# How long could I swim in a pool of mercury? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 9, 2004, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-i-swim-in-a-pool-of-mercury/263764 "2004-09-09T11:52:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2004, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-i-swim-in-a-pool-of-mercury/263764/1 "2004-09-09T11:52:26Z")
So, let’s say I somehow got enough mercury to fill an entire swimming pool. Not a real large one, just big enough to do some laps in. Now, if I dove right in, could I even swim in it? Logic says yes, because it is a lot denser than I am. But would it be easy? Would it be so dense that they act of trying to move through it wastes too much energy? Now, the other part. Let’s say I can swim in it, and had a constant supply of food and water, and when I get tired there is a harness thing to keep me floating so I can sleep, so I’m spending 24 hours a day in my mercury pool. How long before I get mercury poisoning? I’m not sure if they even know how much mercury causes poisonation (yes, I just made that word up), but I would think it wouldn’t be that much, and being submerged in a pool of it could poison somone mighty quick. ---
**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:** [September 9, 2004, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-i-swim-in-a-pool-of-mercury/263764/2 "2004-09-09T11:57:45Z")
You’d have trouble swimming _in_ it because you’d be mostly floating above the surface. I’ll do some calcs, but I remember my school physics teacher pouring out a beaker full of mercury (it would never be allowed today) and dropping in a steel ball bearing - it appeared to float more than half out of the water (and your body is less dense than steel). ---
**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:** [September 9, 2004, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-i-swim-in-a-pool-of-mercury/263764/3 "2004-09-09T12:05:35Z")
Right; Assuming that the human body is about the same density as seawater (not entirely unreasonable), mercury is a little more than thirteen times the density. Therefore, in order to provide enough upthrust for you to float, only one-thirteenth of your total body mass need be submerged (or put another way, more than 90% of your body is above the surface) - you’re very much more _on_ the pool of mercury than _in_ it. ---
**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:** [September 9, 2004, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-i-swim-in-a-pool-of-mercury/263764/4 "2004-09-09T12:09:24Z")
I’ll let someone far more qualified deal with the issue of how quickly you would poisonizationificated, but I know that at least a significant part of the scary public image of mercury is to do with how it affects _developing_ organisms - the toxic effects on fully-grown humans are not insignificant, but are only part of the picture. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2004, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-i-swim-in-a-pool-of-mercury/263764/5 "2004-09-09T12:09:26Z")
I remember seeing a photo on the web of a guy doing just that. Let’s see if I can find it… No, but there’s a cool pic of a pool ball floating in mercury [here](http://www.zyra.org.uk/mercury3.htm). ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2004, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-i-swim-in-a-pool-of-mercury/263764/6 "2004-09-09T12:12:58Z")
[I’ve found the photo I was thinking of.](http://theodoregray.com/PeriodicTable/Samples/080.2/index.s12.html) As you can see, the guy is basically sitting on top of the liquid. Swimming would be tricky. ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2004, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-i-swim-in-a-pool-of-mercury/263764/7 "2004-09-09T12:27:25Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > [I’ve found the photo I was thinking of](http://theodoregray.com/PeriodicTable/Samples/080.2/index.s12.html)… Swimming would be tricky. Terrific photo, and thanks for digging it up. Swimming in the mercury would be like paddling along on an inflatable matress on water. It’d take substantially less effort than swimming in water, because there’s so much less submerged surface area to drag on, and because it requires no effort at all to stay afloat. ---
**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:** [September 9, 2004, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-i-swim-in-a-pool-of-mercury/263764/8 "2004-09-09T12:32:04Z")
Your swimming strokes ought to be more efficient also because you’re reacting against more mass, although some of the effect might be limited by your actual arm strength and surface drag effects etc. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2004, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-i-swim-in-a-pool-of-mercury/263764/9 "2004-09-09T13:03:34Z")
Related Q: I’ve heard that latex lab gloves, when touched by mercury, become a highway into the skin, transmitting mercury into the body. I heard that a couple people died from this because they had a pile of mercury sent right itno the system, and there was really nothing anyone could do. This true? ---
**Author:** ![antechinus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2004, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-i-swim-in-a-pool-of-mercury/263764/10 "2004-09-09T13:20:52Z")
> [@smiling bandit](#): > > Related Q: I’ve heard that latex lab gloves, when touched by mercury, become a highway into the skin, transmitting mercury into the body. I heard that a couple people died from this because they had a pile of mercury sent right itno the system, and there was really nothing anyone could do. This true? You are thinking of organic mercury compounds like methyl mercury. These penetrate the skin very easily and ae very toxic. Elemental mercury on the other hand does not penetrate the skin as well. The main route of poisoning would be inhalation of the vapours if you were going for a dip. ---
**Author:** ![antechinus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2004, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-i-swim-in-a-pool-of-mercury/263764/11 "2004-09-09T13:40:27Z")
[This is the case you were thinking of](http://www.denison.edu/collaborations/naosmm/topics/dartmouth.html) SB. [excuse the hijack] A problem with gloves is that you need the right glove for the substance you are handling. Some gloves have a high permeability to one substance and not another - the converse may be true for another substance. A latex glove may offer a false sense of security. In this case the researcher spilled dimethyl mercury onto her glove and this slowly penetrated thee glove and was release through her skin. Perhaps if she had spilled it onto a bare hand she would have washed it off immediately. If you ever spill something toxic on a latex glove, take it off immediately and replace the glove with a new one. But you should always be aware of the permeability of various glove types to different chemicals. ---
**Author:** ![MrO](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/50afbb/32.png) [@MrO](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrO)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2004, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-i-swim-in-a-pool-of-mercury/263764/12 "2004-09-09T14:31:11Z")
Weird question, but interesting. It would be fun to try. When I was just a youngster in the late '60s, my father had a quart jar about half full of mercury. It was shockingly heavy, and fun to play with. He used to let me have a teaspoon or so to roll around in my hands sometimes. He did warn me not to swallow it or put it in my eyes, but I guess he didn’t know how dangerous it could be. Then again, this is the same dad that brought home Agent Orange to kill some runaway bamboo in our back yard. (He was working at an Army ammunition plant at the time.) No wonder I turned out like I did. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2004, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-i-swim-in-a-pool-of-mercury/263764/13 "2004-09-09T14:43:41Z")
> [@MrO](#): > > Then again, this is the same dad that brought home Agent Orange to kill some runaway bamboo in our back yard. (He was working at an Army ammunition plant at the time.) No wonder I turned out like I did. You don’t still have any of that do ya? Or a recipe? I am fighting a losing battle against brambles :mad: ---
**Author:** ![MrO](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/50afbb/32.png) [@MrO](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrO)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2004, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-i-swim-in-a-pool-of-mercury/263764/14 "2004-09-09T15:16:38Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > You don’t still have any of that do ya? Or a recipe? I am fighting a losing battle against brambles :mad: Sorry, fresh out. Could I interest you in a canister of napalm? ---
**Author:** ![trupa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@trupa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trupa)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2004, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-i-swim-in-a-pool-of-mercury/263764/15 "2004-09-09T16:07:16Z")
> [@MrO](#): > > Sorry, fresh out. Could I interest you in a canister of napalm? I love the smell of napalm in the morning. It smells like… a neat garden! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2004, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-i-swim-in-a-pool-of-mercury/263764/16 "2004-09-09T16:36:47Z")
The thread is already hijacked. I once saw a C-119 Flying Boxcar from a defoliant squadron, the guys who dropped agent orange. The inscription over the door: _Only You Can Prevent Forests_ ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2004, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-i-swim-in-a-pool-of-mercury/263764/17 "2004-09-09T17:52:27Z")
Heck, put on a pair of snowshoes and you could readily _walk_ across a pool of mercury. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2004, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-i-swim-in-a-pool-of-mercury/263764/18 "2004-09-09T20:24:49Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > Heck, put on a pair of snowshoes and you could readily _walk_ across a pool of mercury. Could you? Don’t forget that you are on top of a liquid that cannot resist shear. When you push off with your foot, your foot would go backwards rather than propelling you forward. It would be like ice. Poisonous melted ice, but slippery nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![Tuco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tuco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuco)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2004, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-i-swim-in-a-pool-of-mercury/263764/19 "2004-09-09T20:46:49Z")
> [@MrO](#): > > He did warn me not to **swallow it** or put it in my eyes, but I guess he didn’t know how dangerous it could be. Oddly, you can swallow mercury without any serious medical implications. As we’re (or I’m) on strange mercury facts the term ‘mad as a hatter’ originated from hat makers using lots of mercury and going mad from it. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2004, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-i-swim-in-a-pool-of-mercury/263764/20 "2004-09-09T21:05:52Z")
> [@Tuco](#): > > As we’re (or I’m) on strange mercury facts the term ‘mad as a hatter’ originated from hat makers using lots of mercury and going mad from it. 'Tis true, says SDSAB [Dex](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mmadhatter.html): > [@](#): > > The origin of the phrase, it’s believed, is that hatters really did go mad. The chemicals used in hat-making included mercurious nitrate, used in curing felt. Prolonged exposure to the mercury vapors caused mercury poisoning. Victims developed severe and uncontrollable muscular tremors and twitching limbs, called “hatter’s shakes”; other symptoms included distorted vision and confused speech. Advanced cases developed hallucinations and other psychotic symptoms. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-i-swim-in-a-pool-of-mercury/263764.md?page=2)