A Taiwanese man died of suspected lead poisoning after using the same rusty thermos for over ten years, despite visible signs of metal degradation.

Taiwanese media recently reported the tragic death of a man whose severe lung infection was exacerbated by heavy metal poisoning. The man reportedly started experiencing health problems about a year ago, and blood tests showed that he was suffering from heavy metal poisoning. While trying to discover the source of the contamination, doctors learned that the man had been using the same thermos on a daily basis for the last 10 years. Upon examining the container, they discovered rust had formed inside of it, which hadn’t prevented the patient from using it to store acidic beverages like coffee, tea, and juice.

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Pycnandra acuminata is a rare tree native to the shrinking rainforests of New Caledonia that has the rare ability to collect large quantities of nickel from the ground. Its blue-green sap reportedly contains up to 25% nickel.

Trees, or plants in general for that matter, and heavy metals like nickel and zinc don’t really go well together, and that’s what makes Pycnandra acuminata and a few other rare tress species known as “hyperaccumulators” so special. They have somehow evolved to suck out normally toxic levels of heavy metals from the soil and store it in their stems, leaves and seeds. Unfortunately, heavy deforestation in New Caledonia has put this remarkable tree on the list of endangered trees before scientists could even figure out how and why it can tolerate such high quantities of nickel in its latex-like sap.

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