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Dicing with death
Saturday, Feb. 08, 2003 - 14:00 I didn't go see the Importance of being Earnest :( Hmm... life... Oh yes, I did get to extract capsaicin from chillis. It's not that hard, all you really need is the right glassware, some methanol and a chromatography plate. Capsaicin is the stuff that makes chillis so hot - actually, if you have enough of it your tongue builds up a resistance to it - people have considered using it as a sort of a painkiller. Bizarre, huh? The thing is, it's almost impossible to get off your fingers. A couple of hours later I rubbed my eyes and ARGH! the sting! I suddenly became worried that the methanol had come off onto my eyes too (methanol can make you go blind) but then I realised that this was silly, the stuff is far too volatile. Nope, I just had to endure the pain for a bit. Conversely, though, I sort of enjoy the way practicals seem to be dicing with death. We have capsaicin - highly painful to sensitive skin, especially in high concentrations (I'm still debating whether DOA Cyanide or Dave's Insanity Sauce would have been stronger that the extracted stuff), methanol which is toxic and can make you go blind, E. Coli and Staph. Aureus (pathogenic bacteria)... Oh yes, and explosives. Random word for today: pathogenic << last entry ... next entry >> Interesting doughnuts - Sunday, Feb. 05, 2006 Blogging, why? - Friday, Feb. 03, 2006 Dreams, climate change - Friday, Feb. 03, 2006 In the shadows - Sunday, Jan. 29, 2006 |
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