Almost as intuitive a judgment as,

Post #385,694 by Ashton 1/23/14 2:12:23 AM Reply	Almost as intuitive a judgment as, 'The difference between HCN and HCl (L) ... is only two letters' ... close enough.. {{dark--swirly--mist}} back in chem class/experiment day: [all true] Looking at usual oxygen generator, KClO₃ + catalyst.. (Potassium Chlorate) Guy has it in an ignition tube (heavy-test-tube); I see little white POP!!s on surface, as he heats. I say, semi-jocularly--only "semi-"--"Better watch it; that looks ready to expl______" BOOM . . . Blood, from mouth; guy freaking out.. lead him to infirmary--some glass cut a gum! Not gonna Die. NO safety goggles (either of us) ... Glass all over; I got not a scratch. Turns out that the stockroom guy had given him KClO₄ (Potassium Perchlorate!) --which isn't a great Oxygen generator; it generates it, of course but ... All-At-Once. Lucky, Lucky -- just like those folks drinking this Unknown-crap still strong enough to smell.. Unless it should turn out that ... they are Unlucky? THIS.. in 2014, What we are getting is: !=smarter. And it shows every day.
Post #385,731 by scoenye 1/23/14 6:36:32 PM Reply	Used to have a chem teacher like that 6' something, bald as an eagle, with small round-rimmed glasses. One day during recess, something went BOOM. Next thing, the window to the chem classroom opens, smoke billowing out. Slowly, that bald head came out, going Heh-Heh-Heh, then just as slowly back inside and he closed the window. On another occasion, during a test, he put a scale of ether on one side of his bench and lit a burner on the other side. About 10 minutes later, WHOOSH. "Alright, time to hand in the papers"... Probably would get hisself arrested in 10 seconds flat these days :-/
Post #385,733 by Ashton 1/23/14 7:02:04 PM Reply	N/A in this case.. Just.. back-in-days of stone knives/bearskins, well before nice cheap polycarbonate goggles and face-shields, quantity-orders of safety-equip never got past bean-counters. The KClO₃ was a known no-brainer re any surprises. Am biased re 'Muy' natch; a seminal influence and also a friend til his demise a few years ago. My (sometimes 'our') dicier investigations were done in one of two hoods with unknown-plastic doors. ('Course too.. if anything ever did go-wrong go-wrong, doubtless the underfunded Teacher would get the dead chicken hanging from door knob. As now.) 'Twas human/well.. 'student' error (same thing that got most of us 'here'?) reading the bloody-Label.

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