In article >,
"Default User" > wrote:

> Kenneth wrote:
>
> > On Wed, 02 Nov 2005 16:19:25 -0600, OmManiPadmeOmelet
> > > wrote:
> >
> > > Wolf Peaches are now known as "Tomatoes".
> > >
> > > They were once thought to be deady poison since the leaves and
> > > roots are. ;-)
> >
> > and the awareness that they were not is (historically) very
> > recent. I had seen a newspaper article that explained that
> > some fellow was going to eat an entire tomato on the steps
> > of a Massachusetts city hall, and IIRC the date was
> > something like 1840...!
>
> Colonel Robert Gibbon Johnson, as the legend goes. It's not clear
> whether it really happened or not, probably a made-up story.
>
> Italian, Spanish and French cooks were using tomatoes in cuisine for a
> long time before that. Jefferson grew and ate them in the late 18th
> Century, and had them served at Presidential dinners. At some times,
> some people believed them to be poisonous. This was more prevalent in
> the US.
>
>
>
> Brian

Decided to do some googling on it just for grins.
Interesting stuff:

http://tinyurl.com/bsmd7

http://www.13labs.com/garden/archives/000174.html

http://anecdotage.com/index.php?aid=1249

Lots more on Google about the supposed toxicity of this wonderful fruit.
;-) Fun reading from an historical (and hysterical) viewpoint!
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch." -Jack Nicholson