# Blue skinned Libertarians? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 22, 2002, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-skinned-libertarians/133363 "2002-10-22T11:21:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Milton\_De\_La\_Warre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Milton\_De\_La\_Warre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milton_De_La_Warre)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2002, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-skinned-libertarians/133363/1 "2002-10-22T11:21:30Z")
From today’s News of the Weird: "Montana’s Libertarian U.S. Senate candidate Stan Jones said the reason that his skin is blue, probably permanently, is because he had been drinking a homemade silver solution favored by some libertarians to guard against illness. [CNN-AP, 10-1-02] " Questions: 1. Is this actually possible, to color one’s skin blue by drinking some silver solution? 2. Is this common among Libertarians or others? 3. Are there possible harmful effects? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2002, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-skinned-libertarians/133363/2 "2002-10-22T11:33:45Z")
1. Yes 2. I reckon it’s probably about as common (or perhaps less)as autoerotic strangulation is amongst Conservatives. 3. Dunno, maybe **QtM** can help us. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2002, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-skinned-libertarians/133363/3 "2002-10-22T11:36:00Z")
1. Obviously, it is possible. [Picture](http://www.azcentral.com/offbeat/articles/1003blueskin03-ON.html). The “favored by some libertarians” phrase is utterly random. 2. No. 3. No. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2002, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-skinned-libertarians/133363/4 "2002-10-22T11:41:40Z")
Shadow Lass is Libertarian? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2002, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-skinned-libertarians/133363/5 "2002-10-22T12:23:55Z")
That look _works_ for him. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2002, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-skinned-libertarians/133363/6 "2002-10-22T12:51:31Z")
The **colloidal silver** scam seems to be popular among the patriot resistance movement / conspiracy theorists crowd. Not sure why. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2002, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-skinned-libertarians/133363/7 "2002-10-22T12:56:35Z")
Probably the mind-control chemicals that the gummint puts into all the antibiotics. Does blue skin protect you from the orbital mind-control lasers? ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2002, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-skinned-libertarians/133363/8 "2002-10-22T13:41:21Z")
They should try the homeopathic silver solution. No nasty side effects! ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2002, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-skinned-libertarians/133363/9 "2002-10-22T13:56:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by h.sapiens \* > \*\*They should try the homeopathic silver solution. No nasty side effects! \*\* :rolleyes: Beyond the obvious one, that is. _i.e._ --that homeopathy **_doesn’t work_.** ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2002, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-skinned-libertarians/133363/10 "2002-10-22T14:36:57Z")
Yeah, that’s what I meant. No active ingredients, no side effects. Forgot the smilie. ---
**Author:** ![Spit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@Spit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spit)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2002, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-skinned-libertarians/133363/11 "2002-10-22T14:38:31Z")
How does one make the solution? ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2002, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-skinned-libertarians/133363/12 "2002-10-22T15:37:17Z")
Maybe he should try to resurrect the Populist movement … ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2002, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-skinned-libertarians/133363/13 "2002-10-22T19:08:50Z")
Reminds me of the Tleilaxu masters from the Dune books … their skin was impregnated with metallic pigments to prevent scans … ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2002, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-skinned-libertarians/133363/14 "2002-10-22T19:15:58Z")
The condition is called argyria, caused by the deposition of silver in the dermis. A similar condition caused by ingesting gold is called chrysiasis. Ingestion of other metals can also change skin color: bismuth, mercury, arsenic, etc. The presence of the metals can stimulate melanin production, but the exact process is not well understood. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2002, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-skinned-libertarians/133363/15 "2002-10-22T20:56:46Z")
> [@](#): > > 1. Is this common among Libertarians or others? I’m going to say no, BUT … When I was living in Denver, I could recieve a low-power AM radio station broadcasting from a small rural town north of the city. Most programming was “patriot” oriented, with talk shows related to guns, militias, guns, constitutional law, guns, Janet Reno, guns, health, and guns. The editorial bias of all programming was definitely right/Libertarian leaning. Most of the health-related programming was along the lines of “the FDA knows about certain miracule cures for cancer, the common cold, and everything else that ails you, but they’re not telling anyone about them because of the AMA’s secret lobbying efforts.” There were as many commercials for colloidal silver as for Sangean shortwave radios, precious metal brokerages, and survivalist guides. I’m willing to bet that, although argyria is extremely rare, it’ll be more common among Libertarians and “patriots” in the Rocky Mountain west and Pacific northwest than among other groups. Strictly IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2002, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-skinned-libertarians/133363/16 "2002-10-22T21:03:41Z")
> [@](#): > > 1. Is this common among Libertarians or others? I’m going to say no, BUT … When I was living in Denver, I could recieve a low-power AM radio station broadcasting from a small rural town north of the city. Most programming was “patriot” oriented, with talk shows related to guns, militias, guns, constitutional law, guns, Janet Reno, guns, health, and guns. The editorial bias of all programming was definitely right/Libertarian leaning. Most of the health-related programming was along the lines of “the FDA knows about certain miracule cures for cancer, the common cold, and everything else that ails you, but they’re not telling anyone about them because of the AMA’s secret lobbying efforts.” There were as many commercials for colloidal silver as for Sangean shortwave radios, precious metal brokerages, and survivalist guides. I’m willing to bet that, although argyria is extremely rare, it’ll be more common among Libertarians and “patriots” in the Rocky Mountain west and Pacific northwest than among other groups. Strictly IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-skinned-libertarians/133363/17 "2002-10-23T10:17:59Z")
Um. For the record, it seems that the gentleman who favored us with his humble opinion has confused libertarianism with anarchy. I have offered a bit more spirited rebuttal [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=140801). ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-skinned-libertarians/133363/18 "2002-10-23T12:44:12Z")
As for the antibacterial effect of silver, hardly. Silver _can_ be used to purify water. It’s what the Russians used on MIR. But that doesn’t mean it has an antibacterial effect once ingested. ---
**Author:** ![Milton\_De\_La\_Warre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Milton\_De\_La\_Warre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milton_De_La_Warre)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-skinned-libertarians/133363/19 "2002-10-23T13:20:12Z")
So what I hear many people here saying is that it colors one’s skin blue and doesn’t really do much of anything to protect one’s health or cure diseases. He DOES look like a dead guy, though. It could lead to some unfortunate decisions by ER types if he were to pass out somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-skinned-libertarians/133363/20 "2002-10-23T13:55:43Z")
Would it reduce the risk of skin cancer? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-skinned-libertarians/133363.md?page=2)