Path: csiph.com!weretis.net!feeder9.news.weretis.net!panix!.POSTED.2602:f977:0:1::2!not-for-mail From: Ted Heise Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.misc Subject: Mercury (was: GNU) Date: Mon, 30 Mar 2026 14:23:23 -0000 (UTC) Organization: My own, such as it is 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> Injection-Date: Mon, 30 Mar 2026 14:23:23 -0000 (UTC) Injection-Info: reader2.panix.com; posting-host="2602:f977:0:1::2"; logging-data="7744"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@panix.com" User-Agent: slrn/1.0.3 (NetBSD) Xref: csiph.com comp.os.linux.misc:84666 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://hhs.iowa.gov/health-prevention/providers-professionals/center-acute-disease-epidemiology/epi-manual/environmental-disease/mercury-poisoning On the other hand, mercury vaporizes readily and is well absorbed on respiration. From there, it tends to ionize and form compounds that are quite toxic. -- Ted Heise Gretna, NE, USA