q1 botulism spores are omnipresent|View in Vault]] #xref for [[rorgoten]] and [[2021-06-21 Fungus]]