The Perilous Peach Pit

I love ripe, juicy, fresh peaches. The juice-running down-your-arm variety.

Slicing through one this afternoon, I actually cut through the pit, too.

Here's what the inside of the pit looked like.

Hey, how'd that almond get in the middle of a peach pit?" Did you know that peaches and almonds are related, and that there is a small bitter almond in the middle of a peach pit? Did

you also know that said bitter almonds contain cyanide? I didn't know this when I put the nut in my mouth, but the bitterness did make me spit it out, fortunately. Unfortunately, I had swallowed a small amount. I freaked out just a little bit upon reading the bit about the cyanide

on the internet. Then, just to demonstrate how neurotic I am, I called the poison control number.

The lady told me (pretty casually, I thought, while I was panicking) the small amount I had

eaten wouldn't have any effect. The experience shook me up, but we all learned something

new about peaches. I'll never look at a peach pit the same way again.