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This Unsolved Mystery Made Tylenol Hard to Open

Comedy podcasters Tim Stone and Jaron Myers talking in front of an image of a man tampering with a bottle of tylenol in a pharmacy with a banner that read 'the tylenol murders'

This comedy podcast episode covers the tragic 1982 Chicago Tylenol murders, where seven people died after taking cyanide-laced Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules. In September 1982, 12-year-old Mary Kellerman died after taking Tylenol for a cold. That same day, Adam Janus died after taking Tylenol. His family members also took Tylenol and died. In total, seven people across Chicago died after ingesting the tainted capsules. The police warned people over bullhorns not to take Tylenol. Johnson & Johnson recalled over 30 million bottles and stopped production. They introduced new safety packaging to prevent tampering. The FBI investigated suspects like James Lewis, who sent an extortion letter, and Roger Arnold, who bragged about having cyanide. But they never found the perpetrator. It led to significant changes in packaging and safety seals for all consumable products. The case remains unsolved after 40 years.

Things I Learned Last Night is an educational comedy podcast where best friends Jaron Myers and Tim Stone talk about random topics and have fun all along the way. If you like learning and laughing a lot while you do, you’ll love TILLN. Watch or listen to this episode right now!

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Sources

The Chicago Tylenol Murders – Wikipedia


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