Discussion»Statements»Rosie's Corner» 66 year old Gary Broderson, former chemistry teacher at Bartlett High School in Illinois, did an experiment in class. Didja hear about him?
That was quite foolish and dangerous. I know of no one who would try a stunt like that. When I did demos with liquid nitrogen, the students weren't allowed to get near it.I
It sounds very scary. Wouldn't it burn the skin? What kind of demos did you do? I never took chemistry. I think I'd be nervous. Sirena describes a student who did unauthorized experiments and one got out of hand. What would you do to such a student? What punishment? Thank you for your reply E and Happy Saturday to thee and thine! :)
I was generation chlorine gas for a way cool demo, and the stopper popped off of the flask, releasing chlorine gas into the room. Fortunately, we could go outside in the courtyard (as seen above) until the room cleared.
My chemistry teacher in high school wanted to do everything possible keep chemicals off of the students. On the first day of chemistry class, he discussed the shower that was in the corner of the classroom. He said that no student had ever had to use it. There was a student in my class named Juan. He was performing his own unauthorized experiment in the back of the classroom. His own experiment caused a more interesting reaction than the teacher's experiment. It boiled over onto the table, the floor and onto Juan. He was the only student that ever had to use the shower in the corner of the classroom. The fire department came to clean up Juan and his experiment. He had to go home in plastic clothes. The firemen put his school uniform in a plastic barrel. They sealed up the barrel and took it with them.
This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at March 14, 2021 10:51 PM MDT
"It boiled over onto the table, the floor and onto Juan." You are a poet m'dear! Onto Juan! Priceless. I never took chemistry. If you spill something on you how would a shower help? Wouldn't the immediate damage already be done? I'm pretty sure I'd be a nervous wreck worrying about all the terrible possibilities. Were you ever scared in class? Was Juan punished for that? I wonder whatever became of Juan? Was he daring and adventurous? Was he a class leader or the class problem? Anyway glad you survived the class and Juan! Thank you for your lively reply! I was IN THAT ROOM as I read it! You must have a lot of very nifty memories Sirena! :)
I was never scared in class. I followed the teacher's instructions with the chemicals. We needed to wear safety glasses and an apron when we did experiments in class. I didn't think chemistry was dangerous. I remeber most of it being the balancing of chemical equations and measuring in grams and mols.
Juan was required to sit at the table in the front row of the classroom for the remainder of the class. After that, the teacher wanted to see him at all times during experiments. I know what became of Juan. He owns the farm tractor and equipment dealership in my home town.
I remeber that I always sat by the window in school. The outside world was always more interesting to me. One afternoon, a storm came and it was dark outside. I enjoyed watching the trees blow in the wind. That was a hot and humid November afternoon. Summer vacation was getting close. The fire station had a a siren on top which was used to call the firemen to come to the station. My town had an all-volunteer fire department. The siren came on, so I wanted to see if I could see a fireman speeding down the street to get to the firehouse. That was my favourite thing to do when I heard the siren. That time, the siren used a different tone. It was normally a rising and falling sound, but that time it made a steady sound. That was unusual. The teacher stopped teaching, and he said that meant a tornado was coming. The director told all of the students and teachers to go to the ground floor room in the centre of the school.
I thought Juan was daring and adventurous. I had a crush on him. The teachers thought he was the class problem. When we were in the centre room during the tornado alert, we noticed Juan wasn't there. He did something else. When all of the students marched to the centre room of the ground floor, Juan went out the door. He went outside to the track field so he could get the best video of the storm. The director ran outside to drag him inside. After the tornado alert ended, I walked back to my next class. I heard shouting coming the principal's office. Juan was in the office. The principal was yelling at him.
This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at March 14, 2021 10:53 PM MDT
First things first. You are an EXCELLENT writer m'dear. You brought me right there with you experiencing that time. Do you write professionally perchance? As for Juan I can see why you had a crush on him. Independent thinker. Not one to follow the crowd. A tractor equipment and dealership owner seems so tame compared to the person he was or seemed to be in his youth. I'd think "Astronaut" or "physicist" or something very grand. No disrespect to equipment company owners. Maybe he simmered down and decided to live a less "impulsive" life. When does Argentina "spring" forward? We do today in America although I think Hawaii opts out entirely and also I think parts of Arizona too. Thank you for your thoughtful comprehensive and nifty reply. I wonder if maybe Juan might have had a crush on YOU as well? Happy Sunday to thee and thine Sirena! :)
I'm a professional writer as of this year. A publishing company approved my manuscript for a children's book I wrote last year. The book is close to being published. The publishing company is looking for an artist to illustrate the book.
Argentina fell back for the last time on 15 March 2009 at midnight Argentine Daylight Saving Time. The date and time then became 14 March 2009 at 23:00 Argentine Standard Time. Since then, we never returned to Daylight Saving Time. Before then, we sprang forward in October. Nobody misses springing forward every October.
I saw in the news that the Congress in the United States has proposed a bill that would make yesterday's time change the last time change for you. There would be no falling back in November.
Well congratulations on that accomplishment! What is the name of the book and might there be a world-wide distribution of it? As for 2009 being the last time you fell back timewise congratulations to your country too. Here proposing a bill and having it make it to the Senate floor for discussion is a RARE thing. Here in America the Republicans and the Democrats are enemies. The Republicans live for blocking anything Democrats propose. When the Senate majority was Republican the Democratic majority House of Representatives sent over 365 bills which were tabled in the Senate and never brought to the floor for discussion. Never saw the light of day. Shelved. Pushed aside. Ignored. Now that the Democrats have the edge in the Senate the Republicans are even more determined to sabotage anything. The $1.9 TRILLION Covid 19 relief bill passed the House and the Senate with NOT ONE REPUBLICAN VOTE. It is what it is. How are the politics in your country? Does anyone ever really care about serving the people or are there bitter divides there? It's not the way it used to be in our country. I miss how it used to be! Thank you for your reply Sirena!
The name of the book as I wrote it is La sirena de las tormentas. It means The Mermaid of Storms. The mermaid can change the weather, but she learns that because she can do it doesn't mean she should do it. It's possible the publisher may change the title. I don't know if it will be translated into foreign languages.
Our system of government is similar to your government, but we don't have the bitter divide between liberals verus conservatives and Democrats and Republicans that you do. We have people that you would call liberals and conservatives. We have people who would be Democrats and Republicans if they were in your country, and the Argentines who fit into those groups probably hate each other. I've seen them on TV. We have enough people who fit into neither group to keep them from getting all of the attention.
We have compulsory voting for people who are 18 to 70 years old. Voting is optional for 16 and 17 year olds and people who are older than 70. The argument for compulsory voting was that it prevents the bitter divides. Since everyone is supposed to vote, a politician can't appeal to their base to get out the vote. They must try to appeal to everyone. Since everyone is supposed to vote, a political party can't accuse another party of voter suppression. We also vote for more than two parties, and it's easier for a politician to start a new party and win.
Wow. Fair and equitable and logical. I LIKE compulsory voting. Wish we had it here in this country. Citizens benefit a lot and some are so selfishly indolent and LAZY they won't lift a finger to participate but they are always there to attack insult undermine and harm. I despise that one-sidedness. The louder they criticize moan complain kvetch the more you know they do nothing to make things better. It seems your country has found a way around that. GOOD FOR THEM! Here the Republicans now have a trillion bills (slight exaggeration) being prepared or already passed in their states to LIMIT voting to exclude citizens they know won't vote for them. Cheating is the only way they can "win". Hand in hand with lying they are always out there fabricating lies to further ensnare the braindead mushheads. 74 million of them voted for the monstrous evildoer. They didn't get enough of him for 4 years and they wanted another 4! 81 million of us voted against him and WE WON. But 74 million? That is very huge and very disappointing and very sad. Thank you for your informative reply Sirena. I wonder if other governments in other countries are as well-planned and well-thought-out as you have in Argentina? It's good to know they exist. :)
We had a science teacher who was nicknamed "the mad scientist". He used to demonstrate what not to be done by doing it, including lighting a gas tap on fire and uncorking a vial of butyric acid OUTSIDE of the fume cupboard, the lab stank for weeks afterward.
He never blew anything up or burned a student? What would that liquid do to the skin? It must have hurt a lot! I never took chemistry. It sounds dangerous to be an observer! Thank you for your reply R and Happy Saturday to thee and thine! :)
It's not terribly caustic, no more than vinegar is (another organic acid - acetic). It's the SMELL - rancid butter, and it permeates everything. I took chemistry right through school - organic chemistry is a lot of fun. We weren't allowed to manufacture explosives, and anything involving liquefied gases was a teacher-only demonstration, even when I was a Senior (dry ice was permitted, but only minuscule amounts).
This post was edited by Slartibartfast at March 14, 2021 10:54 PM MDT
That shocks me R. It isn't any more caustic than VINEGAR? It's more stench than anything harmful? It assaults your nostrils. Does it take a long time to dissipate like skunk does? Gosh I totally missed out on excitement in school. I stayed away from math and science and veered toward liberal arts...philosophy languages literature. Not much excitement there. Very SAFE. Thank you for your informative reply R. I imagined horrific PAIN. Glad I was wrong. Happy Sunday to thee and thine. When does Australia "spring" forward? We do today!:)
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