Back when I was a yout in my late teens, I had a summer job as a lab assistant. One of my tasks was to clean the glassware for a biochemistry lab. This involved making up a potent mixture of concentrated sulphuric acid (do I need to say more?) and Potassium Chlorate (a strong oxidizer). So I am mixing this sinister, deadly, corrosive brew in a flask (which gets really, really hot as you mix it) , when I notice a circular crack on the bottom of the flask. I am RIGHT beside a ceramic sink, so the temptation to dump this impending disaster in the sink is too strong to resist. I lift the flask and Whoomp, I have a gallon plus of hot, steaming, concentrated acid running over my crotch and down my legs.
Three feet away is a rusty chain that is supposed to operate a “chemical shower”, a flood of fresh water for just such situations. But this one has not, to my knowledge, been used for many years. Will it work? I reach for the chain with one hand, but my other hand is already on the door handle; it is a 100 yard dash to the ocean! I pull the chain and the shower floods me with fresh water. The concentrated acid boils off my legs and off the surrounding lab benches. What a mess! I personally escaped with nothing more than the equivalent of a bad sunburn, but sooo close to serious disfiguration. That and hours and hours of clean up!
A few months later, I observed a new summer student (who quickly earned the nickname ”Fool, Fool”) looking curiously at the chain of that same shower each time he passed. I didn’t say a word, but knew it was only a matter of time! He had to try it! As sure as the day is long, one day FF came running out of the lab in a panic. He had pulled the chain “to see if it worked”. I could have told him that. I suppose I could have also told him in advance that it does not stop when you let go of the chain. It doesn’t stop until the entire roof tank, hundreds of gallons, is empty!
