346: Pufferfish

Ellen is blowing up about pufferfish. We discuss what pufferfish have in common with chameleons, seafloor crop circles, culinary applications of deadly neurotoxin, and so much more.

Works Cited:

• “All puffed out: Do pufferfish hold their breath while inflated?” - Georgia Evelyn McGee & Timothy Darren Clark, Biology Letters, Dec 2014
• “Treatment of Tetrodotoxin Poisoning” - Sophie Yushuo Li, Theoretical and Natural Science, April 2023
• Dolphins purposely 'getting high' on pufferfish - Dolphins - Spy in the Pod: Episode 2 - BBC
• "Pufferfish Builds Sand Sculpture for Mating" - Nature on PBS
• “Seeking a Deadly Delicacy: Pufferfish, Regional Gastronomy, and Pharmacology in Middle Period China” - Zihan Guo, Journal of Chinese History, July 2026
• “Chefs Train for Years to Serve This Rare Poisonous Fish” - Bon Appetit, June 2024
• “Pufferfish in China: diners lured by delicacy now country has bred them poison-free” - Elaine Yau, South China Morning Post, February 2019

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