Weissenstein U, Kunz M, Urech K, Baumgartner S. Interaction of standardized mistletoe (Viscum album) extracts with chemotherapeutic drugs regarding cytostatic and cytotoxic effects in vitro. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2014;14:6. doi:10.1186/1472-6882-14-6 So we can safely say this has nothing whatsoever to do with your toes. That plant you’re kissing under could be a …“dung-twig.” Karagöz A, Kesici S, Vural A, et al. Cardioprotective effects of Viscum album L. ssp. album (Loranthaceae) on isoproterenol-induced heart failure via regulation of the nitric oxide pathway in rats. Anatol J Cardiol. 2016;16(12):923-930. doi:10.14744/AnatolJCardiol.2016.6780 Loef M, Walach H. Quality of life in cancer patients treated with mistletoe: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Complement Med Ther. 2020;20(1):227. doi:10.1186/s12906-020-03013-3

Another tradition that has raised questions before is, why do we sing “Auld Lang Syne” on New Year’s? Let’s find out! The dark side of the mistletoe Abukhodair AW, Abukhudair W, Alqarni MS. The effects of L-arginine in hypertensive patients: a literature review. Cureus. 2021;13(12):e20485. doi:10.7759/cureus.20485 Onunogbo CC, Ohaeri O, Eleazu C. Effect of mistletoe (Viscum album) extract on the blood glucose, liver enzymes and electrolyte balance in alloxan induced diabetic rats. American Journal of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. 2013;3.143-150. doi:10.3923/ajbmb.2013.143.150A feature was added in the update build v.0.81.0 that allows you to use the /toy 1-197 command to cycle through toys without going to the gift box. Below is a list of all the numbers associated with the toys. Mistletoe is a plant that grows parasitically on trees. Mistletoe can cause Witches’-broom, a symptom of a disease that results in clusters of weak shoots, in the host tree. One way to harvest mistletoe is to climb high in the tree to get the clusters; another way is to blast them out with a shotgun. How’s that for festive? The word mistletoe comes from the Old English misteltan, with tan meaning “twig” and mistel meaning, well, “mistletoe.” (Middle English speakers apparently confused tan as the plural of ta, “toe,” which is how we ultimately get mistletoe). Xie W, Adolf J, Melzig MF. Identification of Viscum album L. miRNAs and prediction of their medicinal values. PLoS One. 2017;12(11):e0187776. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0187776 Mistletoe. In: LiverTox: Clinical and Research Information on Drug-Induced Liver Injury. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; 2012.

As for the roots of mistel, that etymology is obscure, though the word has cousins in Germanic languages. Because mistletoe can be spread through birds’ feces, it is possible that mistel derives from an obsolete, Germanic-derived noun mix, meaning “dung, filth.” Choi J, Lee J, Kim K, Choi HK, Lee SA, Lee HJ. Effects of ginger intake on chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting: a systematic review of randomized clinical trials. Nutrients. 2022;14(23):4982. doi:10.3390/nu14234982Schink M, Dehus O. Effects of mistletoe products on pharmacokinetic drug turnover by inhibition and induction of cytochrome P450 activities. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2017;17(1):521. doi:10.1186/s12906-017-2028-1