One Man's Poison

“One Man’s Poison” by Robert Sheckley is a witty and suspenseful science fiction short story from the early 1950s that explores alien life and survival with a darkly comedic twist. When two stranded space travelers, Hellman and Casker, find themselves starving on a barren planet, they stumble upon a warehouse full of mysterious alien substances. Desperate for sustenance, they confront bizarre dangers—including sentient goo and deadly miscommunications about food. With sharp dialogue and ironic turns, Sheckley delivers a clever tale that probes the absurdities of interstellar survival and the limits of human logic in alien environments. A perfect read for fans of speculative fiction, gallows humor, and classic sci-fi adventures.