Live data from Hacker News

Making chloroform so I can sleep better at night [video]

youtube.com

41–50 of 157 posts

Re: Making chloroform so I can sleep better at night [video]

#41
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It could well be a similar phenomenon to how silencers on firearms absolutely do not make a gun sound like it sounds in the movies, but because it's become an established (and convenient) film trope, it persists in film. Similarly - films depicting kidnapping people using chloroform as an instant knockout drug.

I remember reading (can’t find the source anymore) that ether would work as knock-out drug, and that indeed it was used as a plot device in crime books as chloroform is used in movies today. The problem is that ether can be highly toxic at relatively low dosage, and then it was replaced by chloroform in fiction to avoid giving dangerous ideas to people. Is there any truth behind this theory?

Weirdly enough, ether can be drank. Erowid has a great many self-reported case studies of the effects of ether drinking

https://erowid.org/experiences/subs/exp_Ether.shtml

I've never consumed or inhaled it myself. However from someone who I know drank it, said the high is rapid and intense. Basically, it's enough to get you arrested for a public intox, and by the time you're at the police station, you're completely sober, save for your breath smelling like gasoline.

Another source about consumption of ether in 19th c Ireland : https://www.newscientist.com/letter/mg19125630-800-bring-bac...

https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(11)...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ether_addiction

As a final edit: It's probably a really bad idea to inhale or drink ether.. but it is definitely drinkable.

Re: Making chloroform so I can sleep better at night [video]

#42

I'm a recovering nitrous oxide addict so this is interesting, but people should proceed with caution. I didn't know laughing gas could be addictive for some people until it was too late. In the film Cider House Rules, Michael Caine plays a doctor addicted to ether for sleep https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cider_House_Rules_(film) Google result: Is chloroform stronger than ether? Fluothane and chloroform produced si…

So like how much nitrous did you do?

Re: Making chloroform so I can sleep better at night [video]

#43
post #23

Chloroform is great for extractions (if you don't care about the environment) because it sinks to the bottom of a sep funnel, but the thing about it being a knockout gas or sleep aid is complete BS. Based on an unpublished study of about 4 degenerate chemistry undergrads: - It PROBABLY takes several minutes of inhalation through a saturated rag to induce full loss of consciousness, although shorter times do produce n…

> Join us for our continued lecture series, covering topics such as Please share/blog these! I too have several degenerate chemistry undergrad stories. > The poor efficacy of DMSO in assisting drug translocation through skin Yep. During one particularly sleep-deprived finals week, and after recently learning about DMSO's transdermal transportation abilities, my friend and I tried making caffeine skin patches. It work…

You have to really dilute DMSO if you're going to put it on your skin.

Re: Making chloroform so I can sleep better at night [video]

#44
Is there a youtube channel all about how chemical waste is neutralized for disposal? What happens to the tub of very basic water and maybe some bleach? Just pour down the drain? What pHs are safe to pour down the drain? How is more complex waste, like containing pharmacological products or heavy metals, neutralized and disposed?

Re: Making chloroform so I can sleep better at night [video]

#45
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a reason why anesthesiologists are paid well. Knocking someone out safely is not a joke. (Not only in US where everything health-related involves big money, but also in the countries which underpay other healthcare professionals.)

My dad is an anesthesiologist and likes to joke that he can knock you out for cheap. Waking you up afterwards costs extra.

[deleted]

Re: Making chloroform so I can sleep better at night [video]

#46
post #21

Chloroform is great for extractions (if you don't care about the environment) because it sinks to the bottom of a sep funnel, but the thing about it being a knockout gas or sleep aid is complete BS. Based on an unpublished study of about 4 degenerate chemistry undergrads: - It PROBABLY takes several minutes of inhalation through a saturated rag to induce full loss of consciousness, although shorter times do produce n…

It could well be a similar phenomenon to how silencers on firearms absolutely do not make a gun sound like it sounds in the movies, but because it's become an established (and convenient) film trope, it persists in film. Similarly - films depicting kidnapping people using chloroform as an instant knockout drug.

Would be fun for a show like law and order to do an episode where someone is framed with chloroform and part of solving the crime is excluding the framed person because the chloroform TV trope isnt based in science.

Re: Making chloroform so I can sleep better at night [video]

#47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember reading (can’t find the source anymore) that ether would work as knock-out drug, and that indeed it was used as a plot device in crime books as chloroform is used in movies today. The problem is that ether can be highly toxic at relatively low dosage, and then it was replaced by chloroform in fiction to avoid giving dangerous ideas to people. Is there any truth behind this theory?

Weirdly enough, ether can be drank. Erowid has a great many self-reported case studies of the effects of ether drinking https://erowid.org/experiences/subs/exp_Ether.shtml I've never consumed or inhaled it myself. However from someone who I know drank it, said the high is rapid and intense. Basically, it's enough to get you arrested for a public intox, and by the time you're at the police station, you're completely s…

“The only thing that really worried me was the ether. There is nothing in the world more helpless and irresponsible and depraved than a man in the depths of an ether binge. And I knew we'd get into that rotten stuff pretty soon. Probably at the next gas station.” ― Hunter S. Thompson

Re: Making chloroform so I can sleep better at night [video]

#48

I'm a recovering nitrous oxide addict so this is interesting, but people should proceed with caution. I didn't know laughing gas could be addictive for some people until it was too late. In the film Cider House Rules, Michael Caine plays a doctor addicted to ether for sleep https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cider_House_Rules_(film) Google result: Is chloroform stronger than ether? Fluothane and chloroform produced si…

So like how much nitrous did you do?

Let's see there's 50 whippets in a box, 12 boxes in a case. I did a couple hundred cases before I finally stopped. My last two binges 5 years apart were 15 cases over a 2 week period and 20 cases over a 10 day period. Once I start cracking whippets I can't stop. It felt almost like an OCD thing.

Re: Making chloroform so I can sleep better at night [video]

#49

I'm a recovering nitrous oxide addict so this is interesting, but people should proceed with caution. I didn't know laughing gas could be addictive for some people until it was too late. In the film Cider House Rules, Michael Caine plays a doctor addicted to ether for sleep https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cider_House_Rules_(film) Google result: Is chloroform stronger than ether? Fluothane and chloroform produced si…

Did you have any issues with B12 deficiency? I've always wondered to what extent oral B12 supplementation can mitigate the health risks of chronic nitrous use.

Re: Making chloroform so I can sleep better at night [video]

#50

Chloroform is great for extractions (if you don't care about the environment) because it sinks to the bottom of a sep funnel, but the thing about it being a knockout gas or sleep aid is complete BS. Based on an unpublished study of about 4 degenerate chemistry undergrads: - It PROBABLY takes several minutes of inhalation through a saturated rag to induce full loss of consciousness, although shorter times do produce n…

> Harm reduction re: consumption of USP 99.9% ethanol

According to Ignition! by John Clark, high-purity ethanol used for rocket fuel undergoes a similar phenomenon when in storage tanks near rocket scientists and Navy personnel. Interesting to see that this also occurs in the proximity of undergrads. Study operators claimed that dissolving the ethanol in H2O, or, preferably, lime juice and/or soda water, merits further study.

But yes, I would also be interested in reading that continued series.

Post reply on HN