this post was submitted on 25 Jul 2024

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353

Chemists of Lemmy, how accurate is this likability table? (lemmy.world)

submitted 3 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Too distracted by the misspelling in the title

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago

you can always answer how likable they are?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago (4 children)

I mean, technically you can lick any of them...

[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 months ago

(Once)

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago

Since the green isn't labelled "yes you can" I stopped reading...

[–] [email protected] 24 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

Elemental mercury isn't very bioavailable so licking the surface of a pool of mercury isn't going to hurt you much if at all. (Assuming you just do it once). Plus the density of mercury is going make it hard for you to slurp up a significant quantity the stuff anyway.

If you want to know about the horrible potential for mercury to mess you up look for stories about dimethyl mercury exposure. Its the fat soluble varieties that give mercury it's reputation.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

The story of the professor who was studying dimethyl mercury is terrifying

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 months ago (2 children)

:( oh no now I must search for it

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[–] [email protected] 103 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (3 children)

Chemist here: all the reds are correct but it would take so much time to explain why so many of the greens are super concerning. Every time I see this reposted it's so concerning...I should just spend the 17 minutes and save a copy pasta response of everything horribly wrong with this.

Edit: page 1 on the SDS for pure sulfur.

[–] [email protected] 47 points 3 months ago (2 children)

I'm pretty sure that licking pure magnesium would make your tongue explode too.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I would not be willing to lick calcium, too

[–] [email protected] 41 points 3 months ago (5 children)

Definitely not licking pure lithium, sodium, or any of the alkali (s-block) metals. My tongue is wet. That shit explodes in water, yo.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 months ago

Beryllium is mostly only toxic when you breathe it in (there's even a special disease you get from it), but as a solid, it's pretty safe afaik.

Not that I recommend it.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 3 months ago (3 children)

Oh yeah just lick the carbon. It’s probably fine.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 months ago

Have you never licked a diamond before? You’re missing out.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 3 months ago (6 children)

It is. Activated carbon is used to treat diarrhoea, you basically swallow a chunk of carbon that absorbs any moisture it comes across

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago

Not moisture but reactive molecules. (I mean, many forms probably do still absorb a good bit but) I forgot the exact chemistry but "activated" means chemically reactive. It binds with all sorts of reactive molecules, like toxins and many other things.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Don't lick carbon nano tubes or buckyball. Also in general carbon powder can be a particulate inhalation issue.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (2 children)

The table is about licking specifically. It’s not a breathability table. Just so that is clear.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Activated carbon is also used in water treatment to remove taste/odours and many organic pollutants.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 months ago

Tastes like a campfire.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (3 children)

I'm no chemist but - can you lick a gas?

Edit: pick

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Same concern. It's even arguable you can only lick solids (and lap liquids). This would make hydrogen a Must Not Lick, for example, if we could only consider solid forms.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Just freeze them

[–] [email protected] 19 points 3 months ago (4 children)

If you lick anything at minus 200, you're going to have a bad time.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

That was my schoolmate...

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

You can lick liquid nitrogen, that's pretty close

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Can you really?

[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

You've never seen the trick where you put a small amount of liquid nitrogen in your mouth to demonstrate... science, IDK something to do with lederhosen?

Don't swallow it though, then you'll get a perforated stomach.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 months ago

Define "lick".

[–] [email protected] 41 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

From my elementary knowledge of chemistry:

I had to go looking for Mercury and Lead and sure enough they look about right.

Column 1 reacts with water so you bet that'll hurt. Hydrogen needs a boost to start reacting with oxygen so no naked flame is recommended.

Anything in column 7 are desperate to rip electrons away from molecules so yes, permanent damage to your tongue and mouth.

Uranium is alright if you lick it once. A guy ate uranium cake once on TV.

The 'Please reconsider' lot seem to be a good way to die a horrible death by radiation.

Tc I believe is technetium which is radioactive and emits gamma rays, perhaps not soluable so stays in your body and you become gamma-man.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago (3 children)

Lead should be red

[–] [email protected] 15 points 3 months ago

lead's bad for you, sure, but when some of the other metals on this scale's red might literally explode your tongue/face/head depending on sample size and saliva accumulation, i'd say yellow fits it pretty well.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Nah, metallic lead is pretty solid. Licking it doesn't really do much. You shouldn't ingest lead, but you don't really ingest it by licking a piece of metal.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Same with metallic mercury. But once it evaporates....

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Well, when you lick mercury, you're actually going to swallow a lot of it. Thankfully, you'll poop most of it out, and as long as you do it once, it won't kill you.

But if I had to pick between licking lead or mercury, I'd go with lead.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Idk, just licking it once shouldn't do much harm, right?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (3 children)

There is no identified threshold or safe level of lead in blood” [AAP 2016]

https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/leadtoxicity/physiological_effects.html

I'd call that "you really shouldn't" for an adult, and for a baby I'd tell them to "please reconsider" for sure

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago

It isn't safe at any dose but the amount of harm from licking it once is definitely rather small. Probably safer than having a couple of alcoholic drinks or a single cigarette.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago

I have a toddler and I hope to dear god there's no lead about. She will lick anything.

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

Given the choice between licking mercury and licking lead, 96% of respondents answered with lead.

Apologies for the random percentage and quoting fictional data.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

look at this shill from the big metal licking industry

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