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RE: LD50 of Common Materials - You Can Overdose on Everyday Items
LD50 is an interesting data piece. It can be a huge number for somethings like Valium which has no recorded lethal dose in humans, or incredibly small for something like cyanide. The perception of the average joe of the safety of commonly ingested substances is wildly off base. The amount of mercury in vaccines (before thimerosol was removed) for instance is well below toxic levels, yet you are correct that it is not very difficult to reach a toxic level of caffeine. Thoughtful piece.
When I was looking up LD50s, even though most were done on rats for obvious reasons, Botox came up as the most lethal substance known to man. I think the LD50 was something like a billionth of a gram per kg.
Botox is short for botulinum toxin, so as the name implies, it is a toxic substance. Like a lot of things, though, the dose makes the poison (credit to Paracelcus for this quote BTW, the father of modern toxicology as we know it). Most people are familiar with Botox used for wrinkles, and that is because it works as a neuromuscular deactivator. You can imagine if you gave a large amount of that substance, that once it reaches the heart, lungs, and other required organs, death would be imminent. Apply it strategically, however, and it can be used for many other things. It is used for migraines and neuropathic pain as well.