# Of teargas and onions

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-teargas-and-onions/190579>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 24, 2003, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-teargas-and-onions/190579 "2003-07-24T08:28:46Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\
**Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-teargas-and-onions/190579/1 "2003-07-24T08:28:46Z")

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I saw a documentary recently about daily life in Ramallah during the intifada. In one scene, children who had been teargassed were given slices of onion to sniff. Supposedly this was to help relieve the effects of the gas.

My Q is thus: does it work? If so, how? My own feeble common sense tells me it would make matters worse.

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**Author:** ![nickannan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bcef8e/32.png) [@nickannan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nickannan)\
**Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-teargas-and-onions/190579/2 "2003-07-24T10:45:31Z")

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sorry no conclusive evidence but  
i had read that during the riots in Paris in '68,  
this was the method used by those tear gassed.

So, i’m voting yeah but would like to volenteer to try it!

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**Author:** ![Tarantula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e274bd/32.png) [@Tarantula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarantula)\
**Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-teargas-and-onions/190579/3 "2003-07-24T10:53:29Z")

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Close your eyes, and only breathe through your mouth. It won’t stop you from eventually succumbing, but you’ll get a few extra minutes to leg it…

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**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\
**Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-teargas-and-onions/190579/4 "2003-07-24T11:30:24Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by nickannan \*  
> \*\*So, i’m voting yeah but would like to volenteer to try it! \*\*

You’re a braver man than I, nick.