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My grandfather worked for AC Gilbert, which made the Erector Set, and American Flyer trains. I had rather complete sets growing up, and couldn't figure out why
by jpdoctor 15y ago
My grandfather worked for AC Gilbert, which made the Erector Set, and American Flyer trains. I had rather complete sets growing up, and couldn't figure out why my erector set and toy trains were so much better than everyone else's.
But another toy was a lead casting kit: You would melt lead in a crucible, which would then pour into a mold. http://www.girdersandgears.com/kaster.html http://www.girdersandgears.com/kaster.html
Never had the atomic energy kit, probably because I was already too stupid from the lead fumes out of the crucible.
- rdtsc 15y ago> probably because I was already too stupid from the lead fumes out of the crucible. Ha! Remembering back all the nights I hovered over electronics, soldering, breathing all those fumes, blown capacitors with nasty smoke billowing into a small apartment. You know you got a heavy dose of all kinds of nasty compounds when you can tell what kind of component blew by the smell only.
- pavel_lishin 15y agoAn official lead casting kit? That's pretty neat. I just pulled cells out of discarded car batteries that I found while playing on a construction site, and melted it in bottle caps over the kitchen stove. I cannot believe my parents let me do ANY of that. The joys of growing up in the USSR.
- jpdoctor 15y ago> I just pulled cells out of discarded car batteries that I found while playing on a construction site Dodging the acid in the lead-acid batteries?! Now that is dedication. I raise my cup (of coffee) to you in honor of your superior talent for self-destruction.
- bigohms 15y agoI remember collecting and playing with mercury from thermometers (here in the US), probably why I can't recite PI to anything more than 6 places :)
- DennisP 15y agoI did that too, and used to worry about it. Then I saw a video of a guy messing around with a giant tub of liquid mercury, talking about how it's not all that dangerous in that form.
- pavel_lishin 15y agoDoesn't it evaporate fairly easily, though? And can't it also be absorbed through the skin?
- lutorm 15y agoIndeed. The equilibrium vapor concentration of mercury is, IIRC, high enough to be hazardous, and you only need a tiny drop to saturate a room. This was all prominently on my mind as I broke a mercury manometer during an unofficial experiment in school and was trying to find all the little drops that exploded across the floor and hid themselves in the corners. However, I can say that it's a very efficient way to collect dust bunnies... ;-)
- ori_b 15y agoAs far as I remember, mercury isn't the best thing for you, but it's not as bad as people make out. It takes a fair amount of exposure to do anything too terrible. It's the compounds that become very nasty (eg, dimethylmercury).
- karolist 15y agoI remember an article in wikipedia about CFL's, it had effects of mercury exposure. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_fluorescent_lamp#Environmental_issues http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_fluorescent_lamp#Enviro...
- bigohms 15y agoI remember collecting and playing with mercury from thermometers (here in the US), probably why I can't recite PI to anything more than 6 places :)
- lutorm 15y agoDidn't everyone make "tin" soldiers? We had a supply of old metal types (they are basically made of lead, no idea where we found those) and made armies of them on the stove. You could buy molds of various kinds to make them in. I wonder how much lead we ingested in the process (and from playing with them)...
- moylan 15y agoi seem to remember these been sold as multi part magazines even into the 80s here in ireland. checking online it looks like an irish site is still selling the molds. though when my brother was messing with them my father made sure we did it outdoors and with a breeze taking the fumes well away from the person pouring lead. so we've lost the hobby of lead soldiers but we've gained 3d printers. i think we've gained overall. http://www.princeaugust.ie/ http://www.princeaugust.ie/
- lutorm 15y agoPrince August! Yes, those are the molds we used, too! (And I'm talking about the 80s, too. I'm not THAT old. ;-) Whether we have gained overall is an interesting question. If kids really learn to design and make what they want on 3d printers, that would be awesome. But many of the "improvements" since then are unfortunately mostly black boxes meant for consumption, not exploration.
- powertower 15y agoWhen I was growing up in the former USSR, we used to sometimes enter the decommissioned parts of a nuclear plant / research station. One day we found what was a deuterium/water solution ("heavy water") in a storage locker and took several gulps of it to prove something stupid. Beat that!
- ohashi 15y agoI'd rather not. You win.
- troels 15y agoheavy water is not really toxic, is it?
- derleth 15y agoIf it had already been used as a reactor coolant, or was from some other industrial processes, it could be more radioactive than you would like it to be. Otherwise, no, unless you get enough of it to saturate your tissues and cause problems due to it being denser than your biochemistry evolved to expect water to be.
- bane 15y agoDid it taste like anything?
- powertower 15y agohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_water http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_water An early experiment reported not the "slightest difference" in taste between ordinary and heavy water; on the other hand, rats given a choice between distilled normal water and heavy water were able to avoid the heavy water based on smell, and it may be possible that it has a different taste.
- cynwoody 15y agohttp://lana-sator.livejournal.com/160176.html#cutid1 http://lana-sator.livejournal.com/160176.html#cutid1
- TomAnthony 15y agoMelting lead in this way is still very common in Germany, where Bleigießen is practised by many families during New Years Eve in order to 'tell your future' (you just pour the lead into water to create a shape). Didn't notice any nuclear play sets though...! German: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleigießen http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleigießen English: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molybdomancy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molybdomancy
- pavel_lishin 15y agoHuh, that's actually what I did.
- jpdoctor 15y agoThat's awesome, and requires great research into the interpretation of lead blobs.
- CamperBob 15y agoThe vapor pressure of molten lead has got to be pretty low... and I expect the bioavailability of elemental lead isn't all that great in any event, compared to some of its salts. You're probably OK. :)
- jpdoctor 15y ago> The vapor pressure of molten lead has got to be pretty low If you go to the bottom of the Kaster link: Cast Number 12 was a whistle. The casting was in multiple parts, and I never figured out how to assemble it (I actually thought it was supposed to be a biplane. Probably the fumes again.) So you were supposed to assemble this thing and then stick it in your mouth. :O > You're probably OK. There are those who disagree with you. :)
- CamperBob 15y agoThere are those who disagree with you. :) Valid point, I don't think a good case can be made for putting a lead whistle in your mouth. But I wouldn't worry about the fumes. It's likely no worse than SnPb solder fumes, which don't contain any appreciable amount of lead.