History Main / BitterAlmonds

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bitter_almonds.jpg]]

* Chemical weapons training in the U.S. Army includes the warning sign that certain chemical weapons (phosgene) smell like "new mown hay", which can be confusing to people born and raised in urbanized areas.

Bitter almonds [[ShapedLikeItself smell like cyanide because they contain cyanide]], but sweet almonds smell primarily of benzaldehyde, which most people associate with the aroma of cherries... almond and cherry flavoring extracts rather famously smell nearly identical (mainly because almond is actually a close relative of cherries, peaches and apricots). All these aromas are mainly caused by a glicoside called amygdalin (from the Greek "Amygdalon", "almond"), which in broken seeds of the prune family fruits, imcluding the almonds is enzymatically dissociated to the aforementioned benzaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide — whose smells are, curiously, quite similar.

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.)

Bitter almonds [[ShapedLikeItself smell like cyanide because they contain cyanide]], but sweet almonds smell primarily of benzaldehyde, which most people associate with the aroma of cherries... almond and cherry flavoring extracts rather famously smell nearly identical (mainly because almond is actually a close relative of cherries, peaches and apricots). All these aromas are mainly caused by a glicoside called amygdalin (from the Greek "Amygdalon", "almond"), which in broken seeds of the prune family fruits, imcluding the almonds is enzymatically dissociated to the aforementioned benzaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide -- whose smells are, curiously, quite similar.

[[folder:Fan Works]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

* In ''Series/DoctorWho'', "The Unicorn and the Wasp", the Doctor is poisoned and Creator/AgathaChristie identifies the poison as cyanide this way (and {{Title Drop}}s her book ''Sparkling Cyanide'', as part of a RunningGag). Arguably justified; having worked in an army hospital pharmacy full of drugs and poisons during the First World War, she was likely quite familiar with the smell.

* In an episode of ''Series/TheManFromUNCLE'', as part of a counterintelligence scam, Ilya fakes his suicide by drinking "cyanide", leaving behind the scent of bitter almonds on his "corpse".
* On ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' Abby is almost poisoned in her lab by a piece of evidence from a crime scene that is tainted with cyanide. She can smell the bitter almond; [=McGee=] can't, but once she mentions cyanide he drags her out of the lab. The crime scene was actually faked and the tainted evidence planted in an attempt to kill Abby, who is a forensics witness in a trial taking place during the episode.[[note]]To be precise, it is cocaine tainted with a cyanide salt ([=NaCN=]) that releases gaseous cyanide when combined with cobalt thiocyanate (a standard [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cobalt_thiocyanate_test test for cocaine]]).[[/note]] For all its frequent research screw-ups, NCIS seemingly got the Chemistry right that time.
* In the ''Series/PushingDaisies'' episode "Bitches", a character mistakes cyanide for spoiled almond-flavored cream in his coffee.

* Used to identify a poisoning attempt on Pete Thorton, by the eponymous hero of ''Series/MacGyver1985'', who then [[MacGyvering made use of chemicals from a nearby photography store to create an antidote]].
* The ''Series/{{Hustle}}'' episode "Whittaker Our Way Out" contains a {{subver|tedTrope}}sion. Mickey smells almonds (presumably sweet) on fellow conman JW3 who is supposed to be FakingTheDead which causes him to abandon the proceeds of the con and clear the team out of the building, believing the man actually dead and the police on their way. It's only after Mickey notices another, [[ConvictionByContradiction much less relevant discrepancy]] that he realizes that JW3 is alive and absconding with the money.
* In the season 2 ''Series/{{Andromeda}}'' episode "In Heaven Now Are Three", Dylan recognizes an incense burner as a [[DeadlyGas cyanide]] [[DeathTrap death trap]] due to its smell.
* Played straight with Dr. Parish on ''Series/{{Castle}}'' in the episode "Law & Murder". However, she uses more advanced technology than her nose as well.
* ''Series/DocMartin'': Not actually cyanide, but Martin manages to identify the smell of Copper Arsenite, which is giving a patient of the week Arsenic poisoning via a (unintentional) Napoleon's Wallpaper plot.
* ''Series/DiagnosisMurder'' has an episode where Mark identifies a glass of wine as being laced with cyanide by its aroma of almonds.
* ''Series/WhodunnitUK'': In "Dead Ball", the detective detects the smell of bitter almonds on the lips of the VictimOfTheWeek and declares him a victim of cyanide poisoning.
* ''Series/TheGlades'': In "Exposed", Carlos identifies that the victims have been poisoned with cyanide by the smell of almonds on their breath. Oddly, either the character or the actor says that he detects the smell of "burnt almonds" rather than "bitter".

* ''Series/MidsomerMurders'': In "The Town 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.
* ''Series/DeathInParadise'': In "One for the Road", Humphrey smells bitter almonds on the murdered governor and announces she has been poisoned with cyanide.

[[folder:Theater]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* On ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' Abby is almost poisoned in her lab by a piece of evidence from a crime scene that is tainted with cyanide. She can smell the bitter almond; [=McGee=] can't, but once she mentions cyanide he drags her out of the lab. The crime scene was actually faked and the tainted evidence planted in an attempt to kill Abby, who is a forensics witness in a trial taking place during the episode.[[note]]To be precise, it is cocaine tainted with a cyanide salt (NaCN) that releases gaseous cyanide when combined with cobalt thiocyanate (a standard [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cobalt_thiocyanate_test test for cocaine.]])[[/note]]. For all its frequent research screw-ups, NCIS seemingly got the Chemistry right that time.

* Creator/AgathaChristie (maybe the tropemaker) herself uses this.

* In the film ''Film/TheLittleGirlWhoLivesDownTheLane'' Rynn describes a substance that her dying father had given her to put in her mother's tea if she ever came around trying to meddle to "calm her down". It turns out to be cyanide, and it kills her, but while drinking the tea she commented that it tasted of almonds. This is the clue in the final scene between Rynn and her lecherous neighbor as to which one truly received the poisoned cup of tea.

* An alien version occurs in ''WesternAnimation/MenInBlack: The Series''. Jay, disguised as an alien bodyguard, tests a meal which he describes as tasting of cashews. Kay is quick to inform him that such a taste is indicative of alien poison. Jay is quick to freak out... until Kay adds that it doesn't affect humans.

* How Holmes identifies the toxic gas generator in the 2009 ''Film/SherlockHolmes'' film.

* Creator/AgathaChristie (maybe the tropemaker) herself uses this. Having worked in an army hospital pharmacy full of drugs and poisons during the First World War, she likely knew the smell quite well.

* In ''Series/DoctorWho'', "The Unicorn and the Wasp", the Doctor is poisoned and Creator/AgathaChristie identifies the poison as cyanide this way (and {{Title Drop}}s her book ''Sparkling Cyanide'', as part of a RunningGag).

* Creator/AgathaChristie (maybe the tropemaker) herself uses this.

* Used to identify a poisoning attempt on Pete Thorton, by the titular hero of ''Series/MacGyver'', who then [[MacGyvering made use of chemicals from a nearby photography store to create an antidote]].

* In a variant, vampire Jack Fleming of is injected with cyanide in ''[[TheVampireFiles A Chill In The Blood]]'', and Doc identifies the poison by smelling the needle. He doesn't specify what it smelled like, but Jack's undead metabolism lets him sweat blood until it's all out of his system, and the ''blood-sweat'' is described as smelling like almonds mixed with rust and raw meat (ick).

* Bitter ''apricot kernels'' (almonds and apricots are both in the ''Prunus'' genus and of the ''Rosaceae'' (rose) family) are sold as [[PolishTheTurd "organic, raw, and gluten free health food"]] and made claim that they are [[BlatantLies cancer fighters]] with their Vitamin [=B17=]. "[=B17=]" is in fact Amygdalin, a molecule that is digested and put through a process that results in Benzaldehyde (the source for the almond-smell) and hydrogen cyanide which, if taken in a large enough oral dosage, can be lethal. Apricots have a whopping 8% Amygdalin while bitter almonds have 5%, and people eat this snake oil up any way they can. [[ExactWords Technically, you can't die of cancer if you die of cyanide poisoning]].

->''"The cheerleader waves her cyanide wand''
->''There's a smell of peach blossom and bitter almond..."''

!!Examples

--->'''Conan:''' The almond scent is the smell of gas that results from the potassium cyanide reacting with the acid from her gastric fluids!! If you breathe in too much of it, you'll die!!
--->'''Everybody Else:''' [[VisibleSilence ...]]
--->'''Conan:''' <{{Sweatdrop}}> At least, [[ObfuscatingStupidity that's what they said in the detective drama]]...

** Earlier in the manga when there is a murder in school play Heiji points out other symptoms of cyanide poisoning and in the end the smell of almond without even being close enough to the corpse to really smell it.

* One episode of ''Manga/{{Golgo 13}}'' plays with this. Golgo's targets smell almonds in the air, and assume he has put cyanide gas in the ventilation system. It was actually just a harmless almond-scented spray, which he used so that his targets would flee the secured room they were hiding in for the dubious safety of an area with fresh air that he had a clear line of fire to.

* Subverted in a ''Comicbook/SpiderMan'' [[http://cdn-i.dmdentertainment.com/cracked/wong/chameleon1.jpg comic]] in which Aunt May bakes some cookies for the Chameleon, who disguised himself as Peter and planned to kill her. He mentions how he loves the slight almond taste, and Aunt May tells him that it came from the poison she laced them with since she figured out that he was an impostor. After Spidey comes to the rescue a tad too late and finds the Chamelon unconscious, Aunt May reveals that she only mixed sleeping pills in them and that [[BewareTheNiceOnes she added almond extract just to screw with him]]. Strangely, the poison she claimed was in the cookies was arsenic, not cyanide. [[FanWank Maybe she didn't know for sure he was an impostor and assumed if it was really her scientist nerd nephew he'd correct her on this]].

* Parodied in a ''ComicBook/MikeMistMinuteMystery'' page published in the second issue of FirstComics ''ComicBook/EMan''. Mike stops his client from eating a [[ParodyNames Winkies]] snack because of the bitter almond smell, but it turns out that it was just Winkies's new bitter almond flavored creme filling.

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]
* 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.

[[folder:Film]]

-->'''Holmes''': Note the blue discoloration, the faint smell of bitter almonds.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

** In "Murodch at the Opera", Dr. Grace describes smelling the aroma of bitter almonds coming from the corpse of the young opera singer. Later, after [[spoiler: the culprit prima donna takes poison and dies onstage]], Crabtree brings out a wine glass he found and Murdoch himself sniffs it and says, "Cyanide."

* An interesting version by scam artist Louis Enricht- in 1916 he claimed to have invented a chemical that, when diluted in water, could replace gasoline. During demonstrations of his product, many noted the strong smell of almonds, and he often warned the reporters that the chemical was poisonous. As it later turned out, the (fake) miracle fuel had cyanide as an ingredient, solely so that the smell would mask the real chemicals (acetone and acetylene, which would make a gas engine work, but would also corrode it very quickly).

* Bitter ''apricot kernels'' (almonds and apricots are both in the ''Prunus'' genus and of the ''Rosaceae'' (rose) family) are sold as [[PolishTheTurd "organic, raw, and gluten free health food"]] and made claim that they are [[BlatantLies cancer fighters]] with their Vitamin [=B17=]. "[=B17=]" is in fact Amygdalin, a molecule that is digested and put through a process that results in Benzaldehyde (the source for the almond-smell) and hydrogen cyanide which, if taken in a large enough oral dosage, can be lethal. Apricots have a whopping 8% Amygdalin while bitter almonds have 5%, and people eat this snake oil up any way they can.

[[folder:Anime]]

** In manga file #757 of ''Manga/DetectiveConan'', Conan points out that there's an element of FingertipDrugAnalysis to this: he smells an almond scent coming from a corpse's lips, but [[http://mangafox.me/manga/detective_conan/v72/c757/3.html cautions one of the others on the scene against sniffing]] because he's an "amateur".

* In the ''WesternAnimation/GoofTroop'' episode ''For Pete's Sake'', a frightened Pete (who thinks someone is trying to kill him) is having trouble sleeping, so he watches a night drama movie on TV. We hear dialogue of a woman giving her partner milk to help him sleep, only to have the man say, "This tastes like almonds. ''Almonds?!!'' Auugh, I've been poisoned!" Needless to say, Pete's paranoia is ''not'' reduced.

* A case in ''Manga/DetectiveSchoolQ'' had Kyu detect the Bitter Almond smell in a bottle of ''Salad Dressing''. The anime version of this case has Kyu sniffing the victim's mouth first and then [[TheKetchupTest taste a whiskey bottle's mouth]] before declaring it as cyanide.

* A case in ''Manga/DetectiveSchoolQ'' had Megumi detect the Bitter Almond smell in a bottle of ''Salad Dressing''.

* Bitter ''apricot kernels'' (almonds and apricots are both in the ''Prunus'' genus and of the ''Rosaceae'' (rose) family) are sold as [[PolishTheTurd "organic, raw, and gluten free health food"]] and made claim that they are [[BlatantLies cancer fighters]] with their Vitamin [=B17=]. "[=B17=]" is in fact Amygdalin, a molecule that is digested and put through a process that results in Benzaldehyde (the source for the almond-smell) and hydrogen cyanide which, if taken in a large enough oral dosage, can be lethal. Apricots have a whopping 8% Amygdalin while bitter almonds have 5%, and people eat this snake oil up anyway they can.

** ** In "Murodch at the Opera", Dr. Grace describes smelling the aroma of bitter almonds coming from the corpse of the young opera singer. Later, after [[spoiler: the culprit prima donna takes poison and dies onstage]], Crabtree brings out a wine glass he found and Murdoch himself sniffs it and says, "Cyanide."