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When I was a kid, they still allowed us to play with Mercury with our bare hands in elementary school.
by irrational 2y ago
When I was a kid, they still allowed us to play with Mercury with our bare hands in elementary school.
- krustyburger 2y agoWell, that seems safe enough. It’s the smallest planet, after all.
- mc32 2y agoFor the titans maybe but not for regular mortals.
- blipvert 2y agoMy dad gave mercury toys (tilt mazes with mercury blobs in, etc) to my siblings and I. And he was a chemistry teacher!
- daymanstep 2y agoElemental mercury isn't that toxic. It's the vapors that are dangerous.
- blipvert 2y agoFair point, but I still wouldn’t give my idiot 10yr old self that stuff. He never did really understand me.
- Unbefleckt 2y agoI had the original Warhammer figurines as a kid that my older brother didn't want. I remember bending the metal (I was maybe 4 or 5) and putting it in my mouth for some reason like I did with lego when I couldn't snap a piece off. I ended up swallowing a piece and vomiting up a bit of eldar soon after. Still have pleasant associations with the smell of lead thanks to warhammer.
- Aaronstotle 2y agoMy grandma grew up in Soviet Kyiv, she told me kids they would break thermometers and play with the mercury
- IshKebab 2y agoI mean playing with small amounts of elemental mercury is pretty safe. Yeah it's toxic but if you play with it in your hands once or twice in your life nothing is going to happen. Maybe not great for the teacher.