# One dead and 8 sick from suicide. What was used? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 1, 2019, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-dead-and-8-sick-from-suicide-what-was-used/839553 "2019-09-01T12:27:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2019, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-dead-and-8-sick-from-suicide-what-was-used/839553/1 "2019-09-01T12:27:34Z")
> **[San Jose hotel death investigated as suicide](https://www.kcra.com/article/san-jose-multiple-injuries-hazmat-hotel-california/28879475)** > > The death of a woman in a chemical incident that sickened nine other people at a Silicon Valley hotel is being investigated as a suicide. “KTVU reports Saturday that guests of the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose reported smelling a chemical odor - similar to a rotten egg -and feeling faint, light-headed and short of breath.” What would have caused this? Any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2019, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-dead-and-8-sick-from-suicide-what-was-used/839553/2 "2019-09-01T12:47:44Z")
Isn’t the Rotten Egg smell usually Hydrogen Sulfide? ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2019, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-dead-and-8-sick-from-suicide-what-was-used/839553/3 "2019-09-01T13:27:57Z")
Shouldn’t the thread title read: “One dead from suicide and eight others sick”? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2019, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-dead-and-8-sick-from-suicide-what-was-used/839553/4 "2019-09-01T14:44:17Z")
> [@GaryM](#): > > Isn’t the Rotten Egg smell usually Hydrogen Sulfide? Or Mercaptan (not knowing the first thing about chemistry, I assume is related). One dead and 8 sick that felt better when they got out to fresh air makes me think it was natural gas. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2019, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-dead-and-8-sick-from-suicide-what-was-used/839553/5 "2019-09-01T14:58:32Z")
But everyone knows what the natural gas additive smells like. If it were natural gas it’s odd that all the reports were that it was a chemical smell and smelled like rotten eggs, rather than it simply smelled like gas. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2019, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-dead-and-8-sick-from-suicide-what-was-used/839553/6 "2019-09-01T15:22:58Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > But everyone knows what the natural gas additive smells like. I don’t. I don’t know if I’ve ever even been around the use of natural gas. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2019, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-dead-and-8-sick-from-suicide-what-was-used/839553/7 "2019-09-01T15:28:28Z")
AFAIK natural gas (mainly methane) is odorless. But a smelly gas (probably some mercaptan) is added as a warning. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2019, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-dead-and-8-sick-from-suicide-what-was-used/839553/8 "2019-09-01T15:31:33Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > But everyone knows what the natural gas additive smells like. If it were natural gas it’s odd that all the reports were that it was a chemical smell and smelled like rotten eggs, rather than it simply smelled like gas. Agreed, so they either ruled it out or haven’t decided (or publicized) that it was gas. Granted, it could have also been some other more dangerous chemical and that, along with a death could cause a panic in the area so they’re keeping quiet until they have all the facts and they’re ready to do a press release. But also, reporters very rarely report anything as a fact that wasn’t handed to them and told it was a fact. So the info they’re being fed is likely just that ‘it smelled like rotten eggs’. This all, IMO, plays into overuse of the word ‘allegedly’. Just yesterday there was a report about a woman in prison that ‘allegedly’ gave birth, in a cell, with no help from anyone. The headline is “Video allegedly shows woman giving birth in Denver jail cell alone, with no assistance”, the article shows the actual video of her giving actual birth to an actual baby with no assistance. It’s NSFW, but easy to find. I understand they don’t want to get roped into a lawsuit if they’re wrong, but we can all see it happening on video. These type of things always remind of [this image](https://bigmemes.funnyjunk.com/pictures/Duh_399800_6370882.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2019, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-dead-and-8-sick-from-suicide-what-was-used/839553/9 "2019-09-01T16:17:45Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I don’t. I don’t know if I’ve ever even been around the use of natural gas. I take that back–the burners from science labs in high school/college may have been natural gas (or maybe not?). Can’t remember any special smell, though. (I’ve never seen a non-electric stove outside of TV and movies.) ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2019, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-dead-and-8-sick-from-suicide-what-was-used/839553/10 "2019-09-01T16:35:01Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Shouldn’t the thread title read: “One dead from suicide and eight others sick”? Yes, sorry. :hangs head: ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2019, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-dead-and-8-sick-from-suicide-what-was-used/839553/11 "2019-09-01T16:45:53Z")
The 8 sick could have been mass hysteria or it could have been real illness. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2019, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-dead-and-8-sick-from-suicide-what-was-used/839553/12 "2019-09-01T18:15:57Z")
H2S generation is a semi-popular means of suicide, particularly in Japan. See, e.g., [https://chemm.nlm.nih.gov/chemicalsuicide.htm](https://chemm.nlm.nih.gov/chemicalsuicide.htm) and [Suicide with hydrogen sulfide - PubMed](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23574866) Kills plenty of people in the oilfield if they aren’t taking measures against it. LD50 is relatively low, and while obnoxiously scented on first exposure, olfactory response is easily saturated. IOW, you can’t smell it for very long, and it’s easy to blunder into an atmosphere incompatible with sustaining life. CO generation—charcoal brazier indoors, etc… might be a culprit too for the OP. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2019, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-dead-and-8-sick-from-suicide-what-was-used/839553/13 "2019-09-01T18:38:51Z")
Well, it was a hotel room. What could one use in a typical hotel room? I’m thinking maybe she was being considerate in using a space where her family wouldn’t find her body, but taking bunch of other people out in the process kind of takes away from that. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2019, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-dead-and-8-sick-from-suicide-what-was-used/839553/14 "2019-09-01T22:44:47Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I take that back–the burners from science labs in high school/college may have been natural gas (or maybe not?). Can’t remember any special smell, though. (I’ve never seen a non-electric stove outside of TV and movies.) If natural gas burns cleanly, there should be no odor. The odoriferant was added in large part because of this mostly-forgotten disaster. > **[New London School explosion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_London_School_explosion)** > > The New London School explosion occurred on March 18, 1937, when a natural gas leak caused an explosion and destroyed the London School in New London, Texas, United States. The disaster killed more than 300 students and teachers. As of 2021\[update\], the event is the third-deadliest disaster in the history of Texas, after the 1900 Galveston hurricane and the 1947 Texas City disaster. > In the mid-1930s, despite the ongoing economic turmoil of the Great Depression, the school district in New Londo... Many people reported having headaches and dizziness in certain wings of the school in the preceding days. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2019, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-dead-and-8-sick-from-suicide-what-was-used/839553/15 "2019-09-02T03:02:13Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > Well, it was a hotel room. What could one use in a typical hotel room? One of the ‘features’ of the H2S method is that it can be performed using ordinary household chemicals. Somewhat akin to mixing bleach with ammonia, only H2S’s hazardous concentration level is much lower, IIRC. Easy to do with chemicals easily found in many countries. Which is why it’s popular, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2019, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-dead-and-8-sick-from-suicide-what-was-used/839553/16 "2019-09-02T06:38:14Z")
8 sick and one dead? Using my powers of detection whatever it was that was used, there were 9 of them…What comes in '9’s? 9 ladies dancing? ---
**Author:** ![KMS94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ad7895/32.png) [@KMS94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KMS94)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2019, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-dead-and-8-sick-from-suicide-what-was-used/839553/17 "2019-09-06T13:42:58Z")
It was the Salmon Mousse. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2019, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-dead-and-8-sick-from-suicide-what-was-used/839553/18 "2019-09-06T15:42:38Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I take that back–the burners from science labs in high school/college may have been natural gas (or maybe not?). Can’t remember any special smell, though. (I’ve never seen a non-electric stove outside of TV and movies.) You don’t smell it when it’s burning, you smell it if there is a gas leak or burner turned on but not lit. It’s quite distinctive, you can’t miss it. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2019, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-dead-and-8-sick-from-suicide-what-was-used/839553/19 "2019-09-06T16:34:06Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > If natural gas burns cleanly, there should be no odor. The odoriferant was added in large part because of this mostly-forgotten disaster. > > [New London School explosion - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_London_School_explosion) > > Many people reported having headaches and dizziness in certain wings of the school in the preceding days. The Smithsonian documentary series “America in Color” covered it in the first episode of the second season. [![](http://pics.imcdb.org/2517/schoolparking2843.jpg) ](http://pics.imcdb.org/2517/schoolparking2843.jpg) [![](http://pics.imcdb.org/2517/sameschoolafteranaturalgasexplosion2943.jpg) ](http://pics.imcdb.org/2517/sameschoolafteranaturalgasexplosion2943.jpg)