# a buttload of virus (ew, no not literally)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-buttload-of-virus-ew-no-not-literally/26339>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 21, 2000, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-buttload-of-virus-ew-no-not-literally/26339 "2000-07-21T12:08:25Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 8\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![jb\_farley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9d8465/32.png) [@jb\_farley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jb_farley)\
**Post date:** [July 21, 2000, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-buttload-of-virus-ew-no-not-literally/26339/1 "2000-07-21T12:08:25Z")

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if i got me a big plate of virus, like a few ounces worth of pure virus, what would it look like? a fine dust, crystalline powder, icky goop?

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**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\
**Post date:** [July 21, 2000, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-buttload-of-virus-ew-no-not-literally/26339/2 "2000-07-21T12:12:29Z")

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Where do you come up with this stuff.  
… and more importantly, how does tcburnett always have a straight answer for you.

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**Author:** ![Phobos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Phobos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phobos)\
**Post date:** [July 21, 2000, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-buttload-of-virus-ew-no-not-literally/26339/3 "2000-07-21T12:23:57Z")

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you can buy some viruses in little freeze-dried disks (for lab experimentation), but I assume that is not 100% virus. since viruses are DNA/RNA strands surrounded by proteins, I would guess that you’d have a goopy plate. Any microbiologists in the house?

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**Author:** ![galen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecc23a/32.png) [@galen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen)\
**Post date:** [July 21, 2000, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-buttload-of-virus-ew-no-not-literally/26339/4 "2000-07-21T13:30:52Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Phobos \*  
> \*\*you can buy some viruses in little freeze-dried disks (for lab experimentation), but I assume that is not 100% virus. since viruses are DNA/RNA strands surrounded by proteins, I would guess that you’d have a goopy plate. Any microbiologists in the house? \*\*

I think it would be a powder or crystals. Goopy, no. The goop we usually associate with protien is the water it usually comes with (like us, for instance).

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**Author:** ![labdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5fc32e/32.png) [@labdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/labdude)\
**Post date:** [July 21, 2000, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-buttload-of-virus-ew-no-not-literally/26339/5 "2000-07-21T14:03:11Z")

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We buy our virus(es)? and bacteria in the above mentioned freeze dried form. I’m not sure what they are attached to, but I’ll find out.

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**Author:** ![tcburnett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@tcburnett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tcburnett)\
**Post date:** [July 21, 2000, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-buttload-of-virus-ew-no-not-literally/26339/6 "2000-07-21T19:07:23Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Bear\_Nenno \*  
> \*\*Where do you come up with this stuff.  
> … and more importantly, how does tcburnett always have a straight answer for you. \*\*

Just for that, I’m not going to answer. But if I did, the answer would be a plate of nuclear soup. Actually, putting it in a bowl would be easier.

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**Author:** ![jb\_farley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9d8465/32.png) [@jb\_farley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jb_farley)\
**Post date:** [July 21, 2000, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-buttload-of-virus-ew-no-not-literally/26339/7 "2000-07-21T19:25:53Z")

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“a plate of nuclear soup”

wasn’t that the concept behind crow’s ‘earth vs. soup’?

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**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\
**Post date:** [July 21, 2000, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-buttload-of-virus-ew-no-not-literally/26339/8 "2000-07-21T20:43:15Z")

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Get down to Mcdoggies and find out 😃