Fun Facts
- Poison oak is the #1 shrub in California
- Between
80 and 90 percent of the population
of America has a reaction to poison oak's urushiol
- 500 people could have a reaction from the
amount of urushiol on the tip of a single pin
- 1 to 5 years is the average time urushiol
can stay active on your clothes, tools, and even
dead plants
- Urushiol dermatitis is covered under workers
compensation in some states
- 1 nanogram which is a billionth of a gram is enough to cause a reaction in
some people!
- Some specimens of urushiol centuries old
have been found to cause dermatitis
- Best healer for poison oak is simply time
- Poison oak can grow in the form of a vine, shrub, or
small tree
- Mangos are related to poison oak and some
people experience an irritation after eating the
mango because the mango's skin contains trace
amounts of urushiol
- Native Americans would cook with poison oak,
make baskets out of the stems, and used the
urushiol to turn baskets black because when
exposed to oxygen urushiol turns black due to a
chemical reaction
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