Welcome to Brainstuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey brain Stuff, Lauren bog Obam here. If you've ever read or seen a production of Shakespeare's Macbeth, or even if you haven't, you may be familiar with the spooky passage in which the witches are casting a spell filet of funny snake in the cauldron, boil and bake. I have newton, toe of frog, wool of bat and tongue of dog, adder's fork and blind worms, sting lizard's leg and owlet's wing for a charm of powerful trouble like a hell broth.
Boil and bubble. But hold up, I have newt. Of course, Macbeth is a fictional work, but there are certainly people around the world, back then and today who practice witchcraft. Do they really use these types of things? If so, it would seem like some animal rights activists should get involved. I think about all those poor newts and little owl babies. Worry not, however, I have newt is a real thing,
but not literally. All of the ingredients in the witches brew are just old terms for various herbs, flowers, and plants. Some say that people who practice witchcraft gave these flora gross and disturbing names to deter other people from practicing witchcraft.
Here's the list of what's really in Shakespeare's cauldron. I have Newt is mustard seed, toe of frog, buttercup, wool of bat, holly leaves, tongue of dog is hound's tongue, which is a toxic flowering weed whose seeds sometimes contaminated grain stores, adders fork is adders tongue, which is a type of fern. And blind worm. Okay, a blind worm is really an animal. It's a tiny snake with small but functional eyes. So now you can make a witches
brew yourself if you're so inclined. However, we seriously do not recommend actually ingesting it. Some of those ingredients are again toxic. So yes, it turns out that I have newt is just the seeds for a popular hot dog topping. But the classic scene from Macbeth wouldn't be the same if his characters spoke of boiling mustard seeds, buttercups, and
holly leaves. Oh, and about those mustard seeds. In some belief systems, one can use mustard seeds, particularly black mustard seeds, to cast a spell of strife, confusion, discord, and disruption, but other types of mustard seeds have been thought to provide protection for non witches against those who practice witchcraft. One of the legends out of medieval times goes that which is are predisposed to counting and picking up things.
So if you scatter mustard seeds out around your front door, bed, or property, the which will never have time to get to you, as they'll be busy counting those mustard seeds. Today's episode was written by Deborah Branca and produced by Tyler Clang. Brain Stuff is a production of iHeart Radio's
How Stuff Works. For more in this and lots of other topics that will get your cauldron bubbling, visit our home planet, how stuff Works dot com and for more podcast from my heart Radio, visit the heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.