I recently was in the checkout line of a local grocery store and I noticed that the person in front of me was buying a fair amount of suspicious items. He purchased around 10 - 12 boxes of appliance light bulbs, several boxes of batteries (each containing probably 10 batteries or so), and a couple roles of flex hose. The only reason this looked suspicious to me was because my hometown is getting to be known for it’s meth labs and I was just wondering if there was any correlation between these items and what is commonly found in meth labs. Thanks
Not sure how the hose would fit in, but if I had to hazard a guess I’d say he’s a maintenance guy with a moderately sized apartment complex - a lot of them will have a point during the year where they come in, check your smoke detectors, and fix some of the other small things that have gone wrong during the year.
Yes, you sound like an extremely suspicious person. Try not to be so paranoid. 
Nothing suspicious. Just the props guy for the “How many … light bulb” joke.
The flex hose is for the really bad ones.
I think it’s obvious the man is building his own lighted disco floor, a la Saturday Night Fever.
Yes, this person is clearly a terrorist. Call John Ashcroft immediately. :rolleyes:
My first thought is that it was probably a teacher buying supplies for a lab demonstration.
My first thought was that he was building a robot.
Does that make me a geek?
No one said anything about terrorists. :rolleyes: back right back at you.
No one said anything about terrorists. :rolleyes: right back at you.
Yes, I realize no one said anything about terrorists. But I find it disheartening that someone making a slightly unusual purchase will arouse suspicion – whether it be of drug manufacture or any other illicit activity. I think the trend has only gotten worse since concerns of terrorism have come to the forefront. Thus my comment about terrorism.
Sorry if it was too much of a stretch.
Well, since the OP was recently made aware of a rash of meth labs in his/her town, I suppose it was on his/her mind at the time. Hence the suspicion. It is an unusual purchase, you must admit. Yes, it was probably harmless, but no harm in asking. It’s not as it the OP ran to the police.
My initial suspicion was the same as JerH’s. Sounds like nothing more than a maintenance guy stocking up.
Well, he did get plastic tubing…
Common Meth Lab Supplies:
Plastic tubing
Mason jars
Propane tanks (sometimes spray-painted or burned,with bent or tampered valves)
Camp stove fuel
Empty pill bottles
Empty cans of toluene, alcohol or paint thinner
Ammonia
Starter fluid
Glass containers
Coffee filters with red stains
Funnels
Rock salt, iodine
Lithium batteries
Hydrogen peroxide
Ephedrine or pseudoephedrine tablets
List taken from this pdf.
Well I know the guy and he has been laid off work for over a year now. When he was working though he wasn’t doing any kind of maintence work though.
A few batteries in a length of hose make a dandy sap. Aside from that, it doesn’t ring of anything criminal.
Common Meth Lab Supplies:
Plastic tubing --Check. In a box in the basement from an old aquarium.
Mason jars --Yep. Two dozen in the pantry, minus one that I dropped.
Propane tanks --Check. And a spare, in the garage, for the BBQ grill.
Camp stove fuel --In possession, guilty. In the garage, from a tailgate party.
Empty pill bottles --Yep. They make great bead containers.
Empty cans of toluene, alcohol or paint thinner --Check. Almost empty, some.
Ammonia --Yes, under the bathroom sink.
Starter fluid --Check. In the garage with the spare air filter and case of oil.
Glass containers --Check. In kitchen cabinets, in dishwasher, on table.
Coffee filters with red stains --Red stains? have to look.
Funnels --Multiply guilty there. One in the kitchen, at least one in the garage.
Rock salt, iodine --Check. Kitchen cabinet.
Lithium batteries --Yep. Camera, in the GPS, and maybe more.
Hydrogen peroxide --Check. Bathroom cabinets.
Ephedrine or pseudoephedrine tablets --Yep. Bathroom cabinets again.
Does this mean they have circumstantial evidence on my possession of drug manufacture paraphenalia? Just another example of how our police state is nurturing paranoia.
Suppose you saw an Iranian guy purchasing fifty feet of heavy duty rope, some large hooks, and asking for ten dollars in quarters? Is that reason to become suspicious, or should you offer to help him pull his pickup truck out of the mud?
Or the customer in front of you has two boxes of cake mix, and a tub of arsenic ant granules? Is that a poisoner in the making, or does she want to try to clear up an ant infestation before her son’s birthday party next week?
Or suppose the gentleman next in line is checking off his list, and preparing to put a large tub of Crisco and a copy of Gerbils For Dummies on the counter…do you offer to share your family recipe for Gerbils Flambe’, or do you mutter, “Catcher, eh?”
A girl robot.
He’s gonna have the Best. Prom. Ever.
In my country, Ashcroft calls YOU!
Hey, wait a minute…
Stocking up on lots of cold medicine is a red flag. I’ve read that as meth is becoming a bigger problem, the 'ol gov wants to ban the limit one person can buy in one shot.
Of course that will solve the problem immediately.
Wow. Those ads always surprised me. I believe it was in those ads they run at the movie theater, before the movie starts, and it just said “The ingredients for a meth lab are as close as the corner drugstore.” I kind of wondered if the good intent of the message would be overcome by kids going “Wow! Really?” and getting a recipe off the internet.
But… is that really what you need? I don’t know much about drugs, but I know I wouldn’t put any of those substances inside my body. Except the salt.
Wow. Sorry for the hijack.