Your Basement Chemistry Lab

Don't worry about police suspicion. At worst they will drop by for a look-see. The couple of times it has happened to me, I offered them a soda and bored them to tears describing my work.

I was going to say... if for some reason a cop or some such came to know about (or suspect) such a lab, they'd probably think it was for making meth or crack or something and then come search your house and break/take your science stuff.

Just keep in mind that the glassware is now considered "drug paraphernalia" and that it is illegal to own in some states, must be registered in others. And that doesn't even begin to address the issues of the chemicals themselves.

Here's a depressing, though informative, read on the issue:

http://memepunks.blogspot.com/2006/06/americas-war-on-science.html?dupe=with_honor

If you fossick about on the net you can find a scan of The Golden Book Of Chemistry Experiments, which though banned was actually really good.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Golden_Book_of_Chemistry_Experiments

My mother (a retired chemistry professor)has long bemoaned that the day of making significant discoveries in your basement chemistry lab is long gone. Now-a-days it takes isolation chambers and government grants.

You go girl! Prove her wrong.