Comments on: Cannonball in Mercury: Will It Float?

By: Gauldar

Gauldar — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 22:32:06 +0000

Speaking of life expectancy…

I have a question: What is the life expectancy of BBC narrators talking in front of a tub of liquid mercury?

By: Wow

Wow — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 21:13:02 +0000

Wow, Ratz, you have a good memory.

By: Ratz

Ratz — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 02:12:50 +0000

I remember seeing this as a kid; I don’t remember the specifics, but at the time, the narrator was talking about the life expectancy of the slaves who mined mercury being in the order of days.

As for being around the fumes, he comments earlier in the programme that there are massive extractor fans above the baths to take the fumes away.

If anyone can remember the name of (or better yet, provide) the actual program , I’d be very interested.

By: DOJ

DOJ — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 01:57:36 +0000

very cool
I bet a basketball would just roll around on the surface

By: Randy B

Randy B — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 01:38:21 +0000

Why does someone have a tub full of mercury like that?

By: Justin

Justin — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 00:48:22 +0000

Being around that much liquid mercury would really make me uneasy.

By: Kalel

Kalel — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 23:05:55 +0000

This is from the BBC version of ‘Jackass’?

By: Abbey

Abbey — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 22:08:47 +0000

Now, that doesn’t seem safe.

By: zav

zav — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 19:27:26 +0000

What bbc video is this from?

By: Christophe

Christophe — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 19:09:35 +0000

Good mercury vapors, mmmm…