Endangered Species - The Chemistry Set

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Rarely have I seen a blog posting that I agree with more than these two. While I'm glad that this is (finally) getting some notice on the internet, I have not seen any mention *AT ALL* on the MSM.

I still have fond memories of my second-hand Gilbert chemistry set. Has anyone here looked at what is inside the so-called chemistry sets sold today? This kind of nanny state neutering only prepares people for the kind of jobs where they ask; 'Do you want fries with that ?'.


Endangered Species - The Chemistry Set
http://12angrymen.wordpress.com/2007/10/31/endangered-species-the-chemistry-set/

"What do Islamofacism, methamphetamine production, tort lawyers, and
homemade fireworks have in common ?"

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America's War on Science
http://memepunks.blogspot.com/2006/06/americas-war-on-science.html

"There is an unseen war going on in America. It's part of the war on drugs, part of the war on terror, and part of consumer safety."

[Charles Owlen Picket]

Oh Jesus, don't get me going on this..... hopeless stupidity. I will actually go you one further than the blogger however. It's not just a Nanny-State mentality. It's the feminization of a lot of areas of the West that makes this phenomenon a reality...
I say this because as we see less and less men in teaching; masculine in-put in young lives diminishes. Divorce rates don't help a bit either.

If we examine the elements individually we clearly see the impact that the feminine affect in western culture has had on our over-all way of learning and living. What's more I would encourage anyone to extend a hand or "mentor" a kid who may not have a father and thus receive only bullshit feminine input, regarding the sciences, literature, and world events.

[nbk2000]

"Mentoring" a kid nowadays is setting yourself up for a molester charge!

[megalomania]

I stopped by my parents today, who were watching my nephew, and noticed the Toys R Us "big book" had arrived. He was marking down want he wanted "Santa" to bring. I leafed through the thing and saw one chemistry set. Despite the picture of the Erlenmeyer flask on the front of the box, the set had ONE vial of chemicals. ONE! Jebus Crift, what the hell is that supposed to teach about chemistry?

The same Consumer Product Safety Commission that seems to have devoted its entire office to crushing the very existence of consumer fireworks has only ONE agent assigned to making sure Chinese toys have no lead in them. ONE! If the Demorats have done one good thing this term it is to recommend the head of the CPSC resigns immediately.

The last time I checked leaded toys were killing more children than fireworks.

[dirtblast]

One of my friends has a chemistry set and as I looked through it I found only one container of a "chemical". I looked all over the sealed plastic jar trying to find the name among all the warning labels. Inside, I found out, was Sodium Chloride. The horror!

Now, under close adult supervision, measure out 0.5g Sodium Chloride and add to 5ml warm water. (Use CAUTION when working with warm water as it can BURN.) Observe what happend to the mixture. Do NOT smell or drink mixture as this can cause severe injury. When done with the experiment, have your adult helper dispose of the waste in a sealed plastic bag. If the mixture get on skin, IMMEDIATELY wash under water for 15 minutes while calling poison control center.

[Kaydon]

Has a "real" chemistry set ever existed?

Seems folks have the Bobby Boucher's Momma mentality, everythings the devil!

[Charles Owlen Picket]

Has a "real" chemistry set ever existed?

Damn right they once did. Back in ancient times most kids had a Gilbert Chemistry Set that opened up into 3 equal halves and it was mostly all chemicals. I had a tough time getting all the glass I needed to. They had some test-tubes and light weight glass but I wanted much more.

There were some fascinating experiments to do. I know for a fact that most of them included fire. The heat source was an alcohol lamp - so there were some limitations. The makings of BP were there but no acids other than HCl, Acetic, Boric, etc. But they had, perhaps 36 little containers of chemicals. The texts that came with it were great for ages 9-12. You would have a ball when it was rainy; playing with that thing for the whole day. Other times, a young boy would wipe up some BP and burn some shit in the vacant lot....:p

[Hirudinea]

Chemistry sets teach childern to think, solve problems for themselves, to be investigative, curious and creative, can you think of anything the goverment would want less? INDEPENDENT THOUGHT ALARM! BAN THE CHEMISTRY SETS!

[Gammaray1981]

Chemistry is a dying subject, as far as education is concerned, it seems. I'm lucky enough to go to a public school (for the Americans here who don't know, that actually means private and non-state-run) where our chemistry department has more fume cupboards than Southampton university, and we actually get TAUGHT, by dons who have a real interest in the subject. Naive as I am, I assumed this happy state was the case for all students.

Apparently, not so. It seems, from conversations I have had with friends in the state sector, that it is possible (and common) to take and pass the chemy GCSE without ever having set foot in a practical chemistry laboratory. How the government ever expects to meet all its objectives I will never know - it wishes to "significantly increase" the number of engineers, both physical and chemical, who are getting degrees from our universitys, and also to prevent any person under the age of thirty-five from ever seeing a piece of glassware.

[Charles Owlen Picket]

How the government ever expects to meet all its objectives I will never know.....


What you describe is the "Nanny State" mentality in it's essence. The government, in it's wisdom, expects young people to instinctively know the mechanisms of chemistry (or other sciences) and be drawn to them. The actual "play" that children go through with items like chemistry sets are the ground work for that fascination. Most people know that. But the government wants to limit it's liability, etc.

You can't have your cake and eat it too in this learning arena. Things DO get set ablaze and poisons are handled. That's simply what weeds the imbeciles from those that have a bit of common sense. The West is losing it's hold on the sciences very rapidly. Due in part, to the feminization of the schools and curriculum therein.

[Aristocles]

I agree; the "pussyfication" of the American male, if not the West per se, has contributed much to this.

I recall as a youngster receiving a chemistry set, it was small but had a nice array of equipment, in it. It acted as a catalyst for a curious mind. An interest which after all these years, I have revived.

It seems to me that, in my purview, it's video games and basically slovenliness that is encouraged.

My children grew up (actually still growing) shooting my Enfield or a 9mm pistol, SKS, MN91/30- I kinda took the recoil :), etc., no doubt the neighbors were appalled.

My children have learned to respect weapons. I am buying one of them a makeshift chem. set for Christmas, as he has shown much interest in the hard sciences.

I just finished making them four slings and four scaled down (three and one half feet) blowguns. Yeah, two sets of twins...

Good topic

[Charles Owlen Picket]

I honestly believe it's the West in it's entirety; EU included.
We have been feminized in a manner that is unproductive. Have you ever noticed that the term/word "testosterone" is now used in a pejorative fashion? "There is too much testosterone in here". or "You guys need to slow down on the testosterone".....?

This is a very unhealthy reflection of the common disgust with the masculine in the West. It's results are reflected all around us.

_______________________
Pussywhipped , v. i.

1. To strike repeatedly with the vagina ; to inflict repeated blows; to knock or strike with the vagina.

2. To suffer repeated blows inflected with vaginal parts or areas therein.

"He was pussywhipped by his boss beyond belief."

_______________________
(tongue in cheek definition....Yea, in cheek)

[sobreroHWE]

As sad as the public education system is , I remember my one chemistry class very well. My teacher for the day before spring break made bubbles in dish soap with hydrogen and oxygen and was putting the bubbles on his desk and lighting them off. He explained how the energy was released and why. Drawing pictures and, IIRC, using Nitro as an example of serious energy releases.Then he asked for a random student (me :cool: ) to hold some in and open palm for detonation. Needles to say it was a very interesting experience that turned me on to a whole new world. (and made my ears ring for a day, but I got a lot of extra credit.)

My other chemistry class was (with a woman teacher) nothing but book work and math equations. Bonding and neutrons and atoms were the ENTIRE class. No hands on anything, no real world explanations of how this was relevant, nothing. (she did leave the lab open, like the dumb bitch she was, and scales and glass often found their way out:))

[megalomania]

There is a video on youtube (a bunch actually) about an entire class making bubbles filled with natural gas from the Bunsen burner tubes and lighting it off. A simple, effective, and very entertaining demonstration. Once the teacher showed the class he let them do it. The bubbles float, and the combustion is very controlled.

In a related note I found a news article a few days ago about a summer camp where they use explosives. The University of Missouri-Rolla Summer Explosives Camp seems impossible in this day and age, but apparently there is no one left going into explosives engineering (gee, how could that happen?), so they started this camp to encourage more students to enter the field. Maybe I can still pass for 17 if I shave... Does anyone know where to get a fake ID to make you underage? I have attached the brochure for this year.

Here are a few youtube vids about this experiment:

The seemingly unsafe, but very cool version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLXzdjnOeCw

The slightly safer, but still cool version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IvbFu4Rb4s

The still cool, but excessive precaution version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJPDR4wPlE4

The sterile asian version, or why foreign students may excel in the sciences intellectually, but completely lack emotion, passion, or imagination version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDTXR9poPW0

[Hirudinea]

There is a video on youtube (a bunch actually) about an entire class making bubbles filled with natural gas from the Bunsen burner tubes and lighting it off. A simple, effective, and very entertaining demonstration. Once the teacher showed the class he let them do it. The bubbles float, and the combustion is very controlled.

Those videos were pretty cool and it made me think that you could adapt this to some sort of area defence system, for instance when uninvited guests come onto your property spray a foot of gas foam on the lawn and then light it with flare, buring torch or whatever, then spray them with the foam, I think they would decide that discrietion is the better part of valour then. :)

[sobreroHWE]

Why don't they have that camp for older, vastly more knowledgeable, students of energetic materials? I can see it now... "E&W camp for rogues!"

What will you do? Make AP with your friends! Fish with HE! Learn the time honored skills of primacord deforestation, and OTC-ology! Seminars will include ; Lair'ing, Peroxides, and long term area denial! COOL!
Act NOW! Field trips provided by Mega to Los Alamos research labs will fill up fast! Be sure to bring your own glassware: chems will be provided.

One can only dream....