History tells us stories of gruesome murders, inhumane practices and rituals often foreign and, quite possibly, forbidden in our culture today. An infamous practice on the island of Sardinia intoxicated its condemned with a potion that caused them to smile. Death with a kiss, or rather, a grin. The term “Sardonic grin” is traced back to Homer, as he wrote of men that were sentenced to death and given a smiling potion before dying.
Circa 2009, Italian researchers investigated an herb found after a Sardinian shepherd committed suicide and was found with a smirk on his face. Researchers linked the culprit, Hemlock water-dropwort (Oenanthe fistulosa), to the old Sardinian practices. The herb has the ability to relax muscles, which could remove wrinkles. So, it’s quite possible this grinning herb could function as a plant-based Botox in the near future.