In 1982, cyanide was found in Tylenol pills. It's widely regarded as an early act of domestic terrorism. Halloween has changed forever since that time. People no longer go through the candy and give it to their children if it isn't wrapped.
This year’s fear of rainbow fentanyl in kids’ trick-or-treat bags is just the latest unfounded Halloween candy freakout. But the yearly panic has its roots in a very real crisis: the 1982 Tylenol murders.
This episode was produced by Avishay Artsy, edited by Matt Collette, fact-checked by Laura Bullard with help from Jillian Weinberger, engineered by Efim Shapiro, and hosted by Sean Rameswaram.
Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained
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