It is a fantastically useful material, except for all the mesothelioma.
Seriously, except for the horrific issues with the stuff, it would be an essential material for various applications.
Its resistance to fire, heat transfer, etc would do wonders for insulation and construction.
Makes me wonder if it could be treated in some way to make it not-so-inhalable. Though maybe we have better synthetic alternatives by now.
“If you or a loved one have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, you may be entitled to compensation…”
We are in Australia. The company that mined the stuff was found negligent as they kept selling it for decades after they knew it was deadly dangerous
I also hear that so many times thanks to one of the Brain Blaze (on YouTube) editors
That and lead in paint and gasoline all worked amazingly.
Lead in gasoline was a stop-gap solution. If I remember correctly , it was added because we didn’t have the technology at the time to refine gas sufficiently to get the octane levels necessary to prevent pre-ignition of fuel (which causes rod knock) at a reasonable cost. Tetraethyl lead effectively increased the octane level/resistance to pre-ignition. As a side benefit, the lead slightly lubricated the valves and valve seats so that they lasted for tens of thousands of miles, instead of needing to be reground every few thousand miles.
It was a stupid stop-gap though, esp. since the dangers of lead were well known by then.
You’re mostly correct. It was an additive to raise the octane rating and did lubricate. However, it wasn’t a gas refinement issue that caused the need. An octane boosting additive has been needed ever since, right up to today. Now the octane booster used is ethanol, mostly.
Race cars and many airplanes still use lead. We’re still making people dumber. Just at a lesser scale.
If you want a sad rabbithole, look at the cancer rates around small airports, which are often much closer to where people live.
While it’s no consolation to these current people, they are trying to make the switch to lead-free aviation fuel. It’s partly a regulatory nightmare, and partly a genuine safety challenge; mandating a fuel change in aviation without adequate research and understanding can result in unexpected engine malfunctions.
unexpected engine malfunctions
On the other side of that is the known problems that lead causes. Seems to me that the best solution is to give everyone a cut off point, and say, hey, when we hit this point, you’re going to have to retire that engine, and get one that’s known to be good with lead-free avgas. Sure, it’s a cost, but that’s why you give people time to prepare.
They have! 2030.
I’m not sure if it’s a mandate, or a goal, but it’s there.
You can absolutely get high octane ethanol-free gas; there’s a place near me that sells it. I know that a lot of people with motorcycles use it, because inline four cylinder motorcycle engines tend to be high compression, and motorcycle people tend to be almost religious about not using ethanol. (Which is unnecessary; assuming your motorcycle is fuel injected, the only risk with ethanol is storage for several months at a time with a full tank of gas. If you do that, then you’re going to end up with water in your gas, because ethanol is hygroscopic. As long as you keep riding regularly, or empty your tank and run the motor dry before storing it for more than a month, you’ll be fine with ethanol in your gas.) I know of at least once place near-ish to me that sells 110 octane ethanol- and lead-free racing gas. Ethanol-free high octane fuels tend to be about 25-50% more expensive than fuels with ethanol.
Avgas is another story. The odds are pretty good from what I can tell that any prop airplane is going to need gas with tetraethyl lead. To me, that sounds like a good reason to remove them all from service in favor of jets, but I think that jets have a higher stall speed, which can be a problem, esp. in backwoods areas.
(Jet-a and jet-a1 are kerosene derivatives, and don’t have lead.)
Ethanol free gas doesn’t mean there aren’t any no knock additives. There’s several more things besides Ethanol that can be added to gasoline that will increase the octane. Strictly speaking, “gasoline” isn’t even one exact formulation.
Short of it is that ethanol free gas just means it’s using something else to boost the octane.
You’re getting something done to your engine every few thousand miles?
You misunderstand. Before tetraethyl lead was removed from gas–in the 70s, I think?–engines were not nearly as good as they are now. My dad was doing really, really well to get 100,000 miles out of a car in the 60s and 70s; you used to see a service station attached to every single gas station, because of how much service cars needed. Now, 200,000 miles is close to the minimum that people would expect with only preventative maintenance. It’s nearly unheard of for people to need to replace valves and regrind valve seat now, except for high compression, high RPM engines (esp. supersport motorcycles). But that was just normal before the mid-70s. My dad has done multiple full teardowns on engines before the 80s, replacing head gaskets, piston rings, valves, and so on. These days that’s almost unheard of.
I think that the most intensive valve maintenance that I’m aware of that’s common right now is cleaning carbon off for some of the direct injection engines. I know that it’s an issue with Volkswagon cars, but most cars don’t do DI. You’d have to check technical service bulletins (TSBs), but most cars are very trouble free compared to what you could expect prior to the 80s.
Very interesting, thanks for the reply.
As long as it doesn’t break down it’s awesome
Aw fuck, I knew I remembered that shit from childhood.
Something something you may be entitled to compensation
Do you have cancer yet?
One assumes eventually.
How are you still alive?
Probably because symptoms of mesothelioma take decades to develop, and I only encountered that stuff around a few holiday seasons in my earliest memories.
Aw fuck l, I knew I remembered that shit from
childhoodThe Wizard of Oz.
Also known as cancer in a box
Treat your taste kindly with KENT, the cigarette with the NEW Micronite filter!
^^Micronite ^^is ^^asbestos.
Oh oh, I’ve got one too. It’s not containing Asbestos but Thorium (or Radium respectively) tho.
“Doramad radioactive toothpaste”
“Creates natural freshness in the mouth!”
“Special biological healing effects by radium rays. A thousand times medically prescribed and recommended.”
“What does Doramad do? Through its radioactivity, it increases the defenses of teeth and gums. The cells are charged with a new vigorous life energy, which inhibits bacteria in their destructive ability. Hence the exquisite prevention and healing effect on gum diseases. Polishes enamel to the softest shiny white. Prevents tartar approach. Good foam, new taste, pleasant, mild and refreshing. Use extensively.”
Quick disclaimer: The last two quotes can be found on Wikipedia but they are not backed up with sources.
Jesus fuck
Oh yes, the market will grind us all into a thin gruel for another dollar.
At least you don’t have to worry about caries anymore 💀
It’s because of that kind of thing that I’m always skeptical of startups bringing new and shiny things, that weren’t properly studied or tested, and promising to revolutionize something.
Hey, how about that somewhat rushed mrna vaccine 😅
To be fair, fuck getting covid, plus there was significant related research, so I’m vaccinated…but also…👀
Weapons grade teeth…you should only have 20 teeth left at adulthood to safely use this product with a 90% chance of having no chain reaction events.
in German they say “Für ein strahlendes Lächeln” (for a radiant/beaming smile)
Is this double cancer?
Oi, Kent! Oi, Kent! Cancer’s here, some there, it’s every-fuckin’-where!!
I love seeing Ted Lasso jokes in the wild. :D
They’re going to say the same about plastic
they already are
And we keep ramping up production because… Capitalism!
Just waiting for 3D printing fumes and SLA resin to be under the radar.
My dad was a contractor and he had a big sheet of it in the garage that was leftover from some job. It looked kind of like a sheet of drywall, but was grey and rougher. I used to take it into the back yard with a little blow torch and and lay on it while I melted metal things. I was probably ten to twelve at the time.
It was a different time.
😬😬😬😬😬😬
God: “I’ll make a wonder material. Fire proof. Strong. Insulating. Just dig it up from the ground. Common a fuck. Waterproof.”
“Then they can all get cancer the cunts”
“Okay I’m done shit posting for now. Where’s that big tittie blonde gone”
Reminds me of that Oats Studio short on god
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1_HfhtB5eo&t=193s&pp=2AHBAZACAQ%3D%3D
"Asbestos was first synthesized by the master magi Mesothelioma. He was looking for a way to slowly poison the local villages without easy detection, and ended up creating one of the most common robe linings found today.
Mesothelioma is remembered long after his passing, though not fondly. If you, or a loved one, has been harmed by the creations of Dark Lord Mesothelioma, Sending us today…"
Stupid people used asbestos. We made ourselves part plastic!
magic population control
Time to move to the glorious nation of Kazakhstan, the top producer of potassium, to get some of those magic minerals to protect my countless buildings.
Could someone please explain the joke to me?
Asbestos is notoriously cancer causing, dangerous, EPA damning material that many, many homes, farms, buildings, etc. in America (and a few other countries) used heavily because of the properties espoused in the advertisement above.
And many people have suffered premature deaths as a result.
Asbestos was even used in the Wizard of Oz for the snow falling on the cast.
I had Asbestos in my ceiling in a home I purchased and had to pay $12k to remediate it. They wore masks, had negative pressure ventilation suits on, had to get EPA certifications, checks, etc.
It’s brutal stuff.
My mother grew up with her mother using asbestos heat distributors on the stove (between the flame and the pot) and they wore out regularly. Grandma was apparently very annoyed when the product was banned
Mum died in 2021 of a cardiac cancer, caused by asbestos
Wow, that got dark quickly. Sorry for your loss.
Asbestos stories go like that. Thank you.
They wore masks, had negative pressure ventilation suits on
I hope those were positive pressure suits, positive pressure helps to keep dust out of the suit. Negative pressure ventilation is used to help sick people breathe easier, like the iron lung for example.
To quote Wikipedia:
It was also later discovered to cause lung cancer, mesothelioma and also because of its fibrous structure; it breaks into lots of tiny little microscopic needles when agitated. Those little shards get inhaled and poke tiny holes in your lungs which causes Asbestosis (kind of like Emphysema for smokers).
Sometimes the little shards make it through the lungs into the blood and thence onwards to cause cancer in any part of the body* it comes to rest
*Except the most protected parts: brain and gonads
Next: Carbon fiber filament for 3d printers
3D printers, period. The microplastics they create are insane.
I remember as a kid we had some kind of puck-shaped asbestos bathroom deodorizer. It was also used in urinals back in the day.
