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Will Coke Dissolve a Nail? (2003)

joshmadison.com

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Re: Will Coke Dissolve a Nail? (2003)

#91

Post by eloff »

lmm wrote: post #89
coldtea wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Coke is 89% water (from the other % most is sugar). Not really comparable to consuming 2 cans of salt, baking soda, toothpaste, etc. And would you really be worried for people drinking several cans of lemon juice per day?

> And would you really be worried for people drinking several cans of lemon juice per day? Yes, absolutely. It's pretty damaging to teeth if consumed regularly, AIUI. (Personal experience: I once started drinking a few glasses of orange juice (weaker than lemon) daily, within a year I needed four fillings. Stopped drinking it immediately afterwards, haven't needed fillings before or since).

That likely had more to do with the sugar than the acid in the juice.

Re: Will Coke Dissolve a Nail? (2003)

#93

Post by LanceH »

coldpie wrote: post #60
huhtenberg wrote: post #8

Another variation is Can Fanta dissolve a piece of liver? In Russia it's commonly believed that it does. Have no idea if it's true, probably not. Yet another gem is Can Pepsi be used to de-calcify and clean toilets? This is actually more believable, but still quite a bit out there.

Woah what are you doing to your livers where they're exposed directly to Fanta?

Livers in Russia? hah.

Re: Will Coke Dissolve a Nail? (2003)

#94

Post by mark-r »

ihuman wrote: post #78
teekert wrote: post #7

"To illustrate that, the email points out that Coke can be used to clean a toilet, help remove a rusty bolt, or remove blood from a highway accident." Yeah well why would anybody believe that if a soda can be used in such ways that it is also bad for you? I mean I flush the toilet with water! With WATER! And it removes most traces of excrement... Arg, it must be bad for you!

Dihydrogen Monoxide is a fearful substance and should be banned https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dihydrogen_monoxide_hoax

You forgot the link to http://www.dhmo.org/

Re: Will Coke Dissolve a Nail? (2003)

#95

Post by mark-r »

But is 1/4 ounce enough to show the effect? I would have used at least 8 ounces. Quantity matters!

Also there was the slight possibility that the keratin nail provided buffering that prevents the steel nail from dissolving. It would have been prudent to test them separately.

Re: Will Coke Dissolve a Nail? (2003)

#96

Post by lmm »

eloff wrote: post #91
lmm wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And would you really be worried for people drinking several cans of lemon juice per day? Yes, absolutely. It's pretty damaging to teeth if consumed regularly, AIUI. (Personal experience: I once started drinking a few glasses of orange juice (weaker than lemon) daily, within a year I needed four fillings. Stopped drinking it immediately afterwards, haven't needed fillings before or since).

That likely had more to do with the sugar than the acid in the juice.

I'd been drinking apple juice in similar quantities before and since for years (when I say "started" I really mean I switched from apple to orange), which I believe has similar sugar content.

Re: Will Coke Dissolve a Nail? (2003)

#97

Post by qb45 »

wyldfire wrote: post #57

> The steel nail and keratin nail were examined under the 8x loupe and notes were made about their appearances. Gee, a simple metric might've been just to measure the mass of the nail before and after.

The nails would turn lighter because even though Coke probably doesn't dissolve steel it certainly does dissolve rust.

Phosphoric acid is used in some commercial rust removers and soldering fluxes for metals like steel, nickel or chromium.

Re: Will Coke Dissolve a Nail? (2003)

#98

Post by djrogers »

The quote the post attempts to test is this:

   The active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid. Its pH is 2.8. It will dissolve a nail in about 4 days.
However, the test does not line up with my reading of the quote:

   Phospohric acid, which has a PH of 2.8 can dissolve a nail in about 4 days.
Let's see what a nail does in phosphoric acid!

-- edited for readability

Re: Will Coke Dissolve a Nail? (2003)

#99

Post by vkou »

saiya-jin wrote: post #64
RankingMember wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually drank a little more than .5 liter of white vinegar as part of some experimentation with those "miracle fruit" tablets ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synsepalum_dulcificum ). Other than a few minutes of burping, I experienced no ill effects. Edit: Ok, wanted to make a correction after thinking more about that day: My consumed amount was likely around half that. I was consuming various other oddities during…

wow OK, I stand corrected. I always, wrongly assumed that more than tiny amount would make digestive system go crazy and probably cause vomit or other unpleasant consequences

To be fair, from my recollection of freshmen challenges, a cup of vinegar, a large raw onion, and a head of garlic is sufficient to either induce vomiting, or to compel the 'winner' to self-induce vomiting.

Re: Will Coke Dissolve a Nail? (2003)

#100

Post by RankingMember »

vkou wrote: post #99
saiya-jin wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

wow OK, I stand corrected. I always, wrongly assumed that more than tiny amount would make digestive system go crazy and probably cause vomit or other unpleasant consequences

To be fair, from my recollection of freshmen challenges, a cup of vinegar, a large raw onion, and a head of garlic is sufficient to either induce vomiting, or to compel the 'winner' to self-induce vomiting.

The advent of both these kind of challenges as well as Youtube have brought to light a level of durability of the human digestive tract I wouldn't have previously expected. One only needs to watch someone like skippy62able (L.A. Beast) to have their eyes opened (and possibly their gag reflex triggered). For example, witness him consuming baking soda and then drinking a glass of vinegar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ke1el2TsDs
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