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Cou
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Stories of extremely chemophobic parents and yours :p
My mom is probably the biggest chemophobe you will have ever seen; I mean, all I do is boil some water and she yells "TOXIC GASES! YOU ARE GOING TO
KILL YOURSELF YOU LITTLE SHIT! YOU WILL GET CANCER!" My dad thinks it is stupid too but he compares it with my extreme germophobia; I never eat at
fast food restaurants out of my fear of food poisoning. I'm just lucky that she wasn't home when I accidentally made sulfuric acid fumes in the house;
I would be in jail because our arguments sometimes get so heated she screams "YOU LITTLE ASS I HATE YOU!!!! I'M GONNA PUT YOU IN A SPECIAL SCHOOL, YOU
HAVE PROBLEMS! GO AHEAD AND KILL YOURSELF, MAKE YOURSELF SICK" and she threatens to call the police. Luckily she hasn't actually done it yet. Latest
one is when I was decomposing copper carbonate to copper oxide, she proceeded to chase me into my bathroom and try to spank me, almost broke down the
door trying to get in, and she actually left the house and went to a store to get away from "fumes". CARBON DIOXIDE IS A NOT A TOXIC CANCER-CAUSING
FUME.
Did I mention that my mom didn't go to college, is 56 years old so school didn't teach her this stuff, and knows NOTHING about chemicals, not even
that salt is sodium chloride? Stupid people are the most dangerous people
TL;DR: My interest in chemistry has resulted in a bad relationship and broken bonds with my mom.
Do you have any stories with chemophobes like mine?
[Edited on 5-6-2013 by Cou]
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elementcollector1
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My mom is similar, but not quite as crazy - she does notice 'fumes' that aren't there, does scream bloody murder whenever I do something dangerous in
the garage and not outside, blames me for whatever holes find their way into my clothes... but it never comes to physical harm. You need help. As in,
get her a chemistry textbook.
Also, never EVER show her a MSDS of any type.
Elements Collected:52/87
Latest Acquired: Cl
Next in Line: Nd
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papaya
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Now imagine she discovers that you've registered in this forum and are not alone anymore :O A little criminal, for sure 
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elementcollector1
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Actually, it's the other way around: Now that she knows that most of my processes are the result of collaboration with other people my age or higher,
she actually feels the tiniest bit safer than if I had come up with them on my own - and rightly so!
Elements Collected:52/87
Latest Acquired: Cl
Next in Line: Nd
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Cou
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I also would like to point out that when she was a little kid, she would eat pieces of lead under the window... so it definitely may have stunted her
brain.
She just severely exaggerates how dangerous chemicals are. Whoops, I opened the cork on the flask filled with chlorine and breathed in just a tiny
bit, like a few PPM... "YOU ARE GOING TO KILL YOURSELF YOU LITTLE ASS, KIDS SHOULD NOT HAVE CHEMICALS" Whoops, I got a tiny dust-sized drop of
hydrochloric acid on my skin... "YOU ARE GOING TO BURN OFF YOUR HAND, STOP USING THAT DAMN ACID"
I know she's trying to protect me, but people like this are the same people in the DEA who break down doors and arrest people over baking soda
[Edited on 5-6-2013 by Cou]
[Edited on 5-6-2013 by Cou]
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Cou
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Quote: Originally posted by papaya  | | Now imagine she discovers that you've registered in this forum and are not alone anymore :O A little criminal, for sure |
That is the reason I regularly clear my internet history
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papaya
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Don't think compromise is possible, you cannot change the world rather must accommodate to it and try to find some ways to continue with what you like
so much without irritating others (hint: nobody must suspect you're involved in something soo suspicious )
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papaya
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[/rquote]That is the reason I regularly clear my internet history[/rquote]
Nearly all browsers have a private mode option, also what I wanted to say - eating lead is dangerous, what if some genetic defects resulted from it
were transferred to you and that's why you're not normal she thinks and gonna kill yourself ? (sorry can't be too serious, as the topic dictates)
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phlogiston
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My parents were a little chemophobic as well, (though not as quite bad as you describe). However, with the benefit of hindsight they now see how all
that eventually led to me earning a PhD. They still keep some of my old birthday wishlists which listed tubing and all kinds of chemicals and books in
an old box in the attic and we have a good laugh about those days every now and then. My mom calls me occasionally to get advice on what chemicals to
use to remove all kinds of stains. Just hang on, keep reading as much as you can and keep your experiments responsible and safe. Your freedom will
improve as you get older.
-----
"If a rocket goes up, who cares where it comes down, that's not my concern said Wernher von Braun" - Tom Lehrer |
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plante1999
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My father is different from your family members, my father does think I'm knowledgeable enough, and I know what I'm doing. Chemicals doesn't scare him
at all, however, he now knows HCl gas is not good for steel...
I made some mark in and on the house at some place, but mostly in the garage, I know he doesn't like it, but he accept that it is my hobby.
On a side anecdote, at one point my father smelled a very funky smell in the garage, I told him the things I made smelled strong and acrid, but he did
not believe me, so he started smelling all my stuff, I told him to stop but yea... When he smelled the chloroform bottle he said: " this shit is
strong as hell, might do a good solvent"
I never asked for this.
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elementcollector1
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All the tools in our garage rusted because I used HCl inside over and over again. Eventually we figured it out, and now I keep the HCl outside, or at
least away from the metal.
Elements Collected:52/87
Latest Acquired: Cl
Next in Line: Nd
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Cou
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Quick question, I know that inhaling lead fumes stunts the brain for children, but how about someone my age? I'm worried because I'm smart but I just
melted lead. My mom ate a lot of lead as a toddler and that is probably the reason why she didn't go to college and ended up like this
[Edited on 5-6-2013 by Cou]
[Edited on 5-6-2013 by Cou]
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elementcollector1
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Pfff. It takes years for lead to play a role in making you stupid.
Elements Collected:52/87
Latest Acquired: Cl
Next in Line: Nd
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DrSchnufflez
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My mothers sense of smell seems to be heightened by many magnitudes as soon as she steps into my lab
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cyanureeves
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uh .i used to bite the lead off .22 cal bullets when i was a kid and i mean a bunch...uhh what was i talkin bout? oh yeah and i smoked weed too.dude
everybody is chemophobic.i am 52 and everybody i know turns chemophobic as soon as i tell them anything about chemicals even copper salts. i had an
electrical engineer walk off during our conversation when i showed him copper acetate crystals i grew at work.blue crystals! can you believe that?
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papaya
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Occasionally melting lead is not so dangerous (if you don't make powder and start inhaling), but beware of it's salts, especially soluble ones!
Believe me I know what I say - once I tried to make nitrate out of metal and when done (more or less successful) I did something stupid: I took the
glassware that contacted with solution and started to wash it, and after spraying few times with water I started to rub it with BARE hands.. Don't
know how such a minute quantity of it that remained there and after washing thoroughly my hands could enter my body but the result was Painful - I
didn't notice anything for a day, then I woke up in the night and had pains in all my body parts, in stomach, head and even bones, high temperature
also.. It lasted about 2 days, that time I preferred to die if you ask - fever you can't get rid of it and all you know you will not die because the
quantity was really small. Now I avoid it's salts as much as possible, however didn't develop any irrational fear of it, I'm just taking safety much
important than before.
So be careful, don't play with anything poisonous, try to get information before you do any experiment, but even then your pants will be in holes with
H2SO4 you mentioned
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Finnnicus
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My mother totally flipped her shit when I was dehydrating MgSO4, Na2CO3 in the oven, also when decomposing CuCO3, small amounts of hydrogen sulfide
were produced, yet again shit was flipped.
EDIT: The last one I was doing in the shed, don't freak out.
[Edited on 5-6-2013 by Finnnicus]
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DrSchnufflez
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I ran a silicon thermite boosted with sulfur. When it came to hydrolysing the aluminium sulfide I used a copper sulfate scrubber then burnt the off
gas. Couldn't smell a hint of H2S but when it came to opening the erlenmeyer and a little H2S was released mum went absolutely mad. All of this was
conducted outside.
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Cou
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| Quote: Originally posted by papaya | Occasionally melting lead is not so dangerous (if you don't make powder and start inhaling), but beware of it's salts, especially soluble ones!
Believe me I know what I say - once I tried to make nitrate out of metal and when done (more or less successful) I did something stupid: I took the
glassware that contacted with solution and started to wash it, and after spraying few times with water I started to rub it with BARE hands.. Don't
know how such a minute quantity of it that remained there and after washing thoroughly my hands could enter my body but the result was Painful - I
didn't notice anything for a day, then I woke up in the night and had pains in all my body parts, in stomach, head and even bones, high temperature
also.. It lasted about 2 days, that time I preferred to die if you ask - fever you can't get rid of it and all you know you will not die because the
quantity was really small. Now I avoid it's salts as much as possible, however didn't develop any irrational fear of it, I'm just taking safety much
important than before.
So be careful, don't play with anything poisonous, try to get information before you do any experiment, but even then your pants will be in holes with
H2SO4 you mentioned |
Does metallic lead do that too, or just the salts? Not going to be making lead chloride anymore
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cyanureeves
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wait Cou you are 14 yrs. old? and you filled your house with sulfuric fumes?take care of your home and be careful and i hope you mind your mom at all
other times.
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papaya
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May be, don't eat with that hands anymore  No, really be careful and watch for
symptoms - usually stomach pains (not extremely acute) and headache, though you may get poisoned without any of these at lower concentrations, also
you must know there's no simple antidote and it accumulates in bones, the high level may be in your blood even after years.. Also that lead you have
is not necessarily is the pure metal - depends where it comes and may contain Sb or even arsenic(from batteries, right?)! the latter may kill you
easily. PbCL2 is relatively insoluble in cold water and I don't see any uses of it.
Now tell us - how much of this you knew before starting with that? Your mother was right, young terrorist  
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Cou
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Well she isn't just freaking out over the dangerous stuff (to be honest I melted the lead while she wasn't close by because my mothers's fear of lead
means she never even uses pencils) she freaks out over just simple stuff, like melting copper sulfate and decomposing copper carbonate.
Also, the lead is from this spool of lead I found, don't know what it is for, probably solder
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Cou
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Warning, long rant ahead:
Funny but extremely stressful that ever since I got chemicals, we have gotten in extremely heated violence 2 or 3 times a day. I sound like every
teenager but my parents are RETARDED... you CANNOT make toxic gases by decomposing copper carbonate, the electrolysis of copper sulfate does NOT make
toxic gases that kill you, I can ****ing show them a chemical page that shows every reaction without gases, and they use the same old comeback "I DO
NOT WANT FUMES IN MY HOUSE PERIOD" and it makes me want to break a door so they have to pay for their stupidity! And I always thought my programmer of
a dad was smart... today I learned he is just as dumb and stupid as everyone else. WHERE IS HIS REASONING? This is why I want to live with my brother.
And also why I secretly do this safe stuff that they complain about while they aren't home.
There are many times where the parent is the wise one stopping their kids from doing something stupid. Like when a daredevil teenager wants to
skateboard off the roof, their parents yell "NO, YOU WILL BREAK YOUR BONES", either they don't do it and live, or disobey them and end up in the
hospital. But, I AM THE ONE who knows the CERTAIN TRUE SCIENTIFIC LAW OF THE UNIVERSE FACT that decomposing copper carbonate only makes carbon
dioxide, and they probably make much more in their fireplace! Why don't I put out the fireplace in winter and tell them "STOP IT, YOU ARE MAKING TOXIC
CARBON MONOXIDE, YOU WILL KILL YOURSELF" so they can see how it feels? Since it IS a fundamental truth that a fireplace makes carbon monoxide, which
is a lot more toxic than any fumes from my chemicals. So I am AGAIN the correct one here.
TL;DR it is a fundamental truth that riding the skateboard off the roof will put you in the hospital, and it is good for a parent to stop them from
doing that. But it also a fundamental truth that the decomposition of copper carbonate doesn't make any toxic gases, so it would be wrong for a parent
to prevent that, and in this case the child is the correct one. But then, the parents don't want to end up looking wrong, so they use something like
"I DON'T WANT IT IN THE HOUSE, PERIOD" to win anyway.
Okay, your turn to rant.
I believe that if I secretly recorded my mom during one of her chemophobia panic attacks, it would become a youtube sensation; titled "Mom goes on a
rampage over chemicals"
[Edited on 6-6-2013 by Cou]
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zenosx
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Wait, she freaks out over pencils? She does realize there is no "lead" in "lead pencils" right? I think you should very carefully introduce your
mother to maybe Wikipedia. I bet she could spend weeks dispelling her fears of your hobby (and generating new ones).
I agree to NEVER ever and I mean EVER let her see a MSDS. They read like a side effects commercial for drugs on TV.
I am not exactly sure how to handle this situation, although, I have always felt that education can always dispel the darkness.
When you plan to do anything, show her websites etc., on why it's not dangerous. And if it is dangerous, don't show her and be smart  . IF it is not dangerous (or you can play it that way), show her what you are doing,
using videos if you can find them. Eventually she may see that she is just irrationally afraid.
Sadly I know of a 21 year old woman that has no drivers license or car, and still relies on her mother to take her ANYWHERE she intends to go. She is
working on a BA in business but I am not sure how she will ever apply such a degree when she has NO life experience.
My soon to be wife can be the same way. Although it's not (you are going to kill yourself you stupid shit! (this is a rather harsh thing to say to a
kid I would NEVER say this to mine....),
Instead I get (It Stinks down here!!!) EG: The garage/lab. She will say this if I even OPEN a bottle of acetone.....
To show my willingness to teach my child, tomorrow we are going to precipitate acetylsalicylic acid together with HCl from a basic solution. The
standard, dissolve aspirin, basify and filter the insolubles, then precipitate from acidification. I always love the look on his face when he sees a
clear solution contact another clear solution and turn into a fluffy white powder.
He is 8 years old, and yes he wears a face shield, gloves and coat, and the addition is from a funnel so there is nil exposure with supervision. He
also loves to see gummy bears and other sugar's ignite on contact with molten chlorates Maybe he'll be a chemist yet, who knows..
It's sad to see other parents with no will to let their children learn. I doubt there are many that are getting children to have gummy bear fires and
acetylsalicylic precipitations in this day n age of methamphetamine and chemophobia, but maybe my son will be the next great pharmacopoeia chemist.
TLDR:;
I feel for your situation, and I hope that you can find some way to deal with it as it seems like blind fear to me....
A question that sometimes drives me hazy: am I or are the others crazy?
Albert Einstein
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Cou
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I believe that my parents are actually doing this because they know I am right (after all I am the one whom's internet history is filled with
"[chemical name] - Wikipedia" pages) but don't want to admit it. When I asked my mom "Why don't you want me to do this?" she said "You don't need to
be doing this, it's useless" so I responded "Well other play video games, they are useless and they don't need to play games, but they play games and
no one tells them to stop! You watch your television, but you don't need to? So what is your point?" she responded with "No, I watch TV to relax" and
then didn't answer anything else I said. She also doesn't want me using the stove because "DA CHEMICALS WILL GET IN MY FOOOOD" even though it's not
like i'm POURING it directly in the food. I was forced to stop using the stove though because my dad threatened to throw away all the chemicals
Also I'm really really determined on this hobby because I've kind of run out of stuff to do, I learned to ride a unicycle and to solve the 11x11
rubik's cube, I already played with all the science simulations on the internet that exist, all the games I like, I can't play sports because I am
small boned, so I'm left with this.
[Edited on 6-6-2013 by Cou]
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