The Great American Trivia Quiz Book Quotes

“10. For a long time, tomatoes were considered a poisonous fruit; a surgeon, John Gerard, deemed them poisonous because they contained very small amounts of the toxin called tomatine. Additionally, the fruit was red and considered to be “sinful” because of its aphrodisiac properties. In 1820, tomatoes were put on trial in the town’s courthouse in Salem, New Jersey. Colonel Robert Gibbon Johnson ate an entire basketful of tomatoes in front of the crowd. After the crowd observed that he was fine, the tomato’s reputation as being toxic ceased and it became a popular item to be grown in every garden.”
― Bill O'Neill, The Great American Trivia Quiz Book: An All-American Trivia Book to Test Your General Knowledge!