1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:02,000 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:11,119 Speaker 1: Heart Radio, Hello and Welcomed. This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:11,480 --> 00:00:14,160 Speaker 1: a show that shines a light on the ups and 4 00:00:14,360 --> 00:00:19,759 Speaker 1: downs of everyday history. I'm Gay, Bluesier, and today we're 5 00:00:19,800 --> 00:00:24,960 Speaker 1: revisiting the time when poison tainted medication claimed multiple lives 6 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:38,920 Speaker 1: in Illinois and ignited a nationwide panic. The day was 7 00:00:38,960 --> 00:00:46,320 Speaker 1: September nine. Four people in the Greater Chicago area died 8 00:00:46,680 --> 00:00:51,200 Speaker 1: after unknowingly ingesting thailan All that had been laced with cyanide. 9 00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:56,240 Speaker 1: Over the next few days, three more deaths occurred under 10 00:00:56,280 --> 00:01:01,040 Speaker 1: the same mysterious circumstances. The track and he terrified the 11 00:01:01,240 --> 00:01:05,640 Speaker 1: entire nation and ultimately changed the way non prescription medications 12 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:09,960 Speaker 1: were sold. The first victim of the tainted thailan All 13 00:01:10,400 --> 00:01:14,280 Speaker 1: was a twelve year old girl named Mary Kellerman. In 14 00:01:14,319 --> 00:01:18,000 Speaker 1: the early morning of September twenty nine, she awoke with 15 00:01:18,080 --> 00:01:21,400 Speaker 1: a sore throat and runny nose, so her parents gave 16 00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:25,920 Speaker 1: her one capsule of extra strength thailan All, which unbeknownst 17 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:29,720 Speaker 1: to them, had been laced with a lethal dose of cyanide. 18 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:34,440 Speaker 1: The poison took effect quickly, and by seven am, Mary 19 00:01:34,600 --> 00:01:38,600 Speaker 1: was dead. Later that day, a twenty seven year old 20 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:42,920 Speaker 1: postal worker named Adam Janis died of what also turned 21 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:47,440 Speaker 1: out to be cyanide poisoning. His brother, Stanley and sister 22 00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:51,280 Speaker 1: in law Teresa, came to his house to console his family. 23 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:55,960 Speaker 1: The stress of losing a loved one so unexpectedly had 24 00:01:56,040 --> 00:02:00,360 Speaker 1: left both of them with severe headaches, so they each 25 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:04,640 Speaker 1: took a thailan All capsule from the same bottle as Adam. 26 00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:08,600 Speaker 1: Stanley died later that day and Teresa two days later. 27 00:02:09,760 --> 00:02:13,320 Speaker 1: Before the week was out, the poison capsules had claimed 28 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:18,200 Speaker 1: the lives of three more people, Mary McFarland, Paula Prince, 29 00:02:18,680 --> 00:02:22,079 Speaker 1: and Mary Weiner, all of whom had taken thailan All 30 00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:26,880 Speaker 1: shortly before they died. By this time in early October, 31 00:02:27,480 --> 00:02:31,760 Speaker 1: investigators had identified thailan All as the common link between 32 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:36,280 Speaker 1: the poisoning deaths. This prompted a swift response from Johnson 33 00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:40,680 Speaker 1: and Johnson, the parent company of McNeil Consumer Products, which 34 00:02:40,720 --> 00:02:45,080 Speaker 1: manufactured thailan All. The company removed its commercials from the 35 00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:48,160 Speaker 1: airwaves and worked hand in hand with the media to 36 00:02:48,280 --> 00:02:52,120 Speaker 1: issue mass warnings to the public. It also ordered an 37 00:02:52,120 --> 00:02:56,760 Speaker 1: immediate nationwide recall of more than thirty one million bottles 38 00:02:56,800 --> 00:03:00,640 Speaker 1: of thailan all. Despite the fact that the only taminated 39 00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:04,960 Speaker 1: capsules had been found in Illinois, the public danger had 40 00:03:04,960 --> 00:03:08,480 Speaker 1: been mitigated, but how the poison got into the capsules 41 00:03:08,520 --> 00:03:12,400 Speaker 1: in the first place was still a mystery. Johnson and 42 00:03:12,520 --> 00:03:16,520 Speaker 1: Johnson quickly confirmed that the cyanide had been added after 43 00:03:16,720 --> 00:03:20,360 Speaker 1: the product had left its factory. This led police to 44 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:24,760 Speaker 1: hypothesize that someone had taken bottles off store shelves in 45 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:28,799 Speaker 1: the Chicago area, laced the capsules with poison, and then 46 00:03:28,840 --> 00:03:34,760 Speaker 1: returned the bottles to shelves for unsuspecting strangers to buy. Unfortunately, 47 00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:38,800 Speaker 1: with little evidence to go on, the person responsible for 48 00:03:38,840 --> 00:03:45,000 Speaker 1: these murders was never found. Several copycat poisonings involving similar 49 00:03:45,040 --> 00:03:49,080 Speaker 1: products occurred now and then throughout the nineteen eighties and 50 00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:53,960 Speaker 1: early nineteen nineties, but thankfully, these incidents were far less 51 00:03:54,040 --> 00:03:58,120 Speaker 1: deadly than what had happened in two This was thanks 52 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:01,640 Speaker 1: in part to a series of crucial changes that helped 53 00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:05,920 Speaker 1: make over the counter medications safer and less prone to tampering. 54 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:11,040 Speaker 1: For instance, just six weeks after the Chicago area crisis, 55 00:04:11,560 --> 00:04:15,560 Speaker 1: Johnson and Johnson unveiled a new bottle design featuring many 56 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:19,159 Speaker 1: of the safety elements were familiar with today, including a 57 00:04:19,240 --> 00:04:22,800 Speaker 1: child proof cap, a foil seal, and a lot of 58 00:04:22,839 --> 00:04:27,680 Speaker 1: cotton stuffed between the lid and the capsules. At first, 59 00:04:27,720 --> 00:04:32,160 Speaker 1: these changes did little to soothe the public's anxiety. Before 60 00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:35,560 Speaker 1: the murders, thailan All was the best selling non prescription 61 00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:39,560 Speaker 1: pain reliever in the United States, with control of thirty 62 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:43,280 Speaker 1: five percent of the market. Just a few weeks after 63 00:04:43,360 --> 00:04:46,920 Speaker 1: the first deaths were reported. That number sank to less 64 00:04:46,920 --> 00:04:51,240 Speaker 1: than eight percent. Over time, though thailand All's one hundred 65 00:04:51,360 --> 00:04:56,080 Speaker 1: million dollar investment in new safety features paid off by 66 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:01,159 Speaker 1: the brand was America's pain reliever of choice once again. 67 00:05:02,160 --> 00:05:06,440 Speaker 1: That same year, Congress passed the so called thailand All Bill, 68 00:05:06,839 --> 00:05:10,600 Speaker 1: which made it a federal crime to tamper with consumer products. 69 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:17,440 Speaker 1: Six years later, in the f d A established manufacturing 70 00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:22,119 Speaker 1: guidelines to make all over the counter medications tamper proof. 71 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:26,880 Speaker 1: I'm Gabe Lousier and hopefully you now know a little 72 00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:31,200 Speaker 1: more about history today than you did yesterday. If you 73 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:34,760 Speaker 1: liked what you heard, why not follow us on Twitter, Facebook, 74 00:05:34,800 --> 00:05:38,760 Speaker 1: and Instagram at t d i h C Show And 75 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:40,880 Speaker 1: if you have any feedback for the show, you can 76 00:05:40,960 --> 00:05:43,520 Speaker 1: send it my way at this day at i heeart 77 00:05:43,600 --> 00:05:48,000 Speaker 1: media dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays for producing the show, 78 00:05:48,360 --> 00:05:50,720 Speaker 1: and thank you for listening. I'll see you back here 79 00:05:50,720 --> 00:06:03,039 Speaker 1: again tomorrow for another day in history class. Yeah. For 80 00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:05,800 Speaker 1: more podcasts from i Heeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, 81 00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:08,440 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.