# Mercury is LETHAL asshole! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 2, 2003, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercury-is-lethal-asshole/165891 "2003-04-02T04:37:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercury-is-lethal-asshole/165891/1 "2003-04-02T04:37:09Z")
A guy in my class isn’t all that fucking bright… The asshole stole some mercury from the chem lab, it was sealed in an airtight container on a shelf until it could be sent to a disposal center. So he takes one of the pipetts we have in the lab full of it, a pretty good amount. I saw him rolling it around in the pipette and showing it to a few of his friends while saying, “ohh… this’ll be perfect for that prank!” I have no idea what the prank was. I got the stuff from his locker and returned it to the lab and told the chem teacher I had heard that someone might take some of the stuff soon for a prank, he put it in the safe until its taken away from the school. If it were anything but mercury I wouldn’t have said anything. even if it were silver nitrate that we have an abundance of and is easy to get (leaves a pretty good stain on skin for a couple weeks). But mercury? Nasty stuff. People are fucking stupid. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercury-is-lethal-asshole/165891/2 "2003-04-02T05:00:41Z")
Shall I roll out the story of the chem teacher who forced me to sweep some up with a broom? ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercury-is-lethal-asshole/165891/3 "2003-04-02T05:05:14Z")
Well, “lethal” is overstating it. Mercury is a toxic heavy metal, but it’s not going to kill you instantly if you touch it. Most kids of my generation played with mercury at one time or another. I got a couple of globs from my dentist at one point and rolled them around on my palm. And yet somehow have muddled along for another 30 years without significant neurological damage. This doesn’t mean that you weren’t wise to return the mercury, though. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercury-is-lethal-asshole/165891/4 "2003-04-02T05:05:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by matt\_mcl \* > \*\*Shall I roll out the story of the chem teacher who forced me to sweep some up with a broom? \*\* Please do. I might explain a few things about you. (I’m kidding, **matt**! Still, relate the story.) ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercury-is-lethal-asshole/165891/5 "2003-04-02T05:10:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tuckerfan \* > \*\*Please do. I might explain a few things about you. (I’m kidding, **matt**! Still, relate the story.) \*\* I mean, “ **It** might explain…” ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercury-is-lethal-asshole/165891/6 "2003-04-02T05:17:00Z")
Agree with **Finagle**. One of my buddies in high school had a father who was a dentist. A flask of mercury was in their basement–probably about a pint. We had a great time pouring it out and playing with it. Fascinating stuff. Still, not knowing what the prank was, you were probably wise to stop it before it happened. But if my experience is anything to go by (30+ years since then), a brief exposure such as you describe is basically harmless. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercury-is-lethal-asshole/165891/7 "2003-04-02T05:56:43Z")
Ah, come on. A little brain damage never hurt anyone. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercury-is-lethal-asshole/165891/8 "2003-04-02T06:09:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Smeghead \* > \*\*Ah, come on. A little drain bamage never hurt anyone. 😃 \*\* may I quote you? ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercury-is-lethal-asshole/165891/9 "2003-04-02T06:40:15Z")
> [@](#): > > Ah, come on. A little brain damage never hurt anyone. I think in this guy’s case, it’s already too late. ---
**Author:** ![DreadCthulhu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DreadCthulhu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DreadCthulhu)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercury-is-lethal-asshole/165891/10 "2003-04-02T06:53:32Z")
I have played with mercury before, and it didn’t dain my bramage. ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercury-is-lethal-asshole/165891/11 "2003-04-02T07:00:55Z")
I, too, played with mercury as a child, and have no problem intellectually grasping most complex concepts such as Jerry Springer. ---
**Author:** ![Brutus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Brutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brutus)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercury-is-lethal-asshole/165891/12 "2003-04-02T07:20:31Z")
A touch of mercury makes those leaded-paint chips taste _sooo_ much better, ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercury-is-lethal-asshole/165891/13 "2003-04-02T07:30:58Z")
How does that country song go? _She’s crazy from the mercury I’m gonna get me some mercury And roll it up and down the road!_ ---
**Author:** ![Soup\_du\_jour](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Soup\_du\_jour](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soup_du_jour)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercury-is-lethal-asshole/165891/14 "2003-04-02T08:50:51Z")
Actually, I bit off the end of a mercury thermometer once. Almost swallowed some mercury. Not fun, ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercury-is-lethal-asshole/165891/15 "2003-04-02T09:23:53Z")
They gave it to us in high school chemistry class to play with (I’m not kidding), and I never had any ooh, look at that shiny thing! ---
**Author:** ![herman\_and\_bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f1d935/32.png) [@herman\_and\_bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/herman_and_bill)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercury-is-lethal-asshole/165891/16 "2003-04-02T12:24:51Z")
There was nothing wrong with mercury when I was growing up I don’t know when it became the deadly poison it is today. Wipe some on your gold wedding ring for a fun experiment. ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercury-is-lethal-asshole/165891/17 "2003-04-02T12:33:27Z")
Ever hear of the Mad Hatter? He was not simply a character made up by Lewis Carrol. Hatters worked with mercury and as a consequence went quite insane. ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercury-is-lethal-asshole/165891/18 "2003-04-02T12:38:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by herman\_and\_bill \* > \*\*There was nothing wrong with mercury when I was growing up > I don’t know when it became the deadly poison it is today. Wipe some on your gold wedding ring for a fun experiment. \*\* What’s the end result? I do not have access to either mercury or a gold wedding band. Also, isn’t there a medical condition that requires the periodic ingestion of mercury? ---
**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:** [April 2, 2003, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercury-is-lethal-asshole/165891/19 "2003-04-02T13:18:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Amp \* > \*\*Also, isn’t there a medical condition that requires the periodic ingestion of mercury? \*\* No. People used to believe that Mercury could cure various STDs, but it ain’t so. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercury-is-lethal-asshole/165891/20 "2003-04-02T13:20:34Z")
When I was in HS we had a chem teacher who used to play with mercury. You do not want to wear gold and play with it though because she told us mercury would bond to gold. I don’t think she was too crazy, cute, but not crazy. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercury-is-lethal-asshole/165891.md?page=2)