Botticelli's Mars Is on Acid

There's a reason Mars looks so out of it in Botticelli's classic painting Venus and Mars. A sharp-eyed art historian tells NPR that he's on what's known as "poor man's acid." Check out the sartyr in the bottom right (the one who's sort of sticking his tongue out at you). He's got his hand on a fruit that David Bellingham (with the help of botanists) says is from the datura plant.

"Basically, it produces similar experiences to LSD," says Bellingham, who seems to have been the first to notice the connection. "It's been likened to the effects of opium mixed with alcohol. It can produce a great deal of thirst, hallucinations." And when the effects are wearing off, the user "swoons and falls asleep." Hello, Mars. (More Sandro Botticelli stories.)