From "blue pills" to the Minamata Convention: Mercury, a singular metal

Mercury is a singular element, which was employed in the past as both a medicine and a medium to carry out the death penalty.These purposes are apparently contradictory, but they rely on a single property: its high toxicity.Mercury toxicity was already known when its compounds were used as medicine in past centuries for the treatment of various diseases, mainly bacterial infections.The most common knowledge related to mercury toxicity is the Minamata disease and the "mad hatter syndrome."However, throughout history, whether through accidental or intentional poisoning, mercury has made countless victims from murders, unsuccessful medical treatments, occupational diseases, accidents and environmental crimes.Instead of discussing the most famous and popular cases involving mercury contamination, we seek to report and discuss different uses of mercury compounds in the treatment of diseases, as well as peculiar and little-known cases of mercury poisoning over the 19 th and 20 th centuries.To conclude, it will be shown that even today there are cases of deaths due to mercury poisoning in mining, homes and even schools.Thus, there is currently a global effort, represented by the Minamata Convention, to minimize the damage caused by mercury to the environment and human health.