Ergot

Ergot is a kind of fungus that grows on certain types of plants, like rye and wheat. The fungus looks like little black dots, and can be a little bit spooky!

Sometimes, when people eat bread made from infected crops, they can get sick. That's because the ergot fungus makes a chemical called "ergotamine" that can cause all kinds of problems in your body.

Some of the things that can happen include having cramps, feeling really dizzy, having weird hallucinations (seeing things that aren't really there), and even feeling like your limbs are "falling asleep" and becoming numb.

So, even though the fungus might look a little interesting, it's definitely not something you want to eat! Luckily, farmers and food producers are really good at making sure that our food is safe to eat, and they take extra steps to make sure that any crops with ergot are thrown away.