KIEV, Ukraine — A Ukrainian chemistry student has been killed by exploding bubble gum that tore off half of his face, police said Thursday.
Vladimir Likhonos, a student at a regional branch of the Kyiv Polytechnical Institute, is thought to have accidentally dipped his chewing gum into explosives he was using for his studies, police spokeswoman Elvira Biganova told The Associated Press. She said the 25-year-old mistook the powder for citric acid, which he often added to prolong the gum's taste.
On the table where Likhonos had been working police found about 3.5 ounces (100 grams) of the suspected explosive -- a powder that resembles citric acid but has yet to be identified, she said. http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...10?hub=SciTech
I was going to put it in the CP doing it wrong thread but the search function couldn't find it for me.
Anyways, for CP chem majors, what kind of chemical could it be to cause such explosion? Ammonium Iodates? Sodium Perchlorate?
I must admit, I sampled citric acid crystals in lab before
I showed this story to some of my lab coworkers. This guy was an idiot, plain and simple. I bet he dipped his gum into sodium azide or something. Dumbass.
Perhaps Jolinar just wanted it to seem like this guy dipped his gum in citric acid? You know, cover his tracks and all that. Make the death seem accidental.
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If you took a burger off the grill and slapped it on your face, I'm pretty sure it would burn you. - kermitology
I remember hearing a story about how someone was t-butyl Lithium and it's so reactive that exposure to air caused the person to light on fire.
It is not uncommon to have the syringe needle tip catch on fire while handling t-butyl lithium. Recently, at UCLA a grad student was handling a large amount of t-BuLi (~50 mL of solution). My understanding was that she was working alone over Christmas (mistake #1) and while pulling back the plunger on the t-BuLi it popped off and sprayed all over her. It lit on fire and she ended up dying from the burns she sustained a few weeks after the accident. I've used t-BuLi a lot before but you need to handle it properly and with respect (like a lot of chemicals).
Omg, I just read one of the tags. Boob headshot. I feel horrible for laughing as he's dead. But I am still laughing. And he was an idiot. And the people he worked with are idiots for not telling him he was an idiot.
Edit: I came in here to edit the boob headshot. But you know what, I'm just gonna leave it. Because it makes me laugh.
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Life is all about ass; you’re either covering it, laughing it off, kicking it, kissing it, busting it, trying to get a piece of it, behaving like one, or you live with one!!!
NSFL=Not So Funny Lady. But I will also accept Not Safe For Life and Not Sober For Long.
It just sounds so much like a Supervillian execution. You know, the joker sneaks in and replaces your citric acid with military grade powdered explosives.
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It is not uncommon to have the syringe needle tip catch on fire while handling t-butyl lithium. Recently, at UCLA a grad student was handling a large amount of t-BuLi (~50 mL of solution). My understanding was that she was working alone over Christmas (mistake #1) and while pulling back the plunger on the t-BuLi it popped off and sprayed all over her. It lit on fire and she ended up dying from the burns she sustained a few weeks after the accident. I've used t-BuLi a lot before but you need to handle it properly and with respect (like a lot of chemicals).
Ah... yes. That's the story my prof was telling us about! Crazy stuff man!!
It is not uncommon to have the syringe needle tip catch on fire while handling t-butyl lithium. Recently, at UCLA a grad student was handling a large amount of t-BuLi (~50 mL of solution). My understanding was that she was working alone over Christmas (mistake #1) and while pulling back the plunger on the t-BuLi it popped off and sprayed all over her. It lit on fire and she ended up dying from the burns she sustained a few weeks after the accident. I've used t-BuLi a lot before but you need to handle it properly and with respect (like a lot of chemicals).
I use to spell my name in fire with t-BuLi in fumehoods... oh the good old days
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I use to spell my name in fire with t-BuLi in fumehoods... oh the good old days
Yeah, in a dry place like Calgary, I had to try pretty hard to get alkyl lithium reagents to burst into flame on contact with air. They normally just sizzle and that's it. Crazy flames are more of a concern in humid locations. Actually, Calgary is a nice location to do chemistry in because it is so dry (water screws up a lot of chemistry).
Man dies from exploding chewing gum
