Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Flushing 8 liters Hg through the loo on YT, unsafe ?

metalresearcher - 1-10-2016 at 22:45

This guy ('Cody's lab') has a special setup outdoor loo (not used for peeing and pooping) through which he flushes mercury. The amount of 240lbs is 8 liters, just the contents of the cistern.

He does not wear any respiration protection (Hg vapors are toxic as well even when being outdoors) and immerses his bare hands into the Hg.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvVaaZ21C44

Sulaiman - 2-10-2016 at 01:56

risk is relative,
for a miner I guess there are many greater risks.

ave369 - 2-10-2016 at 02:00

This experiment looks quite safe. The biggest danger of mercury is when it is allowed to evaporate for a long time while not covered by water. This experiment does not allow for such conditions.

Maker - 2-10-2016 at 05:19

Metallic mercury is fairly safe. Dissolving the mercury off the gold bar with nitric acid was the most dangerous part. If you think that was bad, Nile Red once said he was planning on distilling mercury. :o

phlogiston - 2-10-2016 at 05:34

In a previous he collected cinnabar from the property and heated it to obtain a small amount of mercurySo, the soil itself already contains significant amounts of mercury there and considering some of his other experiments I doubt this adds significantly to his mercury burden.
At the end of the video he announced he will have his blood tested for mercury next week, so I guess we'll find out. If it turns out to be high, we won't know whether it was from this experiment or others sources/exposures.

but mercury is actually good for you

Sulaiman - 2-10-2016 at 06:52

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyR2XeLjYTU










:P

ficolas - 2-10-2016 at 07:14

He said that he would distill his mercury, that is way scarier.
He also said he was gonna get medical test to check for mercury in his body, that will probably solve this question :p

unionised - 2-10-2016 at 08:27

Mercury was used as a laxative in the past- so he's not the first person t flush it.

stoichiometric_steve - 2-10-2016 at 12:30

Quote: Originally posted by Maker  
Nile Red once said he was planning on distilling mercury. :o


Considering the lack of safety precautions and his handling of fairly dangerous chemicals, i think that guy is quite a lunatic.

j_sum1 - 2-10-2016 at 14:54

SS, I presume you are talking about Cody and not NileRed.


I rather like Cody. A huge range of interests that overlap mine. Lots of good practical knowledge. And he is a doer. If he thinks of an idea he goes for it. For the most part there is some reasonable science behind what he is doing even if the setup is umm, rustic.

This latest offering is not one of his high moments. It really seems targeted to pander to the more puerile devotees. It reminds me a lot of TheBackyardScientist. I will admit that 100kg of mercury looks pretty cool. The fact that he can just trot over to the shed and grab another flask of the stuff is impressive.

As far as safety goes, I have seen a lot worse from him. I agree with Maker that the cleaning of his gold bar with NA was the most hazardous part of the whole thing. Being outside was probably the saving grace as far as fumes go. It would have been interesting to observe a catastrophic failure of the cistern -- which was a distinct possibility. But the trough was a good idea and would have made things a lot more manageable if there had been a failure. I wonder how (if) he plans to clean up residual Hg in the crevices of his apparatus.

But on the whole, even though the risks were not that high, in this video he demonstrates a somewhat blase and cavalier attitude towards the hazards. Nothing like the precautions he took in this mercury clean up video. I could speculate on why he makes videos like this one but that's for another discussion. Without some decent science, I will lose interest pretty quickly.

stoichiometric_steve - 2-10-2016 at 16:30

Quote: Originally posted by j_sum1  
SS, I presume you are talking about Cody and not NileRed.


nah.

j_sum1 - 2-10-2016 at 16:48

Quote: Originally posted by stoichiometric_steve  
Quote: Originally posted by j_sum1  
SS, I presume you are talking about Cody and not NileRed.


nah.

I don't follow. I find NR to be much more conscious of safe handling of chemicals than Cody.
Would you care to link to something of NileRed that shows bad practice?

Maker - 3-10-2016 at 11:04

Quote: Originally posted by j_sum1  
Quote: Originally posted by stoichiometric_steve  
Quote: Originally posted by j_sum1  
SS, I presume you are talking about Cody and not NileRed.


nah.

I don't follow. I find NR to be much more conscious of safe handling of chemicals than Cody.
Would you care to link to something of NileRed that shows bad practice?


I agree, Mr Red always seems to be very safety conscious, and clearly has the knowledge to to identify potential hazards before they arise.

aga - 3-10-2016 at 12:48

All the decent chem vid posters on utoob are safety conscious, at least to a degree.

They keep posting, ergo are not dead or in prison, ergo observed some self-preservation.

Recently NurdRage did NaCN and lives to tell the tale, so go figure.

Cody's Hg video is cool, basically 'cos there's lot of mercury and a toilet with a solid gold turd. Fun, but doesn't really tell you anything useful.

NileRed's videos are also good.

NurdRage's videos are also good.

Basically i like 'em all, although currently prefering NurdRage personally.

Perhaps they should collaborate ?

Now that would be a good video - Assault on Lab 13 !

zwt - 15-10-2016 at 16:49

Unsafe? He didn't even die.

Mercury Test Results - Cody's Lab

I've never handled mercury compounds or more than a thermometer's worth of metallic mercury, but I did eat 6 cans of albacore tuna this week.
Some quick calculations suggest the mercury level in my blood is probably higher than his, right now.
(I'll be using that as an excuse for any recent, crazy behavior.)

phlogiston - 16-10-2016 at 07:21

Here is a video of someone exploring an abandoned factory in russia where there are spilled puddles of mercury all over the place, as if it was rainwater:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ox5fYZafLc0

Dwarvensilver - 16-10-2016 at 07:45

Wow, Thanks for the link that is sick.
I had heard that in some in some bays along the Chinese coast the ocean floor is like that as well but never saw any visual.
And most think that it is environmental change is all we have to worry about. :(

clearly_not_atara - 17-10-2016 at 13:59

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_fountain

Now he's drinking cyanide

zwt - 17-10-2016 at 14:08

Drinking Cyanide - Cody's lab
Quote:
My ability to play around with mercury without poisoning myself suggests I'm invincible.
To test this further, I'm going to drink some cyanide.
Oh, and don't try this at home.
OK, that's not a real quote. But is is further proof that YouTube is crazy to flag what it does. The points he's trying to make are valid (the dose makes the poison), but he could make those points in a more responsible fashion. Plus, the crappy scene transition suggests he actually did die, but filmed the Prussian blue bit before the part where he drank the cyanide. Then the cameraman did the editing and uploading.

XeonTheMGPony - 17-10-2016 at 14:26

Quote: Originally posted by zwt  
Drinking Cyanide - Cody's lab
Quote:
My ability to play around with mercury without poisoning myself suggests I'm invincible.
To test this further, I'm going to drink some cyanide.
Oh, and don't try this at home.
OK, that's not a real quote. But is is further proof that YouTube is crazy to flag what it does. The points he's trying to make are valid (the dose makes the poison), but he could make those points in a more responsible fashion. Plus, the crappy scene transition suggests he actually did die, but filmed the Prussian blue bit before the part where he drank the cyanide. Then the cameraman did the editing and uploading.


LOL another youtube conspiracy! ( I am giving you the benefit of the doubt and assuming you where being very sarcastic here, but for the general population that stumbles in and sees this: )

No, no he did not die, he consumed the same amount of cyanide as in a small hand full of apple seeds.

We are becoming such a pathetic pussified society terrified by our own shadows thanks to nanny statism. I have a friend who gets scared every time he see's my mercury thinks a drop of it is lethal and such.

I could drink the whole vial and be fine, mind you I'd have to crap in a bucket for the next 2 or so days to prevent it from getting out to the environment!

Like radiation and any other chemical the poison is in the Dose Vs time!

Water will even kill you if you drink enough of it fast enough, or even hyper ventilation! (Hard though as you tend to pass out where the automatic system takes over and fixes the imbalance)

Moral of this post is: Treat all chemicals with respect and due diligence and you will never have a problem, but be careless and un aware of what you are working with you will promptly win a Darwin award! But NEVER be scared of a chemical as that is just as bad as being incompitant with it!

Healthy respect of the substance while armed with a solid understanding of its nature and a thought out procedure you will thrive!

[Edited on 17-10-2016 by XeonTheMGPony]

j_sum1 - 17-10-2016 at 16:10

Drinking cyanide solution -- now there's confidence. But not something that I would do -- and definitely not something that I would post to a YT channel. IMO, Cody steps over the line into irresponsible actions here -- not because he is doing something dangerous but because he presents a lax, overfamiliar attitude towards toxins, which, if emulated by others with insufficient understanding, could lead to problems. Note that it is the presented attitude rather than any specific action that I think is dangerous.

In related news, while we are talking about mercury toxicity, how about 67 tonnes of the stuff dumped into the environment. Just how bad is that?
http://cen.acs.org/articles/94/web/2016/10/Mercury-WWII-subm...


Short answer... surprisingly inconsequential. But I wouldn't mind a steel bucket and a 150m rope to do some mining for the element collection. (Bonus trip to Norway would be cool too.)

phlogiston - 17-10-2016 at 16:53

I disagree, the confidence comes from comprehending very well what the effects will be of drinking a small and inconsequential amount of cyanide. It is very, very rare to see someone ingesting cyanide in real-life (I assume the video is real), which is interesting, even if only for originality.

I see people at work that weigh nearly every chemical to 5 digits accuracy. In contrast, some people understand when accuracy matters and when it does not. This is indicative of actual insight. Cody's video illustrates the same difference.

He does what we would and should not, but could.

Youtube should refrain from censorship as much as possible. This video shows no illegal activity and while scientifically perhaps not very important, it is entertaining.

Youtube viewers that do not understand that this is not something to be replicated by someone that does not understand it and does not understand or completely misses the warnings will very likely not be able to acquire cyanide. It would take an unlikely chain of events for this video to kill someone, and it would be a great loss if videos like this can not be shown anymore. Someone would have to ignore every warning, be largely unaware of the dangers of cyanide, yet buy enough of it to kill himself and then ingest it.

I suspect Darwin would approve of this video.

j_sum1 - 17-10-2016 at 19:23

I understand your point, phlogiston. But I fear that I have not made myself clear.

The danger as I see it is not that a youtube viewer will take up drinking cyanide. Rather it is that they will adopt a dangerously cavalier attitude towards chemicals without the knowledge base that Cody has. For example the following scenarios:

In summary, I see problems not so much with what Cody does but what might be inferred and the potential of adopting an incautious attitude without requisite knowledge.

XeonTheMGPony - 18-10-2016 at 09:24

Quote: Originally posted by j_sum1  
I understand your point, phlogiston. But I fear that I have not made myself clear.

The danger as I see it is not that a youtube viewer will take up drinking cyanide. Rather it is that they will adopt a dangerously cavalier attitude towards chemicals without the knowledge base that Cody has. For example the following scenarios:
  • Someone comes across some soluble Hg salts and assumes that because Cody handles Mercury without consequence they are safe to handle with inadequate protection.
  • Mercury is spilled in a small confined space where its vapours can cause harm: such as on the carpet in a small bedroom, and thereby sets up a situation of chronic exposure. Following Cody's example no attempt is made to rectify the problem.
  • Someone comes across an old box of DDT or some other hazardous chemical in a shed. The box disintegrates because it is so old and half a kilo ends up on the ground. Taking a cue from Cody that chems really cause no harm and the dangers are overhyped, the spill is not treated properly.

In summary, I see problems not so much with what Cody does but what might be inferred and the potential of adopting an incautious attitude without requisite knowledge.


I support freedom of speech and I fervently support natural selection!

It is the individuals responsibility to learn about the materials they are handling befor they handle them, if they fail to do that then that is THEIR problem, our only obligation is to inform of them of the risks after that it is their duty!

[Edited on 18-10-2016 by XeonTheMGPony]

j_sum1 - 20-10-2016 at 16:31

Well three days after posting the drinking of cyanide and he has nearly 2 million views. I think that monetises quite well especially if Patreon is included.
Perhaps the forces of natural selection favour the drinking of cyanide under certain circumstances. FWIW.
I don't align to Xeon's fervent support of NS, but that is for another debate.

Maroboduus - 20-10-2016 at 22:16

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.

j_sum1 - 20-10-2016 at 22:47

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.

phlogiston - 21-10-2016 at 00:45

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.

Maroboduus - 21-10-2016 at 08:40

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.


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]

Dwarvensilver - 21-10-2016 at 11:29

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 :D