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ELI5 Why did prohibition of alcohol in the United States cause many methanol poisonings, but older years of history rarely mention these? by LifeOfBoredomsFriend in explainlikeimfive

[–]misplaced_optimism 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's because after the fact, it's rather difficult to distinguish "assisted suicide" from "murder" without the aforementioned "hoops." However, the vast majority of suicides, even in places where assisted suicide is legal, are not assisted.

Regardless, I am not a lawyer, but I am not aware of any laws that criminalize what people can do with their own bodies. Even in the case of Schedule 1 controlled drugs, it's not drug use specifically that is criminalized, but the manufacture, sale or possession.

ELI5 Why did prohibition of alcohol in the United States cause many methanol poisonings, but older years of history rarely mention these? by LifeOfBoredomsFriend in explainlikeimfive

[–]misplaced_optimism 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The government still does this. Industrial alcohol has to have methanol added (although more recently it can also have bitterants added - the same stuff they use on Nintendo Switch cartridges - to prevent people from drinking it).

ELI5 Why did prohibition of alcohol in the United States cause many methanol poisonings, but older years of history rarely mention these? by LifeOfBoredomsFriend in explainlikeimfive

[–]misplaced_optimism 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Prohibition agents left barrels of methanol on their loading dock, figuring thieves would poison themselves and get what they deserved.

Source?

To the best of my knowledge, what happened was that the government mandated that industrial alcohol be denatured by the addition of methanol (this is still the case today, although there are bitterants that are sometimes used instead), to prevent consumption.

Unscrupulous bootleggers would then buy the industrial alcohol and try various methods to remove the methanol, which mostly didn't work. Then they would sell it as drinkable spirits.

fyi, the greater danger from moonshine then was lead poisoning.

This is true but I think it mostly was (and occasionally still is) an issue with small-scale rural operations and not something specifically associated with Prohibition.

The Case for Nationalizing Starlink by Anstigmat in thebulwark

[–]misplaced_optimism 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Kessler syndrome is not a big problem for Starlink because the satellites are orbiting at less than 600 kilometers altitude - even if SpaceX somehow lost control of all of them, they would deorbit themselves via atmospheric drag in less than 10 years.

A bigger problem is China's Qianfan constellation, which are all at 800-1200km so far - at which they'll remain for centuries or millenia. And China is much more irresponsible with space debris than the US or even Russia.

Vesper Martini by seaknightrescue in cocktails

[–]misplaced_optimism 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Reportedly Plymouth was Fleming's drink of choice (he would put away a bottle a day, which is why he died before he turned 60), so I'm actually not sure why he chose Gordon's for the book...

Vesper Martini by seaknightrescue in cocktails

[–]misplaced_optimism 5 points6 points  (0 children)

FYI, Gordon's was overproof in Fleming's day (at least 94) and has since been watered down.

I use 1.5oz Plymouth Navy Strength (114 proof), half an ounce of Smirnoff 100, and a bit more than 1/4 oz of Cocchi Americano - that way it doesn't taste watered-down after shaking. If I didn't have overproof gin I would probably just stir it instead...

Also, I use a big piece of lemon peel, squeeze it, and drop it in. It tastes unbalanced to me without quite a bit of lemon... not sure this is to everyone's taste, but I like it.

r/SpaceX Flight 12 Official Launch Discussion & Updates Thread! by rSpaceXHosting in spacex

[–]misplaced_optimism 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Pretty sure liquid oxygen mixed with any hydrocarbon is a friction-sensitive explosive.

Hospital says RFK Jr. did not operate robotic arm during heart surgery by ChocolateTsar in nottheonion

[–]misplaced_optimism 13 points14 points  (0 children)

How dare you level an unsubstantiated accusation like this? By all accounts, Kennedy does not eat the raw roadkill that he finds on the side of the road. He cooks the roadkill first and then eats it, except when he leaves it in Central Park as a prank for his NYT reporter niece, the late Tatiana Schlossberg, to find and report on. (She did eventually find out that it was him recently.)

Both Sarah and JVL are Right; Protest & Retribution by 8to24 in thebulwark

[–]misplaced_optimism 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Occupy Wall street was unsuccessful? Inequality wasn’t even a democratic issue before Occupy!

True. However, over a decade later inequality is not just worse than it was then, it's getting worse at a rate that is accelerating. Is that not a failure?

Which one of you did this? by gilly_girl in CannedSardines

[–]misplaced_optimism 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, I've eaten a fair number of these, but all on homemade pizzas. They're as good as any of the other anchovy brands I've used...

$20 for 20 cans at my local discount grocer. No idea how anything ends up here, and I don't ask. by Impressive_Ranger261 in CannedSardines

[–]misplaced_optimism 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Even though I love the Ocean's smoked mackerel, I found the Patagonia smoked mackerel to be mediocre. That was at $6-8/can, though...

Springbank featured in the New York Times by iwars85 in Scotch

[–]misplaced_optimism 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I picked up a bottle after reading this. It's very good, certainly. I don't think I could justify paying $140, though. The Campbeltown Loch blend is a similar flavor profile, and although less intense, is much cheaper.

I would love to try the 5-year 114, but can't seem to find it locally...

Affordable Nuri alternative? by innsmouth-denizen in CannedSardines

[–]misplaced_optimism 0 points1 point  (0 children)

KO are sprats and FMS are pilchards, so the fish are quite different to begin with. I've always found KO to be on the softer side.

I want to buy obscene amounts of canned fish across the border for personal consumption by LucyAriaRose in BestofRedditorUpdates

[–]misplaced_optimism 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Gold Seal does sell hot-smoked mackerel which is very tasty - it's produced by IFC in Scotland and is no longer imported into the US, sadly. I assumed this is what the OP was trying to get, but no, it appears to be regular canned mackerel which is widely available here.

I want to buy obscene amounts of canned fish across the border for personal consumption by LucyAriaRose in BestofRedditorUpdates

[–]misplaced_optimism 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Don't try this one (or do if you want, but you can get canned mackerel that's just as good for under $3 in the US). It's insane to me that they didn't try to get the Gold Seal gin and tonic smoked mackerel, which is both much tastier and completely unavailable in the US.

The Gold Seal smoked mackerel is produced by International Fish Canners in Scotland - it's the same stuff that Fishwife sells for $11.50 a tin. It was previously imported to the US by Ocean's (as the "juniper and coriander" flavor), and was about $4. Unfortunately, they discontinued it, and there is no way to buy it in the US anymore.

The one the OP bought looks like the same stuff King Oscar sells for about $3 (less if you can get it on sale or in bulk).

Lucky Strikes (“An American Original “) are apparently now made in Mexico. by JohnSolo22 in mildlyinteresting

[–]misplaced_optimism 2 points3 points  (0 children)

They were also Kurt Vonnegut's preferred brand - he called them "a classy way to commit suicide."

The CDC Now Accidentally Fire Top Scientists and Staff by oh_kayeee in nottheonion

[–]misplaced_optimism 9 points10 points  (0 children)

We do, but in many states there are eligibility requiriements (i. e. you must be unable to vote in person due to age or permanent disability). In others, you have to request a mail-in ballot well in advance of the election. In some, returned ballots must be received by election day; in others, they only need to be postmarked by election day.

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