> Botulism is not some cosmic horror which reaches out and grabs you randomly. It is like a knife. If you do things right it is perfectly safe. If you do things

> Botulism is not some cosmic horror which reaches out and grabs you randomly. It is like a knife. If you do things right it is perfectly safe. If you do things wrong it can kill you. The point of the warnings is to learn where the "edge of the knife" is and how to behave to keep yourself safe. In a way botulism reminds me of stories about vampires or other mythical creatures of evil: They're potentially powerful and scary but have simple weaknesses which, if you know them, render them powerless.