Danger: Low Flying Reindeer

By 'eck, you don't 'arf come across some tosh on t’internet…

I was planning to write a piece about the possible links between fly agaric mushrooms, flying reindeer and Santa Claus, as explored by Patrick Harding in his excellent book, The Magic of Christmas. Whilst Patrick’s theories about the shamans of Lapland getting stoned on hallucinogenic reindeer piddle* may be a little mischievous, they are well-researched and entirely credible.

Looking for more information about fly agarics on t’net, I came across a piece by Ross Heaven:

…the Zulu War was fought by the indigenous people under intoxication from the sacred mushroom. This had given them, not only superhuman strength and imperviousness to pain, but a sense of fearlessness and their own divine purpose in battle. It was this that had helped them leave the field victorious during the famous 'Charge of the Light Brigade'…

Well researched and credible? I think not!

A Footnote: *Patrick claims that getting stoned on hallucinogenic reindeer piddle is the origin of the phrase “getting pissed”. I’d go further and suggest that it may also explain where the phrase “taking the piss” comes from!

Comments

[simon]

Charge of the Light Brigade. Zulu war? I also, think not.

Obviously a case of the author getting FAR too involved with his subject.

[Roger B.]

Yes, I never knew that Zulus were indigenous to the Crimea.

Mind you, it helps explain how they got their hands on fly agarics - fungi of birch/pine woods, which are rather scarce in the Transvaal.