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Domain: pepto-bismol.com
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Comments · 7
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Re:Not worried about aspirin
intentionally risking the infection of people in order to save your own ass is monumentally stupid. But people tend to act in ways of self preservation when the issue is pressed and you will see things like this often. It's no different than a criminal who rats on his buddies for a lesser term in prison or the conscripted soldier who flees to another country to avoid the conscription.
So aspirin, Pepto bismol, and hydrocodone or Vicodin will cover up most early symptoms of Ebola. I guess the issue is will the news coverage be such in ways that people in these infected countries think they can be cured by going to other countries. If so, expect a raid and looting on hospital clinics and people thinking their lives will be saved if they can only get to another country.
And this is not even touching the terrorism aspect of things. Imagine someone intentionally doing this knowing that their eventual symptoms will be discovered after it is already too late. Imagine if they worked at a food stall at a busy mall or subway or right outside the government offices or court rooms or something.
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Mining metals on VenusI've always been intrigued by the possibility of mining for commercially viable metals on Venus. The effort would be an order of magnitude more than mining on Earth, but some of the materials most in demand -- tantalum for capacitors, for example -- are in limited supply in politically difficult locations. Not to mention the fact that the mining process tears up one of my favorite planets.
According to this 2003 BBC article:The highlands of Venus are covered by a heavy metal "frost", say planetary scientists from Washington University.
Because it is hot enough to melt lead at the surface, metals vaporise and condense at cooler, higher elevations.
This may explain why radar observations made by orbiting spacecraft show that the highlands are highly reflective.
Detailed calculations, to be published in the journal Icarus, suggest that lead and bismuth are to blame for giving Venus its bright, metallic skin.
The article goes on to discuss lead and bismuth being the primary metals. Nobody's going to launch a mission to Venus to build a digestive elixir plant, but it seems entirely possible that the lead and bismuth might be "contaminated" with more interesting metals -- perhaps even in quantities large enough to be commericially interesting. -
Re:What's the point ?
IIRC, I read recently that none of the Bismuth isotopes are stable... apparently the one they thought was stable instead has a REALLY long half-life.
Man, that sort of news really gives me a stomach ache... -
Re:Xenon gas?
Oh great! There goes the price of Pepto-Bismol. (Yes, it contains the metal Bismuth). -
Re:Xenon gas?
Oh great! There goes the price of Pepto-Bismol. (Yes, it contains the metal Bismuth). -
Venus's real color
from article:
Detailed calculations, to be published in the journal Icarus, suggest that lead and bismuth are to blame for giving Venus its bright, metallic skin.
I thought bismuth was the stuff in Pepto Bismol.
Wouldn't Venus appear pink if that were the case?!?
I will save all the anonymous cowards the trouble:
Wouldn't that cause Venus to appear black on the radar? Doesn't bismuth belong on Uranus? -
Re:portmanteau double bonus!!
Bismal makes me think of my cow orkers, but for a different reason.