Schneier on Security

Clive Robinson • January 24, 2009 3:36 AM

@ Beta,

"Why not just use a real piece of calamari?"

I guess the simple answer is "it's not chewy enough". I know hard to belive...

However in Mexico a popular teething dummy given to little ones are Jalapeno Chillies...

Mad as it sounds it works in the same sort of way as Pepermint or clove oil does by both encoraging the bodies natural pain killers and by displacment/distraction.

Another natural teething chew is the stems of salad Lettuce plants. They contain lactucarium, a chemical similar to laudanum which is an effective pain killer. I've not tried it but I'm told the best stem for this is from the Romane red Lettice.

Oh and there are other natural pain killers "asprin" for instance is common in many plants and was originaly extracted from willow bark. Apparently if you have a house plant that is not doing to well adding anl asprin to its water helps perk it up...