Assistant Cook A. M. McKillop was short-handed and in a tearing hurry. His supper menu at the Oregon State Hospital for the Insane, in Salem, called for scrambled eggs. He needed powdered milk to make them. Against the rules he dispatched a kitchen-helper inmate to the catacomb-like cellar to bring him a new supply.
The eggs were served. At long tables in one dining ward, 467 mental patients clinked their forks and spoons against their tin and enamelware plates. Minutes later they began to drop in anguish to the floor. That night and the next day 47 of them died....
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