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Maroboduus
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Nothing new about drinking cyanide for fun and profit.
Haven't you guys ever heard of Chabert, the human salamander and poison resistor?
He made a bundle drinking nitric acid,
eating arsenic,
pouring boiling oil in his mouth,
hanging out in a hot oven until the steak he carried in there with him was done,
And drinking hydrocyanic acid.
This is far classier than one of his competitors who used to shove red-hot coals up his ass on stage.
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j_sum1
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Reference to the above...
https://books.google.com.au/books?id=HItzboi4ePQC&pg=PA1...
Colour me skeptical.
(a) He was a charlatan.
(b) One of the sources is a novella.
(c) The account appears to be a list of collected anecdotes with no independent corroboration.
(d) The account of him ingesting prussic acid at least is disputed.
Undoubtedly there is more to the story than written here. But it seems to me at least likely that many of the anecdotes are untrue.
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phlogiston
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Yes, superficially, he may appear a little cavalier about the risks and some people may miss the clues that suggest that he does make an effort to
prevent serious accidents (although on balancing risk vs effort, well, let's say it reflects his personal risk acceptance level, and may not be
acceptable to everyone)
However, warning people to 'not do this at home' has lost its meaning. Rather, it has become a joke, especially when it is said by someone that
proceeds to do exactly that. And I suspect that he will hesitate to include exhaustive warnings and explanations of the potential risks involved as it
would not improve the entertaining quality of the video's.
Presumably, the vast majority of people that find his video's interesting have a general interest in science and very likely to know that things like
mercury and DDT can be dangerous.
-----
"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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Maroboduus
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Quote: Originally posted by j_sum1  | Reference to the above...
https://books.google.com.au/books?id=HItzboi4ePQC&pg=PA1...
Colour me skeptical.
(a) He was a charlatan.
(b) One of the sources is a novella.
(c) The account appears to be a list of collected anecdotes with no independent corroboration.
(d) The account of him ingesting prussic acid at least is disputed.
Undoubtedly there is more to the story than written here. But it seems to me at least likely that many of the anecdotes are untrue.
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I'm not familiar with your source, but his antics were heavily covered in the newspapers of the period and He is very well known. Houdini and
Dunninger both wrote about him. He is mostly remembered for the oven trick.
The accounts of him digesting prussic acid were certainly disputed, I think the source I mention below claims he didn't just take an antidote
beforehand, but actually slipped a neutralizing chemical into the acid when he took it. And he undoubtedly faked most other things as well(probably
not the oven trick though), but just what sort of proof do we have about this guy on YouTube?
But I wasn't, and am not, trying to point out that either of them did or didn't fake it, just that entertaining people for profit by messing around
with dangerous scientific odds and ends is nothing new.
Walford Bodie was another good example. His was the first really popular 'electrified man' act, mostly based on antics with a Tesla coil. He was also
a charlatan, who pretended to cure invalids on stage. He got in legal trouble repeatedly for calling himself Walford Bodie MD. His defense was the
claim that the MD just stood for 'Merry Devil"
Perhaps the best recent coverage of these fellows, and others like the guy who would shove red-hot coals up his ass, is LEARNED PIGS AND FIREPROOF
WOMEN, By Ricky Jay.
I don't have a copy, but If memory serves it is footnoted fairly well.
I think Jay is (or was) a curator of some special collection on stage magic at some major southern California library. (In addition to the other stuff
he's done over the years)
EDIT: Just had a look at that source, and he seems to be saying that the novella was unrelated to Chabert the poison resistor, and that the similarity
of name and personal history (military service) are coincidental. He probably just brings it up because Balzac was so widely read back then that
people might have found the name familiar and wondered.
That is, unless another novella is mentioned later in the chapter. Got to admit I didn't read it all.
[Edited on 21-10-2016 by Maroboduus]
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Dwarvensilver
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I don't know, just because you can does not mean that you should. I work with 10's of grams of NaCN in solution but drink any much diluted? WHY!
serves no purpose. If you dilute it down so that is is there in just name it is like handling a scorpion in thick leather gloves, no big deal and a
waste of time if you want a risky experience.
I personally think that it is just grandstanding for fame and glory and would rather do a valid experiment with chemicals than his oh wow YouTube
thing. When he gets older and wiser maybe he will realize that.
But hey that is just me and 2 million sheep maybe can't be wrong? aahhhhahaha
There is too much chemistry and not enough time!!!!!
Pardon for the rant but it must have hit a delicate spot for me 
There is nothing more useless than doing well that which need not be done at all.
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