naure.com
FoodSurprise 5/5Difficulty 4/5Reviewed on September 13, 2026

King Gustav III of Sweden used prisoners to test whether coffee was poisonous.

Why it is true

In the 18th century, the king ordered two condemned twins to drink coffee daily to prove whether it was harmful. The doctors supervising the experiment died first, and the prisoners survived, making the test inconclusive. Coffee was eventually legalised in Sweden.

Source: Aventuras na Historia

Would you rather be asked first?

This is the reading side of the site, so the answer is in the sentence above — that is the whole point of it. Test yourself works the other way round: the question comes on its own, and the fact and the explanation only appear once you have answered.

Test yourself →10-question challenge

Related facts

More in Food

See all →