History Main / BitterAlmonds

* ''Series/MidsomerMurders'': In "The Village That Rose From the Dead", the second victim of the week is murdered by being forced to drink from a cyanide laced flask. Barnaby, Winter and Kam all notice the smell of bitter almonds.

* Film/MissMarple as portrayed by Margaret Rutherford:

* Played straight with Dr. Parish on ''Series/{{Castle}}'' in the episode "Law & Murder". However, she uses more advanced technology than her nose as well.

* ''Hit List'' by Creator/LawrenceBlock. Dot assassinates a woman by swopping one of the chocolates in a tray she offers him with a chocolate she's injected with poison. She has to eat the chocolate she took for appearances and briefly worries that she might be eating the wrong chocolate. There's a nut inside and Dot tells Keller afterwards that as she bit down on it, she tasted bitter almonds even though she didn't use cyanide.

The first, best, and only symptom of cyanide poisoning in television is that it leaves the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanide#Appearance_and_odor smell of bitter almonds]] on the victim. Someone will sniff the body, and announce that [[HesDeadJim they smell bitter almonds]], and therefore the cause of death is cyanide poisoning. Anyone can do this, even people with no medical or law enforcement training recognize the smell of bitter almonds as a sure sign of cyanide poisoning.

One interesting thing about this trope is that [[RealityIsUnrealistic it is self-reinforcing]]; the trope itself has raised public awareness such that it is increasingly likely that even a layperson would recognize the significance of the smell if he or she was physically able to detect it. (However, many laypeople, if not most, don't understand the difference between bitter and sweet almonds.)

!!'''As a DeathTrope, all Spoilers will be unmarked ahead. Beware.'''

* In ''Fanfic/TheRenegades'', Larxene tries to buy cyanide while staying in London[[note]]Specifically ''Victorian'' London, due to the [[Franchise/KingdomHearts parent franchise]]'s [[WesternAnimation/PeterPan source material]], where poisons of all kinds were freely available[[/note]], but Zexion convinces the druggist to lie and give her almond oil instead. Later, after the Nobodies have been kicked out of the hotel, the remaining guests are all pleasantly surprised by the almond-flavored porridge they're given for breakfast the next morning.

* Chemistry [=YouTuber=] [=NileRed=] [[DiscussedTrope explored this idea]] in the video "[[https://youtu.be/WYagO-nup6c Does cyanide actually smell like almonds?]]". The conclusion he came to was that the claim [[RealityIsUnrealistic is actually quite misleading]] -- cyanide gas smells nothing like ordinary sweet almonds that most people think of, but they do taste like ''bitter'' almonds (which are not safe for consumption due to themselves containing hydrocyanic acid, which to the human body ''is'' cyanide), and both smell more like chlorinated swimming pool water. He argues that [[JustForFun/TelevisionIsTryingToKillUs the perpetuation of this trope is actually quite dangerous]], as not only is it inaccurate, it implicitly encourages people to try and ''[[SchmuckBait smell cyanide]]''.

** ** In "A Murder in Portrait", Jack comments on the strong smell of almonds on the VictimOfTheWeek and immediately comes to the conclusion that she was poisoned with cyanide. Which, while true, also turns out to be a RedHerring.

-->-- '''Music/{{Genesis}}''', "Broadway Melody of 1974".

* Referenced in Music/{{Genesis}}'s "Broadway Melody of 1974", from ''Music/TheLambLiesDownOnBroadway'':

* In ''Fanfic/TheRenegades'', Larxene tries to buy cyanide while staying in London, but Zexion convinces the druggist to lie and give her almond oil instead. Later, after the Nobodies have been kicked out of the hotel, the remaining guests are all pleasantly surprised by the almond-flavored porridge they're given for breakfast the next morning.

* Music/TheLegendaryPinkDot's "Lisa's Party," where the titular hostess cleverly conceals the poison in her baking.

* Chemistry [=YouTuber=] [=NileRed=] [[DiscussedTrope explored this idea]] in the video "[[https://youtu.be/WYagO-nup6c Does cyanide actually smell like almonds?]]". The conclusion he came to was that the claim [[RealityIsUnrealistic is actually quite misleading]] -- cyanide gas smells nothing like ordinary sweet almonds that most people think of, but they do taste like ''bitter'' almonds (which are not safe for consumption due to themselves containing hydrocyanic acid, which to the human body ''is'' cyanide), and both smell more like chlorinated swimming pool water.

** ''Literature/TheBigSleep'', wherein a side character is poisoned with cyanide in whisky and dies in the span of a single page. Notably, Marlowe calls the cyanide not because of the smell -- which is noted -- but because the victim vomited.