# Ethyl Mercaptan

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethyl-mercaptan/180483>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 8, 2003, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethyl-mercaptan/180483 "2003-06-08T17:35:12Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 8\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![olefin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d78d45/32.png) [@olefin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/olefin)\
**Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethyl-mercaptan/180483/1 "2003-06-08T17:35:12Z")

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Does anyone know where one can purchase a few gallons of Ethyl Mercaptan? That is the stuff that makes natural gas stink.

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**Author:** ![Amberlei](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@Amberlei](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amberlei)\
**Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethyl-mercaptan/180483/2 "2003-06-08T18:39:22Z")

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[www.sigma.com](http://www.sigma.com)

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**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\
**Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethyl-mercaptan/180483/3 "2003-06-08T19:18:25Z")

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Gallons? Just a tiny amount will send you running for the hills. I dare not think why someone would want gallons of the stuff.

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**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\
**Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethyl-mercaptan/180483/4 "2003-06-08T21:29:36Z")

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Ethyl Mercaptan? I loved her disco album.

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**Author:** ![Rabid\_Squirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Rabid\_Squirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rabid_Squirrel)\
**Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethyl-mercaptan/180483/5 "2003-06-08T22:31:50Z")

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Ummmm, isn’t mercaptan compounds incredibly toxic?

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**Author:** ![Drabble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8491ac/32.png) [@Drabble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drabble)\
**Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethyl-mercaptan/180483/6 "2003-06-08T23:15:39Z")

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Just what do you plan on doing with it?

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**Author:** ![olefin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d78d45/32.png) [@olefin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/olefin)\
**Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethyl-mercaptan/180483/7 "2003-06-08T23:37:04Z")

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I know a person that has free gas from a well on his property. The production company doesn’t odorize the gas and I was thinking about installing him an odorizer if I could buy the Ethyl Mercaptain.

It’s rated slightly hazardous but I worked with it and some real bad ones for 30 years and I’m still here. 😉

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**Author:** ![coffeecat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coffeecat/32/3405_2.png) [@coffeecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coffeecat)\
**Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethyl-mercaptan/180483/8 "2003-06-09T02:11:14Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Drabble \*  
> \*\*Just what do you plan on doing with it? \*\*

That’s just what my high-school chemistry teacher said when I asked to use his lab to whip some up.

He said no ☹