Astronomers Spy 288bn Mile Booze Cloud 115
netmucus writes to tell us that UK astronomers have spotted a giant cloud of methyl alcohol that spans approximately 288bn miles. From the article: "The booze cloud was spotted using the UK's MERLIN radio telescopes in an area of our own galaxy rather uninspiringly called W3(OH). According to the Royal Astronomical Society blurb, this is a region where 'stars are being formed by the gravitational collapse of a cloud of gas and dust.'"
Except that this isn't drinkable (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Except that this isn't drinkable (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Except that this isn't drinkable (Score:1)
Re:Except that this isn't drinkable (Score:2)
MMMmmmm.. aspartame. (Score:1)
Re:MMMmmmm.. aspartame. (Score:1)
Re:MMMmmmm.. aspartame. (Score:4, Interesting)
The dose makes the poison. A little bit of methanol won't hurt you. A lot of water will kill you (and I don't mean by drowning -- drinking too much water can kill you).
By the way, know the antidote to drinking methanol? Get drunk. Yep, drinking sufficient ethanol to get you drunk also blocks the metabolic pathways in the liver that convert methanol to formaldehyde.
Re:MMMmmmm.. aspartame. (Score:1)
I assume you mean too much water can cause kidney failure. I'm no doctor, and make no claim to be, but you would probably have to drink so much that your stomach would burst. Whether that would kill you (very likely and still within the reason) would be up to the competence of the ER doctor that examines you. If it is a burst stomach you were talking about, then please disregard.
Re:MMMmmmm.. aspartame. (Score:4, Interesting)
There was a teenage girl in these parts about a year ago that went into a coma and died from precisely that -- she'd taken ecstasy which made her incredibly thirsty, and downed several liters of water in the course of an hour or so before collapsing. Autopsy report determined that drinking too much water was indeed the cause of death. Kind of sad really, it was at the girl's 16th birthday party.
Re:MMMmmmm.. aspartame. (Score:1)
Re:MMMmmmm.. aspartame. (Score:2)
Re:MMMmmmm.. aspartame. (Score:2, Informative)
Re:MMMmmmm.. aspartame. (Score:1)
Re:MMMmmmm.. aspartame. (Score:1)
Re:MMMmmmm.. aspartame. (Score:2)
Ever heard of water intoxication?
It happens when you consume enough water that your neurons can actually swell and distort, causing interrupted communication. A side effect of it is that you feel thirsty...which is what causes people to die of it.
(at least, that's how I've heard it explained)
Re:MMMmmmm.. aspartame. (Score:2)
Now let me get this straight! If you drink too much water, it makes you feel thirsty and you will die.
If you can't get enough water, it makes you feel thirsty and you will die.
OMG!, It's not the water at all! It's that thirsty feeling!!!
I don't think you understand that what you meant to say is not what I heard!
Re:MMMmmmm.. aspartame. (Score:2)
Seriously, though...I have been water intoxicated once before. I recognized it for what it was and quit drinking water. You know that dry feeling you get in the back of your throat sometimes when you're thirsty? You get that, and no matter how much water you drink, it never goes away. Couple that with mildly-impaired judgement and you get someone who keeps drinking water until their brain literally cannot function.
Re:MMMmmmm.. aspartame. (Score:2)
Quick thirst quencher! Last summer, after working outside in the yard on a hot summer day, I came in to get a drink. I wanted a cola, but the only thing in my refridgerator was a bottle from Greece (daughter's boyfriend) that looked like sprite and I do not read greek. I took a large drink and the second swallow came to a screeching halt and my throut said, NO MORE! Turned out to be a strong alco
Re:MMMmmmm.. aspartame. (Score:1)
Re:MMMmmmm.. aspartame. (Score:2)
Re:MMMmmmm.. aspartame. (Score:1)
Yes, and for those who want to know more:
wikipedia entry [wikipedia.org]
erowid vaults [erowid.org]
whoa [pwsausa.org] - who knew water intoxication was so widespread and deadly?
Re:MMMmmmm.. aspartame. (Score:2)
Re:MMMmmmm.. aspartame. (Score:2)
It's a royal pain. Aspartame is getting into everything. I have
to check all the time.
My diet drink of choice: water.
Re:Except that this isn't drinkable (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Except that this isn't drinkable (Score:2)
Re:Except that this isn't drinkable (Score:2)
Why let common sense hold you back?
Re:Except that this isn't drinkable (Score:2)
Re:Except that this isn't drinkable (Score:1)
Re:Except that this isn't drinkable (Score:1)
Re:Except that this isn't drinkable (Score:1)
Re:Except that this isn't drinkable (Score:1)
Re:Except that this isn't drinkable (Score:1)
Similar reported before (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Similar reported before (Score:2, Funny)
We finally found out what the Pioneer anomaly [wikipedia.org] is.
Absorbing 175 billion miles (I wonder how many pints that is?) of alcohol would make any spaceship wander off course.
Re:Similar reported before (Score:1)
Same cloud (Score:1)
Re:Same cloud -- and let's look at the fine print! (Score:1)
From a handy online calculator [onlineconversion.com], 463 kilometer = 287.694 862 006 mile.
That's close enough to make me think this is no coincidence.
Now, if today's article had said it was a propyl alcohol cloud, and the last article had said it was a methyl alcohol cloud, then I'd say maybe we're talkin' about two very different kettles of fish
Re:Similar reported before (Score:2)
Re:Similar reported before (Score:2)
Re:Similar reported before (Score:2)
No, it's the same cloud, same story. (One uses miles, one km for the size.) Note that the link in TODAY's story is to a Register story dated 6 April. They've been trolled.
The original press release is here [ras.org.uk], dated 4th April.
Re:Similar reported before (Score:2)
No. It's the exact same cloud as before, in the exact same area of our galaxy, with the exact same composition.
The difference is between "288bn miles" and "463bn kilometres".
The linked article is over two months old. It's essentially a duplicate of the last time we heard about this.
Methanol != booze (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Methanol != booze (Score:1)
Of course, getting a fake ID is probably easier than travelling lightyears to drink highly toxic alchohol.
Re:Methanol != booze (Score:1)
mmmmmmmm..... killohol....
Re:Methanol != booze (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Methanol != booze (Score:2)
Re:Methanol != booze (Score:4, Interesting)
From Wikipedia:
No, I ain't tried it.
Re:Methanol != booze (Score:2)
a) get to the hospital ASAP
b) get thoroughly sloshed.
As the quote said, ethanol is absorbed first, so you buy time while the gastric treatment is readied. Oh yes, it's best to have the entrails cleaned than being blind or dead, I'd say. Plus, you'll be too drunk to notice.
Hic! oooohh nurse!
Re:Methanol != booze (Score:2)
Re:Methanol != booze (Score:1)
In my opinion these are much more severe than the ethanol side effects of grabbing your sister's best friend's ass and throwing up on the lawn.
-Peter
Re:Methanol != booze (Score:2)
Alcohol (Score:4, Funny)
Not in the US (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Not in the US (Score:2)
A good thing too. None of the above should be done whilest drunk!
Re:Not in the US (Score:2)
That's 4 years after you can buy porn.
Re:Not in the US (Score:2)
Er, the usual age for buying "adults only" videos and reading material is 18, and 21-18=3. (NC17-rated movies are another matter; MPAA ratings have no legal standing.)
However there are some jurisdictions where you have to be 21 to buy hardcore porn, making for the irony that an 18-year-old would not be permitted to buy a copy of the DVD in which he and/or she stars.
Re:Not in the US (Score:3, Funny)
NOW US politics make sense!
Re:Not in the US (Score:2)
And it's even a full 5 years after you're allowed to drive a car. Over here, on the other hand, you can buy alcohol 2 years before you can drive a car. And most youth start quite a lot earlier than that. (Buying alcohol, that is. Driving cars is easily postponed a bit. Or even a lot, like in my case.)
Re:Not in the US (Score:2)
Re:Not in the US (Score:1)
At the time that I got my license, any speed below 100mph was considered "reasonable and prudent" on open highways in that state as well. Just imagine me slowing my 15 y/o butt down to 90 to pass a highway patrolman and exchanging a friendly wave as I cruise by.
Re:Not in the US (Score:2)
Original article (Score:5, Informative)
Big party... (Score:1)
We need to counterbalance this! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:We need to counterbalance this! (Score:1)
Argh! You beat me to it! Obviously my reflexes are too slow. I should've been sampling the nebula earlier.
just need to pip it into out fuel-cells (Score:2)
In Unrelated News... (Score:5, Funny)
Hey Dude, (Score:1)
Re:Hey Dude, (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Hey Dude, (Score:2)
Methyl Alcohol is LETHAL, it's not booze (Score:5, Informative)
Booze is ETHYL alcohol.
Methyl = CH3OH
Ethyl = C2H5OH
Propyl = C3H7OH
Butyl = C4H9OH
Pentyl = C5H11OH
Hexyl = C6H13OH
Septyl = C7H15OH
Octyl = C8H17OH (Octane is C8H18)
The main difference between Organic X-anes and Alcohols is that alcohols readily mix with water. This is why, even though alcohols burn more cleanly, we use X-anes for fuel. Alcohols are difficult to store and transport because they'll suck water out of anything, reducing their BTU density. They also have a much lower heat of vaporization, so they evaporate more quickly.
Has anyone noticed that you can smell the ethyl alcohol in the new reformulated gas that is being sold? That kinda freaked me out the first time I noticed it. Smelled like Jagermeister... or Robitussin, depending on which you prefer...
Re:Methyl Alcohol is LETHAL, it's not booze (Score:2)
Re:Methyl Alcohol is LETHAL, it's not booze (Score:2)
And I'm sure many more died from drinking ethyl alcohol.
Re:Methyl Alcohol is LETHAL, it's not booze (Score:3, Informative)
I've actaully seen this 'feature' used for airplanes. Since Ethanol is becoming so common in auto gas, we need to remove it if it ever happens to get introduced in an airplane. Aviation Gas aka AvGas is 100 Octane Low Lead, but some planes (like mine) have an STC that allows us to use Auto Gas in them. But it must be pure, so having Ethanol in it is not allowed. To remove it, you simply dump water in the gas..
Astronomers Spy 288bn Mile Booze Cloud (Score:1)
Re:Astronomers Spy 288bn Mile Booze Cloud (Score:1)
And now... (Score:3, Funny)
Australians are feverishly putting together a space program to rival that of NASA and the EU combined.
"Davo! FTL by a month ta'morra!"
Damnit! (Score:2)
Methanol? Bah! Can't drink that...
Yes, you CAN (Score:2)
Methyl Alcohol Isn't "Booze" (Score:1, Redundant)
Re:Methyl Alcohol Isn't "Booze" (Score:2)
My 10th grade chemistry teacher said that the main reason they add methyl alcohol to lab alcohol is not to prevent people from drinking it, but rather to make it cheaper. By making it undrinkable it is no longer subject to taxes normally given to liquor.
I'm sure my teacher was being somewhat sarcastic, but I'm sure the tax savings don't hurt.
oh no! (Score:4, Funny)
In a related story... (Score:2)
...Jack Daniels and Seagrams stock rices plummeted on the news.
Hawking knows... (Score:3, Funny)
An area that should inspiringly be renamed CH3OH ! (Score:2)
How exactly would such a cloud be formed? (Score:2)
Re:How exactly would such a cloud be formed? (Score:2)
Methanol or wood alcohol is, as far as I know, usually produced as a byproduct of heating cellulous (sp?) in an oxygen depleted environment. This causes it to break down into producer gas (wood gas, hydrogen, whatever you wanna call it), various tars, and methanol. Or at least, traditionally thats how it w
Re:How exactly would such a cloud be formed? (Score:2)
mod parent informative! (Score:1)
That's methonal (Score:2)
Oooooo Aaaaaah! (Score:2)
Finally, a reason to support a space program! (Score:2)
-Eric
Cambelltown Loch I wish you were whisky (Score:1)
in related news... (Score:1)
That is one titchy little cloud (Score:2)
Besides drinking, that has to have uses (Score:2)
Grand Unified Correction (Score:1)
Can we use this for fuel? (Score:1)
Also, isn't alcahol only made by living creatures? (uncertain)
Perhaps there are billions of farting cows... (Score:1)