I thought that "ptomaine" had probably been discussed before but when I searched for it I got no results. What started this is that every Sunday morning I listen to and write down the NPR Quiz which comes on at 8:40 EDT. I then call my son-in-law and daughter and give it to them. The puzzle was to fine a "L" word for the first blank and change the "L" sound to a "T" sound to get the word for the second blank. The sentence was: By eating ____ in a Chinese restaurant you are not likely to get _____ poisoning.

When my literate son-in-law guessed at lomein and was then stumped I was surprised and when my BSRN daughter also had not heard of "ptomaine" I was really surprised. I called others, the general result was those over 55 regarded the question "Have you heard of ptomaine poisoning" as absurd, of course, they have heard of it. While those under 45 including my personal physician drew a complete blank.