# Copper ball claims **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 27, 2020, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copper-ball-claims/916458 "2020-07-27T07:25:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copper-ball-claims/916458/21 "2020-09-10T04:09:29Z")
Copper turns remarkably green over time. A hospital’s Brasso expenses would quickly reach astronomical levels. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copper-ball-claims/916458/22 "2020-09-10T05:46:45Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > Copper turns remarkably green over time. {…} Only if the conditions are right. These are the more likely colors you’d get inside a building, [![](https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/thmb/Hjfm7GfvyZH8hfVRlUzl_wAf7_U=/960x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/US0001-Lincoln-Wheat-Copper-Color-Scale-56a177e03df78cf7726af244.jpg) ](https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/thmb/Hjfm7GfvyZH8hfVRlUzl_wAf7_U=/960x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/US0001-Lincoln-Wheat-Copper-Color-Scale-56a177e03df78cf7726af244.jpg) Dark, chocolaty, brown is more common in old copper, like pennies, than green. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copper-ball-claims/916458/23 "2020-09-10T07:04:48Z")
Sure on the brown of pennies, but countertops will be a special case, as people will spray them down with chemical cleaners. Tert amines or bleaches. Blue to green is pretty common on old plumbing joints, from flux and minerals. I think bleach will give you greenish, don’t know about tertiary amines, but you’ll likely get some poorly Stable crust. Point is, Cu is a lot more chemically active than stainless, stone or Formica. Sure it can kill bugs, but at the cost of a touchy, hard to maintain surface. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copper-ball-claims/916458/24 "2020-09-10T14:58:15Z")
Is there a reliable way to get copper to oxidize rather than tarnish? I have copper pulls on my kitchen cabinets. I did not have them sealed because I wanted them to turn green. Instead they turn black. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copper-ball-claims/916458/25 "2020-09-10T15:12:54Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > Is there a reliable way to get copper to oxidize rather than tarnish? I have copper pulls on my kitchen cabinets. I did not have them sealed because I wanted them to turn green. Instead they turn black Many ways. [Here’s one](https://www.worldcoppersmith.com/copper-patina-guide/#:~:text=Soaking%20copper%20in%20white%20vinegar,the%20darker%20the%20patina%20becomes.). I’ve heard the best methods are the slowest. I have seen green oxide form at plumbing joints very readily but the copper cover on my pizza oven is slowly turning black. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copper-ball-claims/916458/26 "2020-09-10T15:22:06Z")
In addition to being antimicrobial, copper also disrupts respiratory pigments in plants and invertebrates. This interaction is commercially important because some aquatic treatments take advantage of that toxicity to remove unwanted species from aquariums, ponds, lakes, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copper-ball-claims/916458/27 "2020-09-10T17:14:38Z")
Thank you for that. This is going to be some fun trial and error… ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copper-ball-claims/916458/28 "2020-09-10T17:28:07Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Relevant excerpt: “I do feel obligated to point out at this point that wearing copper bracelets or other jewelry is of no benefit. [This is pseudoscience](https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/copper-and-magnetic-bracelets-for-arthritis/)and has nothing to do with the legitimate antimicrobial properties of copper.” The linked article finds no benefit specifically for arthritis pain. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copper-ball-claims/916458/29 "2020-09-10T18:32:50Z")
Since it contained a further link refuting this specific claim (the most common one used for copper bracelets and other jewelry, I doubt the author intended to mislead anyone. Wearing copper items has no proven health benefit, period. It’s good to know in addition that Moscow Mules are unlikely to kill you. > **[Copper Bracelets and Moscow Mules: Will Copper Heal You or Kill You? |...](https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/copper-bracelets-and-moscow-mules-will-copper-heal-you-or-kill-you/)** > > Copper bracelets have been used for centuries in folk medicine. They allegedly reduce the joint pain and stiffness associated with arthritis, and wearing copper on the wrist supposedly benefits all joints in the body. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copper-ball-claims/916458/30 "2020-09-10T18:50:54Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Many ways. [Here’s one](https://www.worldcoppersmith.com/copper-patina-guide/#:~:text=Soaking%20copper%20in%20white%20vinegar,the%20darker%20the%20patina%20becomes.). I’ve heard the best methods are the slowest. I have seen green oxide form at plumbing joints very readily but the copper cover on my pizza oven is slowly turning black. IIRC, then the Stature of Liberty was renovated back in the 80s the new pieces were aged with horse urine to make them match. The NPS info used some delicate euphemism. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copper-ball-claims/916458/31 "2020-09-10T19:28:45Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > IIRC, then the Stature of Liberty was renovated back in the 80s the new pieces were aged with horse urine to make them match. Interesting. I’ve horse urine is used to produce testosterone and Coors beer also. ---
**Author:** ![Pancake\_Robot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f08c70/32.png) [@Pancake\_Robot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pancake_Robot)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copper-ball-claims/916458/32 "2020-09-10T20:12:14Z")
It’s Pregnant Mare Urine combined to make a portmanteau for the drug name Premarin which I believe is an estrogen supplement. However what you heard about Coors beer is correct. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copper-ball-claims/916458/33 "2020-09-10T21:55:08Z")
Wow. Is there anything horse piss can’t do? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copper-ball-claims/916458/34 "2020-09-10T22:46:58Z")
Equestrian micturate, perhaps? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copper-ball-claims/916458.md?page=1)