When my mom was young, her brother, my Uncle Bradley, had a little bottle of mercury. My mom always wanted to play with it, but he wouldn't let her touch it (typical big brother; he was 7 years older than she was).
Somehow, we ended up with a little bottle of mercury (also known as elemental mercury or quicksilver), and I don't know if it was the one my Uncle Bradley once had or was a different little bottle of mercury (I don't know how or why anyone ends up with a little bottle of mercury). My brother claimed it was his, which, again, leads to the issue of why anyone owns mercury and where did they get it and WHO GIVES A KID A BOTTLE OF MERCURY? Anyway, this mercury lived with the various bottles of household medicine in a large, shallow, footed bowl on top of our refrigerator. Every once in awhile, after much begging on my part and only when my brother wasn't home, my mom would let me play with it.
Okay, this is why some people have little bottles of mercury. It's a liquid, but it isn't. It stays in a puddle in the palm of your hand and even if you poke it with a finger, it only breaks apart for a second before reforming into its original puddle. It's cold and silvery. After rolling it around in my hand for a few minutes, my mom would make me put it back in the bottle and the mercury was returned to the bowl on top of the refrigerator where I couldn't reach it (not that I ever tried **cough cough**).
Mystery question: whatever happened to the little bottle of mercury? I don't remember seeing it since I was maybe 10.
A little Google search has informed me elemental mercury is a liquid metal and is terribly toxic. According to the EPA, at room temperature, it can evaporate into a toxic vapor, and prolonged exposure to it can cause all kinds of horrible neurological damage. The Cleveland Clinic says that while touching it or swallowing it won't hurt you, because it won't absorb into your skin or your intestines (and its slippery texture will cause it to pass right on through those), elemental mercury is extremely dangerous if you breathe it or get it in your lungs, and that often the way it becomes airborne is when someone tries to clean up a spill with a vacuum.
Want to know a secret? If I found that little bottle of mercury, I would be VERY VERY CAREFUL not to spill it, but I most definitely would pour it into my hand in a heartbeat and roll it around and poke it with my finger. #keepthemercuryawayfromme
I was thinking about how toxic mercury is while you were rolling it around in your hand. I do wonder where it came from.
ReplyDeleteMy brother said he thought my dad brought it home from work.
DeleteIndeed, it's toxic. I wonder why was it there in the first place, since it's toxic.
ReplyDeleteMy brother just told me he thought our dad brought it home from work. He worked for the gas company and maybe it had been inside a gas meter or something. We certainly were never allowed to touch it for very long, but who know touching it wasn't the dangerous part!
DeleteI remember breaking an old mercury thermometer and having fun with it rolling around until it was time to throw it all away.
ReplyDeleteEvery broken thermometer meant an opportunity to chase those little silver orbs on the floor, or my palm. Probably better we didn't know how toxic it is...
ReplyDeleteOh, the good old days when we could play with toxic substances!
ReplyDelete