<APPLAUDS!>
Well done indeed!
I doubt if the amount ingested will make any difference down the tubes, and so far, it hasn’t. It was very little as I was being uber-cautious.
Not even onions or hot sauce? No pizza 4 U!
I have some ideas for further investigation and tests, but it occurs to me that what’s most important overall is the legal situation. What developments are there in the case in question?
Here’s the latest news I’ve seen.
An interesting item:
Considering what discomfort I experienced, I fail to see why the formula “used by law enforcement officers” needs to be stronger than the consumer formula. My experience suggests that spraying someone directly in the eyes would be a severely traumatic and debilitating event and 100% incapacitating. I can’t understand why that needs to be enhanced.
Some sprays intentionally add dyes to their product. The idea is that if you’re using the spray in a riot situation, you can later identify who was present by the dye.
And we don’t know that all dyes are the same color. My sample was red/orange-ish, not far from cheese and crust, but if it had been green or blue, it would have been pretty obvious.
Excellent work Musicat.
Now, for the second experiment, I have done some indepth research and have uncovered this proving that waifish teenage girls can, in fact, consume large quantities of pizza, with a milkshake chaser.
I also would guess that the dye would tell you if you really hit someone or not. I know from using wasp sprays that it can be hard to tell if you saturated your target from 15ft away. Granted, wasps don’t clutch their eyes and say “gaaaahhhh, my eyes!” but the concept holds.
Note, I do not actually recommend watching the video, but if you must, mute it.
Side note…I think that blue packaging/markings are used to denote CS gas or chemical tear gas.
Don’t try that on a pizza :eek:
Great stuff, Musicat.
That’s why I love this place.
I really, really wish that wasps WOULD clutch their eyes and wail when they get sprayed. It would be so satisfying.
I know you know – probably everyone here knows – but it is still worth pointing out that sometimes brand names are used in a generic manner, just like people say coke for any soft drink or band-aid for any small bandage.
Your very definition shows that “Mace” is not pepper spray.
Mace is a brand name for a self-defense spray that uses phenacyl chloride gas (known as “CN gas” or “tear gas”). Pepper spray is oleoresin capsicum (known as “OC spray”).
Your assertion—“brand names are used in a generic manner”—would make sense if you were using “mace” as a generic for some other kind of CN gas. Instead, it’s like you referred to a Vespa motor scooter as a “Jeep,” and then claimed that you were using “jeep” generically.
I hate to break up the lovely pedantry going on here, but let me show you: Mace Brand Pepper Spray. The company (Mace) sells pepper spray to both the general public and police departments. They sell cans of pepper spray that have the word “Mace” in large lettering on 'em. What more do you want?
Somehow I never realized that Mace was a brand name. Was it intended as a reference to the medieval melee weapon?
Question – which is more painful?
Meanwhile, back at the pepper spray experiment…
It occurred to me that one thing that was missing in my test was the time which elapsed between the alleged pizza spraying and the sit-down feast. It might have been a few hours but my test only allowed a few seconds. Could that time lapse affect the detection of the pepper?
I also feel a little more confident now as to how the pepper spray gadget works. It isn’t designed to be sprayed on something as close as an arm’s length away. It shoots out a forceful, narrow stream for 6 feet or more. The problem I had with inhaling it was when I was too close and the spray bounced back in the open (it might have been different if I was reaching into a partly-closed pizza box).
So, to simulate a hot pizza on the way home from the oven, I heated up my last slice of pizza (pepperoni & onion with extra cheese) went down to an open spot on the beach, checked the wind (5mph away from me), set the pizza on a plate on the ground, and doused it thoroughly with spray from 6 feet away. I was able to avoid any splashback.
After waiting about 30 seconds for the odor to dissipate, I placed the slice in a plastic ziplock bag, then put both in a second ziplock bag as an extra precaution. I had no ill effects from the very slight whiff of spray odor.
I have the experiment in the fridge right now. I think I’ll wait overnight, then take it out and see if I can eat it. My thought is that if some time elapses, the effects might be quite less.
Meanwhile, if anyone asks if they can raid my fridge, I’ll tell them sure, there’s some pizza you can have. Maybe someone else will do our experiment for us!
I didn’t video this experiment extension, but I will keep y’all informed of the outcome. Science marches on!
We’ll await the results of your experiment.
Of the three common sprays, pepper spray is the weakest, then CN (which was also sold as mace before that term became generic), and then CS.
Judging by me touching my sensitive bits or eyes hours after handling very hot peppers like habaneros or Thais, even after throughly scrubbing my fingers, I’m guessing not. 
I always assumed so. It’s got to be easier to sell something called “Chemical Mace[sup]TM[/sup]” than it is to sell something called “phenacyl chloride 1%”. A mace is a handheld weapon, so they thought the name fit. People forget that “mace” was never a chemical name to begin with, as it was just the trade mark of a very specific formulation. The company doesn’t even make that particular product anymore (although they still have some formulations that contain CN, it’s CN and pepper spray.), so claiming something is or isn’t mace is a touch ridiculous.
Anyway, some wannabe pedants forget that “mace” was never a chemical name to begin with. It became slang for all hand held CN nerve gas deterents, regardless if they were made by Mace. So now you have people claiming that CN based formulations made by companies that can’t legally call them “Mace” are mace, but capsacin formulations made by Mace, aren’t mace. They’re claiming that their slang is better than other slang, but doing so in a way that implies that they know some factoid. In truth, they are just as wrong as the people they are “correcting”.
All right, people, it’s time to revisit an old thread here: Goddammit holy shit a jalapeño burned my dick - The BBQ Pit - Straight Dope Message Board .