Cameron Kaiser
Wrote
> You are a sick person Sellam. I see you have already
> had a good swig of that Hg.
>
> Just wait until the t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-tremours start.
>
I think he has the mad hatter syndrome.
Reference From
http://www.hgtech.com/Information/Mad%20Hatter.htm
/begin reference
Hatters really did go mad. The chemicals used in hat-making included
mercurous nitrate, used in curing felt. Prolonged exposure to the
mercury vapors caused mercury poisoning. Victims developed severe and
uncontrollable muscular tremors and twitching limbs, called "hatter's
shakes"; other symptoms included distorted vision and confused speech.
Advanced cases developed hallucinations and other psychotic symptoms.
The popular top hat of the time were made from beaver fur, but cheaper
ones used furs such as rabbit instead. A complicated set of processes
was needed to turn the fur into a finished hat. With the cheaper sorts
of fur, one step was to brush a solution of mercurous nitrate on to the
fur to roughen the fibres and make them mat more easily, a process
called carroting because it made the fur turn orange. Beaver fur had
natural serrated edges that made this unnecessary, one reason why it was
preferred, but the cost and scarcity of beaver meant that other furs had
to be used.
Whatever the source of the fur, the fibres were then shaved off the skin
and turned into felt; this was later immersed in a boiling acid solution
to thicken and harden it. The acid treatment decomposed the mercurous
nitrate to elemental mercury. Finishing processes included steaming the
hat to shape and ironing it. In all these steps, hatters working in
poorly ventilated workshops would breathe in mercury vapor.
/end reference
Haven't we all heard about putting on your thinking hat to solve a
problem. Aren't computers just big problem solvers, so by induction a
thinking hat is just a computer.
Personally I hope my wife thinks I'm just "eccentric", not mad. I tell
her it's better that I collect computers instead of wild women, drugs,
gambling, cars, guns, horses, and speeding tickets.
Mike
Received on Wed Sep 08 2004 - 15:21:46 BST