Path: csiph.com!fu-berlin.de!uni-berlin.de!individual.net!not-for-mail From: rbowman Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.misc Subject: Re: Mercury (was: GNU) Date: 30 Mar 2026 18:41:33 GMT Lines: 49 Message-ID: References: <1rsoqz0.19zzbh71ebfb7bN%snipeco.2@gmail.com> <18a11176d0ed8bfb$1717$2710841$802601b3@news.usenetexpress.com> <1rsp93i.i0zwza16xvqdfN%nospam@de-ster.demon.nl> <18a11b491becb6ce$558$2491104$802601b3@news.usenetexpress.com> <1rsq78a.9hgxro1eczx2yN%nospam@de-ster.demon.nl> <10qb9df$1inu5$14@dont-email.me> <1rsr591.1ssq8oh1dihjwuN%nospam@de-ster.demon.nl> <10qc4dc$1silm$10@dont-email.me> <0cqjskp5oprp9v1utu6t3q8u0urkpnjbvs@4ax.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Trace: individual.net DwWeTy5opxoWcA4KhhXWugrzZJ+XIvail/52oflmak0Sr/YOQ1 Cancel-Lock: sha1:xEf8o3BRNsBcIwLDpgucb93VYKM= sha256:CWP+dqr9NYJm2zSfrAO5aa6bsOSWyYdaA3cdwdiZ0bs= User-Agent: Pan/0.162 (Pokrosvk) Xref: csiph.com comp.os.linux.misc:84691 On Mon, 30 Mar 2026 14:23:23 -0000 (UTC), Ted Heise wrote: > On Mon, 30 Mar 2026 12:42:06 +0200, > Carlos E.R. wrote: >> On 2026-03-30 05:17, Tony Cooper wrote: >> > On Mon, 30 Mar 2026 03:03:42 +0200, "Carlos E.R." >> > wrote: > >> >> I just noticed that my electronic and modern blood pressure meter is >> >> calibrated in mmHg. I have seen doctors and clinics actually have a >> >> mercury filled tube to do these measurements. >> > >> > Many of us in the US are old enough to have had our blood pressure >> > checked with such a device. And, to have used glass thermometers >> > with mercury in it. When broken, and the little blob of mercury fell >> > out, to have squished the blob into many smaller blobs and been >> > delighted to have seen them all reunite into one blob. That was done >> > by a forefinger before we knew that the mercury was harmful. >> >> I have a tiny glass jar with mercury, and it is amazing how heavy it >> is. > > Indeed! I may have told this here before, but some 40 years ago I > helped the college chemistry department (at which I was a student) > move into a new building. I got to help pack and transport a bunch of > the chemicals. The stock included a dozen or so bottles of > mercury--maybe a liter or so each. I put about half of them in a sturdy > cardboard box, and when I picked it up the bottom promptly fell out. > Fortunately the bottles were all plastic, so there was no spill. > > > >> ...My father, who was a chemist, said that mercury itself >> was not dangerous, but some compounds it generates. Of course, >> it is possible that there were new findings years after his >> graduation. > > Your father was somewhat correct, as I understand things. For > example... > > Elemental mercury is not well absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract > and, therefore, when ingested, is only mildly toxic. https://lewis-clark.org/sciences/medicine/rushs-bilious-pills/ Dr. Rush helped pin down one of Lewis & Clark's campsites. https://www.chicagotribune.com/2005/07/03/thunderbolts-strike-twice-to- mark-campsite/