Wormwood

Wormwood is a star, or angel, that appears in the Biblical New Testament Book of Revelation. When the third trumpet is sounded, Wormwood will descend from the sky.

Wormwood is also the name of a plant used in absinthe.

At the Battle of Verdun, the third trumpet did sound, and Wormwood descended. However, soliders Pierre Barres and Jacques Fonsagrive thought that the star was a parachute flare. The scent of the plant wormwood pervaded the area, leading Barres to believe that the Germans were experimenting with a new gas weapon.