As long as there has been a Joker — and we ’re run on eighty years with this cat — there has been , as well , a Joker venom . It debuted alongside him , in 1940s Batman # 1 , and has been a part of his arsenal ever since .
Though its side effect have alter over the years , it has rest in each iteration a gruesomely unpleasant murder dick ( or non - fatal face - mutilate instrument , as the instance may be ) . The uncontrollable laugh ’s not so bad , but the rapid shutdown of all heart and mind function is , I ’d argue , extremely bad . Worst of all , though , is going to the grave with that iconically hideous smiling .
But could such a toxin actually exist ? No exclusive one of its upshot would seem impossible to reproduce in isolation , but a venom with all or most of them is a different question — one which forms the fundament of this week’sGiz Asks , for which we reached out to a number of experts on the depicted object of spitefulness .
Christie Wilcox
I guess the answer is , “ it depends . ”
It ’s theoretically possible to cause random laugh fits , because that ’s one of the symptoms of a disease called Kuru ( kind of like Mad moo-cow ) . The disease is do by a misfolded protein ( a prion ) that people can get into their bodies when they consume tissues laden with it … which , in the pillowcase of Kuru , was discovered because of cannibalistic tradition . The prion induces properly - folded versions of itself to misfold , and the accumulation of these “ forged ” proteins go to nous lesions that can cause neurological symptom like express joy fit .
So you could , theoretically , create a potable liquid or an injectable with such toxin that would induce laughing convulsion by cause wit damage . That brain damage is irreversible , so it is eventually lethal , too . Of course , the creation of these lesions use up time — years , even ten , in cases of Kuru — so it would n’t be the instant onset of express joy convulsion . You might be able-bodied to engineer a prion or something else that solve faster , though . Maybe . I do n’t think anyone has try out , of course of action .
There are also outlaw drugs which induce euphoria , which could potentially make someone laugh . Though it would n’t be forced , uncontrolled laughter like with brain damage so much as utmost delight and happiness , which might sometimes or ofttimes present as laughing fits . It would likely be hard to make a drug that was targeted enough to cause such euphory almost instantly without throwing off the remainder of the body and encephalon ( thereby kill the victim before they get to the well-chosen , giggly station ) . So I ’d say it ’s potential , but probably really improbable , that a “ laughing drug ” which reliably induced laughing followed by paralysis could be develop .
So , in scant : It might be possible to create a chemical substance cocktail that prepare hoi polloi express mirth uncontrollably and die , or one that get to them really happy and giggly and then die , or simply snuff it really quickly from rigid paralysis . But the characteristic turkey brass in death is unconvincing .
Oh , and none of this could be done in a closet by mixing cleanup chemical . This would be serious architect lab stuff , plausibly be a fortune to make , and probably call for especial warehousing and treatment .
Jamie Seymour
Assoc . Professor , Australian Institute for Tropical Health and Medicine
There is no venomous brute on the planet that could do [ everything the Joker Venom does ] . Having said that , there are component part of dissimilar animal venoms in the animal kingdom that could , in combination . My understanding of the Joker is that he ’s quite a smart pharmacist , so it would be potential to extract the constituent from those venoms and put them all together .
If you were wait for a component of a venom that caused cardiac dead end very quickly , you could get that from boxed in jellyfish venom . A large quantity of of boxed jellyfish venom , in a man , would get cardiac standstill within second . And if you adulterate it , it could take minutes , depend on what you wanted to do with it .
If you were await for a muscular contraction of facial muscles , the Cone escargot ’s venom does just that .
exclude the mental capacity down is a little piece more hard , because of the blood line - brain barrier . To make that find , you ’d have to inject the venom directly into the fundamental flighty scheme . But there is a wasp that does that . Basically , it put in the spitefulness into the primal nervous system , and it give way straight to the mentality . So it has to go in through the spinal chromatography column , or the psyche itself .
But , if you need to stimulate paralysis of the anxious system , that ’s quite simple . There are a variety of animals that do that . One of those is the Blue - ringed octopus , whose entire venom is point at causing nervous pulse rate surcease . Someone that ’s bite by one of those animal is wholly animated , but they ca n’t move any of their voluntary muscles .
So : if you were to mix the toxin from a boxed jellyfish , the toxin from a Cone snail , and the toxin from a Blue - ringed devilfish , then you would induce cardiac standstill almost instantaneously , you would cause all the muscles in the face and body to squeeze , and you would cause all nervous surcease to stop over throughout the body . Eminently doable !
If a toxin is injected — if you ’re bitten , or stung — it ’s a spite . If the toxin is ingested or inhaled , it ’s a toxicant . Botulinum , which is a poison , have contraction of muscles , and that could be [ made into ] a gas — but it would n’t do cardiac standstill . I do n’t know of any consume poison or ingested toxin that would get cardiac stalemate in a curt period of sentence . They just do n’t work that way .
Ian Haydon
Ph.D. Student in Biological Physics , Structure , and Design at the University of Washington
alas , people have already concocted chemical compound at least as horrible as the Joker ’s malice . And yes , the Nazis are involve .
In the 1930s , a German apothecary named Gerhard Schrader was trying to invent a new variety of pesticide . He claims he wanted to end world hunger . In the process , he stumble on a class of phosphorous - contain compounds so nightmarishly lethal that the Nazis — who he work for — turn away to deploy it . Schrader is now known as the “ Father of the Church of nerve agent , ” having boosted the perniciousness and deliverability of his compound .
He was n’t the only one . scientist in the UK and Russia eventually tried their work force at these benighted artwork , raise some of the most toxic chemicals the world has ever seen . Even brief exposure to firm nerve agent , by atmosphere or by skin , can lead to excruciating whole - trunk muscle compression and death by asphyxiation within minute . And despite being ostracize everywhere on Earth , we ’ve seen the Syrian and North Korea political science expend boldness agents during the Obama class .
Do you have a question forGiz ask ? Email us at[email protect ] .
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