What’s with the kinda mob-reaction to this word anyway? Was there a mass antifreeze poisoning in history I somehow missed? Apart from a specific product we call antifreeze. . .which nobody using that word seems to know what is so the point is moot . . .antifreeze is anything that freezes at a lower temperature than water.
Anyway, the key to the title here is simple: Alcohol is antifreeze. Also, coincidentally, it cures (well, neutralizes is probably a better word) ethylene glycol poisoning if I remember correctly. And I’m not just being glib, a huge benefit of it is the freezing point, also the disinfectant point, and also that it’s basically runny bread (especially in the bad old days) so it’s a super easy way to store quite a lot of calories for the winter.
Actually, I’ve never understood how this doesn’t come up in history lessons: Why were riots and shit so common in say, 1830-1875 in the US? Nativism, racism, religion, and beer. Beer for breakfast, beer at lunch, beer for dinner, and no Timmy don’t drink that water it’s dirty! Have some beer.
Oh, and then there was the Gin craze in the UK from like 1720-1750-ish.
And of course there’s Churchill. . . .'nuff said there really.
I’m not saying all of history is basically just drunks doing dumbass things. . .but it certainly explains a lot to look at it that way.
Edit: Does this count as clickbait to drag people into one of my tangential history musings?
I think you mean lower temperature It also has the benefit of raising the boiling point.
Ethylene glycol poisoning is a real thing. It’s unhealthy stuff, as it metabolizes into calcium oxalate that crystalizes in the brain, heart, lungs and kidneys… Granted we don’t really use that in vaping, although some use Polyethylene Glycol (PEG)…
The mass of sheeple tend to blindly believe anything that has flashy graphics and a minor-chord bass line to grab their attention. Add a bubble-headed bleach-blonde sharing “startling news!” with a somber voice and a face barely hiding their sheer disgust, who the hell needs facts? It’s eeEEEEBULLL!!
I cannot even begin to count some of the inane crap that has been hurled at me when people discover that I vape. From the dreaded “Popcorn Lung” to “You’re inhaling battery acid!!”(Yes. You read that correctly. Battery. Fucking. Acid. Go figure) I’ve tried responding with facts(glazed confusion in 3…2…1…) to utter disdain at their ignorance. Now? If someone tries to tell me all about the evil dangers in vaping, I simply reply “I’ve done my research and have decided that it’s less harmful to my health than cigarettes. How are the kids/pets/Mets?”
Several people have said to me “You know THEY say that vaping is worse than smoking”. I normally reply with “yep, I know.” Facts confuse idiots so why waste my breath.
But seriously, yeah, this is a problem, and it expands to all issues unfortunately because it is a core issue of the American psyche. Basically, propaganda and trends/fads are just, so powerful in this country – and while a core cultural group in the US is a very big fan of science, very, very few Americans actually know the science behind their opinions, which are just as vehement, reactive, and unbending as any of their other instilled, essentially doctrinal beliefs.
I’m a student of history myself and I run into “Nuh-uh!” all the goddamned time. If you can get them to Google your argument out of spite, they STILL argue 95% of the time! Which is just, infuriating blindness to reality. And this is all politics, all religions, the core of bastardizations of science like Eugenics (which was really just moving the old religious arguments to a ‘scientific’ framework because it was the racism that mattered, not the framework of science or religion) .
On the other hand, it’s super satisfying when you do get someone to learn something, or someone teaches you something.
EDIT: to be clear, I only know basic college Chem, Physics and Bio I – but when it comes to things I have opinions on I try very hard to either A) Actually understand the basic science behind my thinking (basic chemistry is SUPER useful for mixology) B) Find someone I know is generally right that can give me a layman’s version, like my understanding of evolution being almost wholly Dawkins and Darwin, I haven’t found much else that needs and deserves to be added to my understanding. So my comment on very few americans understanding science, I’m not one of the ones who does – but anyone can get the layman’s version of the thing they’re talking about dammit. You just need the basic rational toolkit, otherwise called Scientific Literacy. And that I do have. Anyone can get it in a couple months.
I was a chemistry major in college 10 years ago… I also hear all the “you killing yourself with vape” arguments from the uneducated and sometimes I try to break it down to them but some people are machines that only listen to their programming from all the media outlets… I just shake my head but I do try to educate those who will listen… BTW I completely agree that having basic chemistry knowledge really helps in mixology (I didn’t actually finish my degree but the knowledge I did gain I use to this day ) and my love of cooking helps too
The fact that flat-earthers are once again a “thing” should not be much of a surprise, but it just sickens me. I would love to stamp the blame directly upon the idiot box, but some days I prefer to shine up the ol’ tinfoil sombrero and jump into the deep pool of conspiracy-Out passed Alex Jones and the Bilderberg fan club, straight to the waters of education-killing fascism. Or was it the Liberals deciding that everyone needs a trophy and we should always teach to the Lowest Common Denominator?
Jesus. You pegged me-Aging old-school punker. Some would probably label me as the typical Gen-X’er, down with the system, please pass the Fruit Loops and turn on Thundercats!
I’m rambling. I think my blood sugar is getting low. Time to go knock the stank off and get the grease fix(Thank you Ed Abbey, you magnificent bastard!) Time to jump start my day, in other words. I’ll be back!
It also has the benefit of raising the boiling point.
) and my love of cooking helps too