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  • PLEASE TRY IT AT HOME

    Filed at 8:34 pm under by dcobranchi

    Liability concerns and the federal government have essentially banned home labs. Wired has all of the sad details and some websites that can assist with workarounds.

    It really is sad, and for HEKs more than a little frustrating. How are you supposed to do any kind of chemistry experiments if it’s illegal to purchase the chemicals or the glassware? The crystal meth excuse is just that, an excuse. That synthesis is so simple, and the ingredients are still readily available: red phosphorous from matchbook covers, iodine and pseudoephedrine (Sudafed) from the local drug store, and acetone from Home Depot. So the cookers can make all the crystal meth they want, and kids are deprived of the joy of making stink bombs. Just dumb! [H/T: Becky]

    10 Responses to “PLEASE TRY IT AT HOME”


    Comment by
    Alasandra
    June 26th, 2007
    at 9:03 pm

    Lord Epa came up with a recipe for a lovely stink bomb. I found it when cleaning his room. It is an experience I will never forget.

    I have a feeling BOYS will always find a way to make stink bombs.


    Comment by
    Crimson Wife
    June 26th, 2007
    at 9:16 pm

    You’d think that the government had nothing better to do than worry about chemistry experiments…


    Comment by
    sam
    June 26th, 2007
    at 10:23 pm

    Who needs stink bombs when I can get take out from Senor Taco?

    Crude,yes, but someone had to say it.


    Comment by
    Andrea
    June 27th, 2007
    at 9:22 am

    Right, because people breaking the law are going to stop if what they’re doing is *more* illegal?


    Comment by
    JJ Ross
    June 28th, 2007
    at 7:39 pm

    We were with a dance group at a Carolina Roadhouse the other night, whereupon the young, independent 16-year-oldI was chaperoning for the trip read aloud from the menu in bold black letter, what is apparently SC LAW: no one under 18 years of age may order a steak prepared to less than 155 degrees of heat.

    And I thought seat belt laws went too far.


    Comment by
    JJ Ross
    June 28th, 2007
    at 9:01 pm

    OTOH, smoking apparently is still allowed indoors in SC (this never occurred to me, it’s like being in Paris!) where children are eating and breathing . . . as long as they aren’t eating rare beef, the State of SC is satisfied.


    Comment by
    Daryl Cobranchi
    June 29th, 2007
    at 5:44 pm

    The restaurant may have been misinterpreting the law. According to the Charleston paper, it only applies to burgers.


    Comment by
    JJ Ross
    June 30th, 2007
    at 7:21 am

    State paternalism based on the pocketbook? Kids who can buy themselves steak can order it rare and take their chances, but all the burger buyers require public protection? Sounds like ps! 🙂


    Comment by
    JJ Ross
    June 30th, 2007
    at 7:31 am

    Hmmm, looks to me like this paternalistic law isn’t discriminatory by class after all, did you read the whole story?

    “State law requires all potentially hazardous foods to be cooked to at least 145 degrees, except poultry, poultry stuffings, stuffed meats, stuffed pasta, and stuffings containing meat that should be cooked to 165 degrees, and pork and any food containing pork, game animals, comminuted fish and meat, roast beef, and beef steak to 155 degrees.”

    Roast beef and beef steak to 155, yes? But I don’t see the part about age discrimination because this seems to apply to everyone, not just the PG-restricted under 18s?


    Comment by
    JJ Ross
    June 30th, 2007
    at 7:45 am

    Sorry, now I see it. And pregnant women and the elderly, demented or not, are cut from the herd for special paternalistic protection too, as if they were juveniles, but it’s not quite forced on them yet:
    “Attached to the change are two specifications, says Dorothy Soranno, health inspector with the Charleston County Health Department.
    Patrons under 18 cannot ask for undercooked beef . . .Dietary guidelines by the U.S. Department of Agriculture suggest that pregnant women and the elderly also avoid undercooked beef.”