Hacker News Reader

Hacker News

Comment by singleshot_ | Hacker News Reader

Parent Full thread

singleshot_

Curious person here with a warning: don’t smell 30% vinegar. You are missing nothing gods by skipping this. I promise.

View on HN

I hope you know that this’ll make more people want to smell it, not less. ;)

At least I’m curious now..

An olfactory Streisand Effect!

It's ok to be curious. Just don't do it.

People have been avoiding learning the smell and taste of several kinds of poison with a great amount of success for thousands of years. Be one of the successful ones.

Is a cup of 30% vinegar poisonous? That would surprise me.

Quite likely. I'd guess in very small amounts it's still fine, but that's a guess.

Anyway, I don't think anybody ever tested that, because that will hurt your nose before you get the chance to drink it.

Oh, I guess you are talking about the acetic acid concentration, then. Because vinegar as bought in the shop is fit for consumption, especially if diluted to 30%.

In great Czech movie "Obecna skola" (The elementary school, 1991) principal warns students over PA not to lick metal railings in winter and of course students try it and get stuck. He complains about it to a new teacher who responds "Students are young, they want to try everything". Principal then asks "are you telling me, if I say - Don't drink sulphuric acid, it will burn your intestines - that they will drink it?" And the teacher says: "I don't know, but better not say anything over PA".

I’m thrilled to be part of a community which is so curious and so distrusting of authority.

Nah .. I'm not being anti-authority, merely curios. :D

Absolutely my first thought was "Huh, I wonder what it smells like"

It smells exactly like acetic acid, only a lot stronger than you’re used to.

You may find after a few tries that it smells just like the split second before vomiting.

Yup, my neighbor uses strong vinegar to kill weeds and our yard smells strongly of vinegar for about 12 hours after. He does this 2x/week. I'm glad we're moving.

Better than bathing the land in poison. You never know with moving, you may look back fondly on this current neighbor depending on the proclivities of your new neighbors

Better than bathing the land in poison, worse than just pulling out weeds when you find them.

It is bathing the land with poison, that’s why it works.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com