The danger is part of the appeal. When somebody gives you a mushroom called "the sickener," which is apparently edible with an appropriate combination of brining, fermentation, soaking, rinsing, and boiling, it's a little hard to resist the temptation to prove everyone else wrong and turn it into a tasty treat.

Brings fugu to mind. I wish I could get a scientific answer to whether there's actually a high associated with it or if that's just in people's heads.

> Why would anyone eat fugu or collect wild mushrooms?

I can't speak to fugu, but collecting wild mushrooms is statistically one of the safest hobbies in existence.

It's the eating that's the real challenge