# 2 sick questions about cement **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 27, 2010, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-sick-questions-about-cement/548148 "2010-07-27T03:30:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-sick-questions-about-cement/548148/1 "2010-07-27T03:30:11Z")
I saw a tee-shirt once that said “Get\*\*\* REALLY\*\*\* stoned. Drink wet cement!” What would happen if someone drank a significant amount of cement? Would it pass before hardening? How would the stomachs digestive process react? If it hardened in the stomach, then what? Even worse, what if cement were poured from a funnel into a womans vagina and allowed to harden? Would the hardened slab fall out when she stood up? Would it cause death? Death from what? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-sick-questions-about-cement/548148/2 "2010-07-27T03:37:36Z")
Cement is very [caustic.](http://www.precast.org/publications/mc/2005_septoct/cement_burns.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-sick-questions-about-cement/548148/3 "2010-07-27T04:15:19Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Cement is very [caustic.](http://www.precast.org/publications/mc/2005_septoct/cement_burns.htm) Yes. The person in either situation in the OP will get such severe, probably fatal, chemical burns to their mucus membranes that whether the cement sets up will be a secondary concern. When I was young my father was pouring concrete for bridge construction, working in a cofferdam below the waters surface, and his boots got filled with concrete. Burned the skin right off until they were raw. Put him out of work for a month or so. Now, the concrete was probably mixed “hot” to set up at cold temperatures but even normal concrete applications set up due to a chemical heat reaction. ---
**Author:** ![madrabbitwoman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c37758/32.png) [@madrabbitwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madrabbitwoman)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-sick-questions-about-cement/548148/4 "2010-07-27T04:20:01Z")
I have heard somewhere of a food and cement mixture being used to kill rats. I think drinking cement would be a very very bad idea ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-sick-questions-about-cement/548148/5 "2010-07-27T04:30:59Z")
> [@madrabbitwoman](#): > > I have heard somewhere of a food and cement mixture being used to kill rats. I think drinking cement would be a very very bad idea Cecil [speaks](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/20/whats-the-best-way-to-kill-cockroaches). Quote: > [@](#): > > Incidentally, should you also be happen to be troubled by rats, I have here an ingenious formula for inducing rat death: Mix equal parts cement and flour. Place a pan of this powder out next to a pan of water. The rats eat the cement, then they drink the water, and by the next morning their bowels have turned to concrete. Sadistic, eh? I knew you’d love it. I’m sorry, I just had to chime in. I first bought one of Mr. Adams’ books, oh, decades ago now. And as soon as I saw your post, I knew what you were talking about. Peace:) ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-sick-questions-about-cement/548148/6 "2010-07-27T12:34:34Z")
On one of those stupid “Hundred Horrible Ways to Die” type shows not too long ago, they talked about a couple who experimented with a cement enema. It didn’t go well. The internal membranes began to be eaten away almost immediately, and IIRC at least some of it hardened before they were able to get it out. The guy died. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-sick-questions-about-cement/548148/7 "2010-07-27T12:35:56Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Even worse, what if cement were poured from a funnel into a womans vagina and allowed to harden? Would the hardened slab fall out when she stood up? Would it cause death? Death from what? There was [this case,](http://www.well.com/~cynsa/cement.html) in which a man received a concrete enema. He went to the ER after it cured, and they were able to extract it as a single piece; he apparently survived with no long-term health effects. There is a (non-link) citation to the American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology; I haven’t followed it to confirm it’s real, but the page I linked to contains links to an X-ray and a photo of the concretion that was extracted from the man’s rectum. ---
**Author:** ![Add99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/977dab/32.png) [@Add99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Add99)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-sick-questions-about-cement/548148/8 "2010-07-27T13:46:25Z")
I feel compelled to point out the huge difference between cement and concrete. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-sick-questions-about-cement/548148/9 "2010-07-27T14:14:50Z")
> [@Add99](#): > > I feel compelled to point out the huge difference between cement and concrete. And yet you didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-sick-questions-about-cement/548148/10 "2010-07-27T14:24:48Z")
> [@Joe Frickin Friday](#): > > > [@Add99](#): > > > > I feel compelled to point out the huge difference between cement and concrete. > > And yet you didn’t. He’s got the compulsion under control. ---
**Author:** ![sinical\_brit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/48db29/32.png) [@sinical\_brit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinical_brit)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-sick-questions-about-cement/548148/11 "2010-07-27T15:35:02Z")
> [@Joe Frickin Friday](#): > > concrete enema Band name … ? ---
**Author:** ![BrandonR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@BrandonR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrandonR)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-sick-questions-about-cement/548148/12 "2010-07-27T15:40:33Z")
How quickly do the burns set in? Do people who write their name/initial in concrete with their finger get a speedy retribution? ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-sick-questions-about-cement/548148/13 "2010-07-27T17:33:29Z")
> [@BrandonR](#): > > How quickly do the burns set in? Do people who write their name/initial in concrete with their finger get a speedy retribution? It’s not bad with tough epidermis like you have on your hands. I’ve handled wet concrete and then taken up to 1/2 hour before thoroughly washing it off. I had no noticeable effects. ---
**Author:** ![Lare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-sick-questions-about-cement/548148/14 "2010-07-27T17:36:38Z")
I’ve “formed” wet concrete with my bare hands with no ill effects. Granted I didn’t keep my hands in it any longer than necessary and washed them afterward so YMMV. ETA: Ooops, “Wombat” beat me to it. ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-sick-questions-about-cement/548148/15 "2010-07-27T17:54:41Z")
Never mind all that… I _had_ that t-shirt in 1978 when I was in 8th grade! ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-sick-questions-about-cement/548148/16 "2010-07-27T17:59:09Z")
I had a job once which involved pouring bags of cement into a mixer. Although everyone wore gloves and (supposedly) dust masks, getting a rash was a common hazard; especially if the dust got onto your skin and rubbed in by clothing while you sweated. ---
**Author:** ![hotflungwok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/edb3f5/32.png) [@hotflungwok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hotflungwok)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-sick-questions-about-cement/548148/17 "2010-07-27T18:13:11Z")
> [@](#): > > Incidentally, should you also be happen to be troubled by rats, I have here an ingenious formula for inducing rat death: Mix equal parts cement and flour. Place a pan of this powder out next to a pan of water. The rats eat the cement, then they drink the water, and by the next morning their bowels have turned to concrete. Sadistic, eh? I knew you’d love it. A mixture of peanut butter and plaster of paris does the same thing.