spikey Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 I was fascinated to learn this morning of somebody having dropped a mercury barometer in a charity shop in Tunbridge Wells recently. At one time, this would have resulted in somebody gathering up the spilled mercury (a small eggcup full at the very most?) into a suitable contained before finding out what best to do with it. Last month, it apparently resulted in the shop staff dialling 999 as they evacuated the premises, whereupon the fire service, ambulance and Old Bill duly arrived mob-handed. The shop was cordoned off, two firemen donned breathing apparatus prior to rounding up the errant mercury, and the ambulance crew checked that no harm had come to the staff. Then everybody resumed doing whatever they were doing before the Great Drama. Is it me, or what? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwardian Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 I was fascinated to learn this morning of somebody having dropped a mercury barometer in a charity shop in Tunbridge Wells recently. At one time, this would have resulted in somebody gathering up the spilled mercury (a small eggcup full at the very most?) into a suitable contained before finding out what best to do with it. Last month, it apparently resulted in the shop staff dialling 999 as they evacuated the premises, whereupon the fire service, ambulance and Old Bill duly arrived mob-handed. The shop was cordoned off, two firemen donned breathing apparatus prior to rounding up the errant mercury, and the ambulance crew checked that no harm had come to the staff. Then everybody resumed doing whatever they were doing before the Great Drama. Is it me, or what? I only hope you completed a risk assessment before posting the above. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonny777 Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 I remember in Chemistry lessons at secondary school in the 60s, we used to 'accidentally' spill mercury so that we could have fun rolling little spheres of it around the benches with our fingers. The HSE would have a field day with some of our school antics. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Enterprisingwestern Posted October 9, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 9, 2016 I remember in Chemistry lessons at secondary school in the 60s, we used to 'accidentally' spill mercury so that we could have fun rolling little spheres of it around the benches with our fingers. The HSE would have a field day with some of our school antics. At school I remember sucking sulphuric acid into a pipette to transfer it into another test tube, what could possibly go wrong? Mike. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Vistisen Posted October 9, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 9, 2016 A physics teacher dropped and broke a tube containing radioactive material on some chaps school bag. This gave the best excuse ever. "I have done my homework sir, but you can't mark it for the next 10,000 years" Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jamie92208 Posted October 9, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 9, 2016 At school I remember sucking sulphuric acid into a pipette to transfer it into another test tube, what could possibly go wrong? Mike. Doing that I accidentally discovered that Caustic Soda did wonders for mouth ulcers. Our chemistry master also used to make letters out of mercury by pouring it into a mould then pouring liquid nitrogen over them. Jamie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sp1 Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 I remember in Chemistry lessons at secondary school in the 60s, we used to 'accidentally' spill mercury so that we could have fun rolling little spheres of it around the benches with our fingers. The HSE would have a field day with some of our school antics. We used to do that too, but in the 70s.I also suspect that more than a few of us are still walking around with mercury fillings in our teeth... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffers Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 And set fire to magnesium shavings to see it flare. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffers Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 There is a fair amount of Mercury in a Mercury barometer given that the column measures around 30 inches. As a retired Chartered Meteorologist it would be nice to have an antique version but given the reputation of mercury am not sure if you can legally sell them without some safeguards. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Lamb Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 I once had a tensile testing machine at work that used an open tube of mercury. There was even a small bottle of the stuff used for topping it up by turning the machine on it's end. Back in the 1980s when things went computerised I offered it to the local school. All went well until they saw how it worked. Hands thrown up in horror. In the end I took it to the dump. No idea as to how they disposed of it. Bernard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonny777 Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 And set fire to magnesium shavings to see it flare. No! Don't remind me. I took a thin strip of magnesium home with me (naughty boy) one day. When I arrived home, the rest of the family were out; so I decided to light the magnesium with a match and watch the bright flame at close quarters. Unfortunately, while my knowledge on bright flames was spot on; my knowledge, on the conduction of high heat along the strip and into my fingers, was very lacking. Because of the heat I dropped the flaming magnesium onto my mother's almost new kitchen table and before I could extinguish the flame it had burned a neat black circular shape on the table top. Boy, was I in *big* trouble when mother came home. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolseley Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 I remember in Chemistry lessons at secondary school in the 60s, we used to 'accidentally' spill mercury so that we could have fun rolling little spheres of it around the benches with our fingers. The HSE would have a field day with some of our school antics. I think that was pretty much the norm back then. I remember one boy in my class putting some mercury on the bench and dropping a text book on top of it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sp1 Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 No! Don't remind me. I took a thin strip of magnesium home with me (naughty boy) one day. When I arrived home, the rest of the family were out; so I decided to light the magnesium with a match and watch the bright flame at close quarters. Unfortunately, while my knowledge on bright flames was spot on; my knowledge, on the conduction of high heat along the strip and into my fingers, was very lacking. Because of the heat I dropped the flaming magnesium onto my mother's almost new kitchen table and before I could extinguish the flame it had burned a neat black circular shape on the table top. Boy, was I in *big* trouble when mother came home. Someone I was at school with managed to 'acquire' one of those elements that are stored in oil due to their reaction with air/ water (potassium?) - he put it in his pocket. It was quite amusing to watch him running round with his trousers on fire...... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold TheSignalEngineer Posted October 9, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 9, 2016 Nitrogen Tri-iodide anyone? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sp1 Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 Someone I was at school with managed to 'acquire' one of those elements that are stored in oil due to their reaction with air/ water (potassium?) - he put it in his pocket. It was quite amusing to watch him running round with his trousers on fire......I recall that the same individual must have enjoyed having his trousers set on fire - a year or two later, when with had all taken up smoking, he had a bit of a 'discussion' with a PE teacher, who pushed him, so he ended in a sitting position, with the result that a box of matches in his back pocket ignited, with similar results..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonny777 Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 Someone I was at school with managed to 'acquire' one of those elements that are stored in oil due to their reaction with air/ water (potassium?) - he put it in his pocket. It was quite amusing to watch him running round with his trousers on fire...... Might that have been phosphorus? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sp1 Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 Might that have been phosphorus?That's the one!!! A long time since I did chemistry!.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
spikey Posted October 9, 2016 Author Share Posted October 9, 2016 Nitrogen Tri-iodide anyone? Oooooooh yes! Just look at it wrong and it goes bang ... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonny777 Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 <Squeamish Warning - Ignore this post if you are that way inclined> Going even more O/T and on the subject of personal injuries while at school; one year our sports changing rooms were being re-tiled and the contractors had yet to finish, so there were tubs of grout and boxes of tiles lying around in corners. Whilst changing into our football kit, one of the more show-off kids decided to demonstrate his karate skills by "chopping" a tile in half with the side of his hand. Everything went well with the tile seeming to break in two as his hand came down, but then the whole area began to turn red. The tile had not broken cleanly and a large jagged edge had embedded itself in the side of his hand. There was blood everywhere. I don't know what happened next as he ran out in the direction of the games teaching-staff and presumably was whisked off to A&E in one of their cars. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Joseph_Pestell Posted October 9, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 9, 2016 At our school, a sixth-former with a car was commandeered to take an injured (hit on head by squash racquet) junior to A&E. Definitely wrong procedure and looking back I don't know why the sixth-former agreed to do it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 Oooooooh yes! Just look at it wrong and it goes bang ... Picric acid is another good one- explodes on impact. Some one used to open the windows in the chemistry lab, and put some inside the frames. This being mid-winter, the teacher would come in and slam the window shut, with predictable results. He'd then discover the same material under the legs of his chair.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium rab Posted October 9, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 9, 2016 I was fascinated to learn this morning of somebody having dropped a mercury barometer in a charity shop in Tunbridge Wells recently. At one time, this would have resulted in somebody gathering up the spilled mercury (a small eggcup full at the very most?) into a suitable contained before finding out what best to do with it. Last month, it apparently resulted in the shop staff dialling 999 as they evacuated the premises, whereupon the fire service, ambulance and Old Bill duly arrived mob-handed. The shop was cordoned off, two firemen donned breathing apparatus prior to rounding up the errant mercury, and the ambulance crew checked that no harm had come to the staff. Then everybody resumed doing whatever they were doing before the Great Drama. Is it me, or what? Probably goes some way to explaining why our emergency services are so overstretched these days, Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcm@gwr Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 Our chemistry teacher (Head of Dept. actually) had a trick with an old coffee tin (catering size), to scare the new pupils. He would fill it with town gas and light it, it burned with yellow flame for a while, then appeared to go out. He would say 'Oh well, that didn't work', turn to the board and start writing, a sort time later, the lid popped of with a small bang (having reached the right mix of gas & air to explode). Cue lots of shrieks from the 2nd year students! The first day of natural gas came and he tried it, pale blue flame for a while, then disappeared as usual. He waited the usual time, nothing, after a few mins he seemed disappointed and started writing on the board, another few minutes passed and the tin blew off it's lid (which hit the ceiling) with a huge bang! He turned to us, (6th formers) and said, with a wicked grin, 'I'm going to enjoy the next class of 2nd year students' Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Welly Posted October 9, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 9, 2016 When I first started my present job maintaining and repairing medical equipment nearly 18 years ago, I was working on one of those mercury column sphygmomanometers (blood pressure meters) and by mistake I opened the mercury chamber at the base of the column. About a tablespoonful of the stuff spilled off my bench and then on the floor. Fortunately because the hospital had a significant number of mercury sphygmos and thermometers with the risk of them being broken in use, there was a spill kit which I used to clean up the stuff. Thankfully the hospital got rid of all mercury column sphygmos a few years later. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium rab Posted October 9, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 9, 2016 Picric acid is another good one- explodes on impact. Some one used to open the windows in the chemistry lab, and put some inside the frames. This being mid-winter, the teacher would come in and slam the window shut, with predictable results. He'd then discover the same material under the legs of his chair.. OK, I know this is going further off topic but that reminds me of the time someone went into a room where the lights were off, removed the bulb, carefully placed a piece of tin foil across the contacts then replaced the bulb and sat down and waited for someone to turn the lights on, Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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