"Beethoven was full of lead, arsenic and mercury" Topic

"Analysis of authenticated locks clipped from Ludwig von Beethoven's prodigious head of hair as he lay dying has found astronomically high levels of lead, arsenic and mercury. The poisoning was so severe, it may explain the symptoms that plagued him at the end of his life.

Researchers at the Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies at San Jose State University sampled five locks of hair previously confirmed as Beethoven's by DNA analysis and subjected them to poison testing. The owner of three of the locks, Australian businessman and Beethoven afficionado Kevin Brown, sent two locks, one collected between 1820 and 1827, the other in April 1826, to a Mayo Clinic lab where they were tested for the presence of heavy metals…"

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Armand

Who cares he was a genius . If it ended his life early it's a shame but it didn't stop his brilliance.

His 9th Symphony brings tears to my eyes when I listen to it. I believe he wrote that while completely deaf. How? To mentally hear how his written notes on paper would sound is uncanny. Amazing.

(smile)

Armand

Or, to put it another way, as a certified genius, a hinge on which the cultural history of the West turned, what could he have done WITHOUT all that poison in him!?

It boggles my forever boggled mind in the shadow of his greatness.

TVAG