Last week I was sitting in my office and was drinking a Coke in a can and all of a sudden, I tasted something very bitter. I thought maybe I was imagining it, so I drank from my water bottle and the bitter taste was there too. I thought this was strange. I then licked my lips, and each time I licked a lip, the bitter, foul taste got worst. I then smelled my fingers and checked to see if there was anything on them that could cause this taste. I went to the bathroom and washed my face and my hands, but the bad taste was already in my mouth and it seemed to be going back onto my tongue and getting worse. The more I tried to wash, the more it seemed to get into me.
I kind of got concerned. In desperation, I took some soap, washed out my tongue, rewashed my hands and everything, brushed my teeth, and then gargled and drank a lot of water. I figured that if some toxin had already gotten into me, then at least I'd dilute it.
I was about to call the Poison Control Center, but after this I started to feel better, and the bad taste subsided. I licked my fingers, in hopes of finding how I could have introduced this to my system, and they tasted bad. I then figured I must have touched something, so I racked my brain to figure out what I could have touched and I realized that there was nothing I had done that day that would have caused this. I then went home and checked everything I had touched in the past day or so and I could not find anything.
I thought it must have been something in passing, so I let it go. I didn't die. I felt fine a few minutes later, and I just forgot about it.
Then it happened again, only this time, at home when I was using my computer to write you guys on ATOT. I figured there must be something in my office and in my office at home that is causing this.
Then it hit me. I had been working on computers and I use those compressed air duster cans to clean out dust. Of course you guys all know that if you hold the cans upside down, the materials insided come out as a super-cooled liquid. This is actually fun to play with. You can supercool metal and break it. You can also use this to blast bugs and kill them quickly without squashing them or leaving any type of residue that you'd normally get from bug spray. I remember that I had killed an unusually large spider that was walking along the floor of my home office. I had just turned over the can of compressed air and blasted it. It instantly froze and died within a second or two. It was a quick and efficient way to kill big bugs and I had been doing that for years.
Until now. The can of compressed air I had been using was this one I bought from Sam's:
http://www.samsclub.com/shoppi....do?dest=5&item=192771
If you notice, they have now added a bittering agent to discourage inhalant abuse. I had inadvertantly tripped this mechanism, or gotten enough of this material on me to basically make me gag with that taste on those two prior occassions. I tested out this theory by using the can normally, but used it excessively, like the equivalent of blasting out 3-4 computer cases, or a workshop desk loaded with sawdust. Well guess what, if you use that can like that and touch your mouth, you'll get a taste of that nasty bittering agent.
It is just enough to scare the crap out of you.
I was disappointed that 3M would do this without better notice. They have added a smaller note on the bottom of the can, but it is barely noticeable. They should put something on there warning people in bigger letters and also should have included some information of how to get that crap off of your hands if you happened to have gotten it on you. I can imagine needless calls to the Poison Control Center about this.
I can understand the need for introducing a denaturing substance into the can to discourage abuse, but this really caught me off guard. I guess I won't be buying 3M duster cans anymore.
Edit:
I did not realize that inhalant abuse of this type was such a big problem, but it seems like a stupid little kid inhaled a couple cans of this stuff and died. What do the parents do? They sue Walmart for selling it to her, and 3M for making it.
http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/b...Modules/printstory.jsp
Thread revived by OP for absolutely no reason.
admin allisolm
I kind of got concerned. In desperation, I took some soap, washed out my tongue, rewashed my hands and everything, brushed my teeth, and then gargled and drank a lot of water. I figured that if some toxin had already gotten into me, then at least I'd dilute it.
I was about to call the Poison Control Center, but after this I started to feel better, and the bad taste subsided. I licked my fingers, in hopes of finding how I could have introduced this to my system, and they tasted bad. I then figured I must have touched something, so I racked my brain to figure out what I could have touched and I realized that there was nothing I had done that day that would have caused this. I then went home and checked everything I had touched in the past day or so and I could not find anything.
I thought it must have been something in passing, so I let it go. I didn't die. I felt fine a few minutes later, and I just forgot about it.
Then it happened again, only this time, at home when I was using my computer to write you guys on ATOT. I figured there must be something in my office and in my office at home that is causing this.
Then it hit me. I had been working on computers and I use those compressed air duster cans to clean out dust. Of course you guys all know that if you hold the cans upside down, the materials insided come out as a super-cooled liquid. This is actually fun to play with. You can supercool metal and break it. You can also use this to blast bugs and kill them quickly without squashing them or leaving any type of residue that you'd normally get from bug spray. I remember that I had killed an unusually large spider that was walking along the floor of my home office. I had just turned over the can of compressed air and blasted it. It instantly froze and died within a second or two. It was a quick and efficient way to kill big bugs and I had been doing that for years.
Until now. The can of compressed air I had been using was this one I bought from Sam's:
http://www.samsclub.com/shoppi....do?dest=5&item=192771
If you notice, they have now added a bittering agent to discourage inhalant abuse. I had inadvertantly tripped this mechanism, or gotten enough of this material on me to basically make me gag with that taste on those two prior occassions. I tested out this theory by using the can normally, but used it excessively, like the equivalent of blasting out 3-4 computer cases, or a workshop desk loaded with sawdust. Well guess what, if you use that can like that and touch your mouth, you'll get a taste of that nasty bittering agent.
It is just enough to scare the crap out of you.
I was disappointed that 3M would do this without better notice. They have added a smaller note on the bottom of the can, but it is barely noticeable. They should put something on there warning people in bigger letters and also should have included some information of how to get that crap off of your hands if you happened to have gotten it on you. I can imagine needless calls to the Poison Control Center about this.
I can understand the need for introducing a denaturing substance into the can to discourage abuse, but this really caught me off guard. I guess I won't be buying 3M duster cans anymore.
Edit:
I did not realize that inhalant abuse of this type was such a big problem, but it seems like a stupid little kid inhaled a couple cans of this stuff and died. What do the parents do? They sue Walmart for selling it to her, and 3M for making it.
http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/b...Modules/printstory.jsp
Thread revived by OP for absolutely no reason.
admin allisolm
Last edited by a moderator: