Completely and totally off-topic and without any meritwhatso

From: ed sharpe <esharpe_at_uswest.net>
Date: Wed Sep 8 00:47:18 2004

in the old days they used to give murcury rubs for syphlis!

ed
----- Original Message -----
From: <jpero_at_sympatico.ca>
To: <cctalk_at_classiccmp.org>
Sent: Tuesday, September 07, 2004 4:03 PM
Subject: Re: Completely and totally off-topic and without any meritwhatso


> > > I suspect the hazmat team over reacted just a little.
> >
> > This is often the case - the hazmat guys I have talked to have been
pretty
> > reasonable, but due to public pressure, they often have to put on a
show.
> > Finally someone speaks the truth! Elemental mercury mostly passes thru
the
> > body in one big blob, and very little is absorbed. I think it is rarely
> > used as an antibiotic, as well.
> >
> > The compounds are the nasty things, as they due damage pretty
> > quickly. Also, mercury vapor is also very dangerous *even in short
> > periods of exposure*! The poor guys in South America that purify gold
thru
> > amalgamation (and the subsequent vaporizing to get the mercury back)
tend
> > to have very short lives if they are not careful.
>
> Compounds in mercury? Such as?
>
> In old days before "safer" plating base metals with other metals was
> developed, like 140 years or more years ago, they used that same way
> to "gild" the stuff with gold or silver via the mercury amalgamation.
>
> Whew that must be very miserable lifetime back then as gilders. :-(
>
> Cheers,
>
> Wizard
>
> >
> > William Donzelli
>
>
Received on Wed Sep 08 2004 - 00:47:18 BST