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arkoma
Redneck Overlord
Posts: 1761
Registered: 3-2-2014
Location: On a Big Blue Marble hurtling through space
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Mood: украї́нська
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Less Idiocy than I used to exhibit
I have done/do stupid stuff.
Like brush the hot legs of house wiring with the back of my (right) hand to see if the are live. Or just change electric components out w/o
bothering to turn off the mains.
I've always been bad about tasting stuff too. If I worry about battery acid on my hands I just take a quick lick.........
Its a wonder I've made it to 50 without any serious health problems.
Since I came to SciMad I've re-engaged my brain, thank goodness, and its a good thing. The "epiphany", for lack of a better word, came yesterday when
I was checking up on Nickel (II) compounds, which it seems I have.
I ALMOST TASTED NICKEL (II) CHLORIDE thinking it was just un-reacted NaCl discolored by Iron (II) Chloride. Turns out just a tad bit can be
pretty damn detrimental to your health. I've been generating a bit of it it seems, as I use a stainless steel anode in my electrolytic cell BECAUSE
that way I don't have to worry about chlorine fumes. Instead I made a toxin/carcinogen LOL.
So I guess what I'm saying, especially to those who just got that "spark" of curiosity, is be cautious (not SCARED) and do a little research on what
you've got and especially on what ya DON"T know you've got.
Thanx, SciMad.
Pat
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Zyklon-A
International Hazard
Posts: 1547
Registered: 26-11-2013
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Mood: Fluorine radical
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Although I've never done really stupid things (eg. Touch high voltage live wires intentionally, taste anything in the lab ever), I must say I have
learned a lot about proper safety pro cautions as well since I've been on this forum.
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bismuthate
National Hazard
Posts: 803
Registered: 28-9-2013
Location: the island of stability
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Mood: self reacting
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Your not the only one. Once when I was making zinc chloride from Zn and HCl. I used zinc from a battery and accidentally used one with MnO2. That was
a bad mistake. I've also learned a lot (but not nearly enough) from this forum.
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The Volatile Chemist
International Hazard
Posts: 1981
Registered: 22-3-2014
Location: 'Stil' in the lab...
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Mood: Copious
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Quote: Originally posted by bismuthate  | | Your not the only one. Once when I was making zinc chloride from Zn and HCl. I used zinc from a battery and accidentally used one with MnO2. That was
a bad mistake. I've also learned a lot (but not nearly enough) from this forum. |
I have too. What'd that do?
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hissingnoise
International Hazard
Posts: 3940
Registered: 26-12-2002
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Mood: Pulverulescent!
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OK! Picture this . . . A 15 year old is fucking with an NST?
He strikes an arc between two nail points whch begin to fuse into molten globs and when the arc breaks down he blows on the hot steel to cool it down
. . .
Then, having momentarily forgotten a major portion of his meagre wits, he, with his little pinkie gingerly touches the, still hot, metal nail . . .
The profanity! Oh the profanity!!!
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DrAldehyde
Hazard to Self
Posts: 82
Registered: 12-1-2014
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Mood: No Mood
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| Quote: Originally posted by hissingnoise | OK! Picture this . . . A 15 year old is fucking with an NST?
He strikes an arc between two nail points whch begin to fuse into molten globs and when the arc breaks down he blows on the hot steel to cool it down
. . .
Then, having momentarily forgotten a major portion of his meagre wits, he, with his little pinkie gingerly touches the, still hot, metal nail . . .
The profanity! Oh the profanity!!!
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Ahh, that is where you got your forum name from
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arkoma
Redneck Overlord
Posts: 1761
Registered: 3-2-2014
Location: On a Big Blue Marble hurtling through space
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Mood: украї́нська
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Got ya beat, hissingnoise! My friends and I at 15 (I was the idiot that actually lit the thing). Empty CO2 cartridge with about 30 grains of
Hercules Bullseye powder in it and green cannon fuse ordered from the Zeller dude in Wickenburg, AZ (was ALWAYS an ad for it in PopSci back then) We
were "kewls" wayyy before the internet!
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Zyklon-A
International Hazard
Posts: 1547
Registered: 26-11-2013
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Mood: Fluorine radical
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| Quote: Originally posted by hissingnoise | OK! Picture this . . . A 15 year old is fucking with an NST?
He strikes an arc between two nail points whch begin to fuse into molten globs and when the arc breaks down he blows on the hot steel to cool it down
. . .
Then, having momentarily forgotten a major portion of his meagre wits, he, with his little pinkie gingerly touches the, still hot, metal nail . . .
The profanity! Oh the profanity!!!
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Ha! I was that 15 year old, striking an arc of 2kV not two mouths ago... Difference of course being that I came out uninjured.
Nope. I think he got his name here:http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=250#pi...
[Edited on 23-5-2014 by Zyklonb]
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Metacelsus
International Hazard
Posts: 2539
Registered: 26-12-2012
Location: Boston, MA
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Mood: Double, double, toil and trouble
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Some time ago (when I was 16), I got a very small (0.1 cm2) plasma burn from a flyback. Strangely, I didn't immediately notice I was
getting burned; it was totally painless, and just felt like an itch. However, it was a few ma at most (albeit at around 30 kV). My NST, on the other
hand, would probably be excruciating (15 kV, 60 ma).
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Scr0t
Hazard to Others
Posts: 118
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Location: Europe
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Mood: Desiccated
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Maybe these are the results of a parasitic infection like toxoplasma gondii causing increased risk-taking behavior.
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smaerd
International Hazard
Posts: 1262
Registered: 23-1-2010
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Mood: hmm...
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Jeese, I've done some dumb stuff. Licking sulfuric acid that spilled on my hands, or touching live wall current though. That's truly special hahaha.
Speaking of nickel salts and doing something dumb...I wish I had some dumb stories to add but I never really had the urge to drink chemicals I didn't
know the dangers of, or have life threatening current flowing through my body. If I see a plume of unexpected acid fumes I reach for a safety measure,
and don't run reactions I haven't at least thought through. Guess I'm kind of, bland.
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elementcollector1
International Hazard
Posts: 2684
Registered: 28-12-2011
Location: The Known Universe
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Mood: Molten
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Got dichromate literally all over my hands, flooded the garage with chlorine, my entire current project with arsenic... To name a few things.
Elements Collected:52/87
Latest Acquired: Cl
Next in Line: Nd
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Brain&Force
Hazard to Lanthanides
Posts: 1302
Registered: 13-11-2013
Location: UW-Madison
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Mood: Incommensurately modulated
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You know, simply dissolving manganese metal in hydrochloric acid will also generate chlorine. I'm such a prude in the lab - the worst I've ever done
is spill a few drops of 6M hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide on myself. I didn't even get a scratch.
But then again, I don't have too much access to chemicals.
At the end of the day, simulating atoms doesn't beat working with the real things...
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Zyklon-A
International Hazard
Posts: 1547
Registered: 26-11-2013
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Mood: Fluorine radical
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I've filled the lab with so much chlorine. I hate working outside, and I don't have a fume hood, I always where a gas mask, but for anyone who walks
in while I'm working, must be terrible. I've spilled con. Sulfuric, hydrochloric, nitric (fuming ), and plenty other acids on my self, the floor, the table, other chemicals ect.
Not to mention all sorts of accidents with fire, electricity, toxic fumes, carcinogenic solids, toxic waist, high explosives, ect.
But one thing I can say is, with every mistake I've made, I've learned something, and I have almost never made the same mistake twice.
In general, chemists (and all scientists) tend to live much more dangerous and exciting lives. Girls find my "adventures" attractive as well, so it's
a win-win. Until I really badly hurt myself or someone else - hopefully never.
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numos
Hazard to Others
Posts: 269
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Location: Pasadena
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A couple weeks ago I was preparing some Manganese chloride by adding HCl unto Manganese dioxide using an addition funnel, I was doing this outside and
had a powerful fan going to disperse the Cl produced. I picked up the flask I was doing it in to give it a swirl when my arm hit the exposed fan
blades. I recoiled immediately (more from surprise than pain) and the sudden jerk sent half the mixture flying into the air. I was wearing a lab coat
so that took the brunt of it but a sizable amount splashed on both arms. Thankfully the acid had been reacted to a point where it was no longer
corrosive.
I was still able to get a sizable amount of Manganese chloride in the end and no glassware was injured. 
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alexleyenda
Hazard to Others
Posts: 277
Registered: 17-12-2013
Location: Québec, Canada
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Mood: Busy studying chemistry at the University
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"In general, chemists (and all scientists) tend to live much more dangerous and exciting lives. " True words ! Especially those who, like me, are
amazed like little children when something unusual happens (and it happens a lot when you're in science :p ). Just 4 weeks ago, I was preparing
salicylic acid from methyl salicylate I extracted from a plant in my school's lab. At one point, you mix the methyl salicylate with a NaOH solution,
and both transparent liquids immediately form a solid out of nowhere when they come in contact, then it all dissolves in a volume of liquid far
smaller than the volume of solid you had. It is quite banal, yet unusual and I was amazed and thought it was sad my partner didn't care at all ^^
To go back to the subject, I am quite careful when I experiment with dangerous compounds and i've never really been in danger despite manipulating
conc H2SO4, strong bases, chlorine, manganese heptoxide... When it is dangerous, I do it outside and make sure i'll be safe. There's one time however
when I made a really bad move and almost spilled Molten Sodium Hydroxide on my leg. Had I reacted 0,5 seconds later my life could have been changed
forever. It has been a stressful day :p
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arkoma
Redneck Overlord
Posts: 1761
Registered: 3-2-2014
Location: On a Big Blue Marble hurtling through space
Member Is Offline
Mood: украї́нська
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| Quote: Originally posted by alexleyenda | | "In general, chemists (and all scientists) tend to live much more dangerous and exciting lives. " True words ! Especially those who, like me, are
amazed like little children when something unusual happens (and it happens a lot when you're in science :p ) |
Sometimes I try to imagine the emotions that folks like Galileo, Faraday, and Madame Curie must have experienced. The ability to "wonder" is one of
(if he/she exists) God's greatest gifts.
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alexleyenda
Hazard to Others
Posts: 277
Registered: 17-12-2013
Location: Québec, Canada
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Mood: Busy studying chemistry at the University
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Yup. Good stories always start in one of two ways. The first way is "I was drunk" and the second one is "I was wondering... " :p By the way, I
remembered a stupid move. The first time I extracted Iodine from the solutions they sell in pharmacy. After the extraction, my glassware was still
full of cristals and I started washing it... with hot water. "Why is the sink becoming purple... oh wait, it's a purple cloud... F...
[Edited on 24-5-2014 by alexleyenda]
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Zyklon-A
International Hazard
Posts: 1547
Registered: 26-11-2013
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Mood: Fluorine radical
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How did you extract iodine from an alcohol solution?
I just buy iodine...
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alexleyenda
Hazard to Others
Posts: 277
Registered: 17-12-2013
Location: Québec, Canada
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Mood: Busy studying chemistry at the University
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You just have to use hydrogen peroxide with H2SO4 and it precipitates. I heard it works with a base too.
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smaerd
International Hazard
Posts: 1262
Registered: 23-1-2010
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Mood: hmm...
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For me, science isn't about being a fool for the sake of being a fool. It's admitting I am a fool because to exist is to be inherently ignorant. Don't
need to take a bath in dimethyl mercury to be 'exciting'. I just think there's a special breed of scientists on here that love the adrenaline rush
associated with very hazardous projects hehehe. I'm not the first guy to run and prepare diazomethane for the sake of doing it. Then again, I'm also
not the person who wears gloves, goggles, and respirators, when pouring acids/bases. Used to test if a solution was alkaline by slippery feel. Granted
I wouldn't do like peach did and poor pirhana solution on my hands and wait several minutes to notate the effects (miss that guy).
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quantumchromodynamics
Hazard to Self
Posts: 67
Registered: 25-9-2013
Location: with much determination, nowhere in particluar
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you guys are really scaring me
You all need to be more respectful of electricity. It is quite possible to burn out the nerve with a high voltage and high frequency current, and then
it feels just like a small itch, even though you have permanent damage. An NST is one thing. A flyback at 20khz is one thing. Lethal things, but in
the big picture, not too bad. A pole pig will kill you dead before you look at it funny. A laser power supply, or a radar deflection coil, are just
evil and unpredictable. There are no second chances with high voltage and high frequency. It is not funny at all. I have seen a training video of a
person who got sucked into a high voltage control panel in a flash plasma fire due to a localized air ionization. The fans cut out for a short time.
That was only 440VAC, but the currents were 1000's of amps at a relay station. There was no body even left after an explosion and vapors. Not a joke
to forget about running a 15kv NST. If you forgot about that, you should not be handling one, or anything else. Period.
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alexleyenda
Hazard to Others
Posts: 277
Registered: 17-12-2013
Location: Québec, Canada
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Mood: Busy studying chemistry at the University
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I am reading the Vogel because I really hit a wall in theory atm and I need to learn more... I read "Under
no circumstances should [boiling chips] be dropped into a liquid which
has already been heated to boiling : the sudden evolution of vapour
may result in spray and sometimes of a large proportion of the liquid
being ejected from the mouth of the flask". I laughed when i read that because I already learned that the hard way a month and a half ago when I
dropped boiling chips into boiling sulfuric acid and a geyser of sulfuric acid jumped 2 meters in the air. Fortunately I backed really fast and was
doing this outside, so no harm was done. Just thought i'd share this thought :p
Help us build the Sciencemadness Wiki! Every question and tips about amateur chemistry two clicks away, wouldn't that be awesome?!
sciencemadness.org/smwiki
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arkoma
Redneck Overlord
Posts: 1761
Registered: 3-2-2014
Location: On a Big Blue Marble hurtling through space
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Yup--ever microwaved water for a couple minutes on high and dumped in a spoon of instant coffee? My big brother had a print copy of Vogel's 3d back
in the early 80's that he found at a rare book store in Portland, Oregon. Some jackass tweaker stole it from him.
"We believe the knowledge and cultural heritage of mankind should be accessible to all people around the world, regardless of their wealth, social
status, nationality, citizenship, etc" z-lib
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alexleyenda
Hazard to Others
Posts: 277
Registered: 17-12-2013
Location: Québec, Canada
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Mood: Busy studying chemistry at the University
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| Quote: Originally posted by arkoma | | Yup--ever microwaved water for a couple minutes on high and dumped in a spoon of instant coffee? My big brother had a print copy of Vogel's 3d back
in the early 80's that he found at a rare book store in Portland, Oregon. Some jackass tweaker stole it from him. |
Haha nope, I never did it but now I want to :p
Help us build the Sciencemadness Wiki! Every question and tips about amateur chemistry two clicks away, wouldn't that be awesome?!
sciencemadness.org/smwiki
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