Errata: 

1. The best plural of octopus is probably octopuses. Octopodes is based on the idea that it's a Greek word and should have a Greek pluralization, but it's widely considered douchey.

2. People did in fact use strychnine in the Tour de France circa early 1900s.

3. The podcast I mentioned is the March 17, 2019 episode of Futility Closet that describes Prosper-Rene Blondlot's "discovery" of N-Rays.