There is a mushroom that makes people see hundreds of tiny people, and scientists are stumped about why. Researchers have been studying a wild mushroom called Lanmaoa asiatica, sold in markets across southwestern China, where locals call it “jian shou qing.” When eaten undercooked, it can trigger what doctors call Lilliputian hallucinations, named after the tiny people in “Gulliver’s Travels.” People report seeing little human-like figures dancing, marching like soldiers, or climbing up furniture. According to hospital records in China’s Yunnan province, 96-percent of those who sought help after eating the mushroom said they saw little people.
The strangest part is that the same hallucination shows up across different cultures, with similar reports from Papua New Guinea and the Philippines. New genetic research published in the journal Mycologia ruled out the obvious answer. The mushroom does not contain psilocybin, the compound in regular magic mushrooms, or any other known hallucinogen. That means some brand-new, unidentified chemical is likely behind the effect. The visions take 12 to 24 hours to start and can last for days, sometimes long enough to require hospitalization.
Source: NY Post
