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I bet you didnt know that

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  • Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 90,852 Mod ✭✭✭✭Capt'n Midnight


    mzungu wrote: »
    Ever been in a swimming pool and your eyes go bloodshot?

    Usually chlorine gets the blame, however this is not the case. Chlorine on its own is fine and won't cause irritation. The irritation comes from contaminants in the pool (urine and sweat) which bind to the chlorine in the water creating a chemical compound which in turn causes your eyes to sting.
    Up in Dundalk the water used to smell like disinfectant.

    The phenols from the silage runoff from farms was chlorinated into something not unlike TCP.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,366 ✭✭✭franglan


    Yep chlorine will react with organic compounds such as pee and sweat in the pool giving you those "chlorine" smells. The smell is typically chloramines which is when chlorine bonds with the available ammonia. Chlorinated pools would still have a chlorine residual there for further disinfection when more pee or sweat arrives! Think pools usually would have a chlorine concentration of around 2.5-3.0mg/l. For rough reference drinking water chlorinated in Ireland would typically have a free chlorine residual (available chlorine to disinfect as required) of between 0.1-1.0mg/l.


  • Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 6,307 Mod ✭✭✭✭mzungu


    Fourier wrote: »
    Just reading a few papers on it (there are apparently labs that have tested this in detail!), it seems chlorine bonds with the urea salt in urine to form trichloramine. The typical "pool smell" is actually trichloramine!! It is a powerful disinfectant and can in fact aid in the healing of some wounds, though it is bad for your lungs.

    I'm not a chemist, so hopefully my reading is accurate.
    I would say that is fairly bang on the money.

    Google came up with this article from the Independent:
    A study has found that urinating in swimming pools is more than just unsanitary - it can also produce poisonous chemicals when urine and chlorine react.

    One in five Americans have admitted to relieving themselves in swimming pools, while US Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps described peeing in a pool as "kind of a normal thing to do for swimmers" because chlorine destroys bacteria in water

    But now research is suggesting it could actually be a health hazard (as well as disgusting).

    Researchers from the China Agricultural University and Purdue University found that when uric acid, a compound in urine, and chlorine mix it can produce substances that could cause health problems - namely trichloramine and cyanogen chloride.

    The latter is listed as a classified substance under the US Chemical Weapons Convention because it could potentially be used in chemical warfare.

    Trichloramine has been linked to breathing problems and cyanogen chloride can affect the lungs, heart and nervous system.

    Scientists have not yet identified all of the specific ingredients in sweat and urine that could cause these potentially harmful compounds to form.

    A study published in the journal of Environmental Science and Technology looked at what happens when urine reacts with chlorine.

    Lead authors Jing Li and Ernest Blatchley found that when they mixed uric acid and chlorine both of the potentially harmful compounds formed within an hour. They calculated that more than 90 per cent of the compound in pools comes from urine.

    Uric acid accounted for 24 to 68 percent of the byproduct cyanogen chloride in the pool water samples.

    According to The Atlantic, a person leaves about 30 to 80 millilitres of urine behind each time they visit a swimming pool.

    Mr Blatchley said that if a lot of people are in a swimming pool at one time and urinate in the pool, there is the potential for a lot of cyanogen chloride to form and deplete the chlorine in the pool.

    Cyanogen chloride would normally decay rapidly, but less chlorine could allow it to stay present in the water for longer.

    However the amounts of cyanogen chloride generated are highly unlikely to meet the World Health Organisation's 'danger zone' of 70 micrograms per litre.

    Ars Technica were also quick to point out that dying of cyanogen chloride poisoning originating from chlorine in water and urine is extremely unlikely - think three million swimmers urinating in one very chlorinated pool.

    The authors concluded that swimmers might want to consider peeing outside of the water to improve swimming conditions.

    “Given that uric acid introduction to pools is attributable to urination, a voluntary action for most swimmers, these findings indicate important benefits to pool water and air chemistry that could result from improved hygiene habits on the part of swimmers.”

    Link: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/urinating-in-swimming-pools-produces-a-chemical-warfare-agent-but-it-would-take-a-lot-of-pee-to-9227844.html

    From my reading of the above, it appears to suggest that when chlorine levels are low and there is uric acid in the pool, that skin and eye irritation can occur?


  • Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 90,852 Mod ✭✭✭✭Capt'n Midnight


    Chlorine is well behaved compared to Fluorine.

    FOOF is the formula for Dioxygen Difluoride

    It's also the sound it makes when it comes into contact with practically anything that isn't an atmospheric gas or already fluorinated to hell and back. ( Phoofff !!)

    Nasty stuff.

    If you let it come into contact with practically anything your special prize is superheated oxygen which is great for starting secondary fires. Oh and hydrogen fluoride which is a bone seeking toxin - it will literally dissolve your bones from the inside. And other toxic substances along with flames and heat and toxic smoke.


    From Things I Won’t Work With:
    If the paper weren’t laid out in complete grammatical sentences and published in JACS, you’d swear it was the work of a violent lunatic. I ran out of vulgar expletives after the second page.
    ...
    Hydrogen sulfide, for example, reacts with four molecules of FOOF to give sulfur hexafluoride, 2 molecules of HF and four oxygens. . .and 433 kcal, which is the kind of every-man-for-himself exotherm that you want to avoid at all cost.


  • Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 90,852 Mod ✭✭✭✭Capt'n Midnight


    Babylon 5

    Stephen Furst, who played Vir Cotto, had a disastrous audition. On arrival, he saw all the other people reading for the part already have the Centauri Crest (pictured hairstyle). Panicked, Furst ran to a restroom, where he attempted to use hand soap to recreate the style. While in the restroom, he was called for audition. He entered, stumbling, apologizing in long run-on sentences. JMS and the other producers immediately agreed, they had found Vir.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 11,410 ✭✭✭✭Exclamation Marc


    Gert Fröbe who played Auric Goldfinger in Goldfinger couldn't speak English well, in fact he could barely comprehend it, so was dubbed through the entire film by an English actor named Michael Collins.

    Fröbe did however dub his dubbed voice in the German dub version!


  • Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 90,852 Mod ✭✭✭✭Capt'n Midnight


    In the German versions of Arnold Schwarzenegger's films someone else does the voice.

    For Das Boot the cameras were so noisy they entire thing had to be dubbed. As most of the crew were bilingual they did both the German and English


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,939 ✭✭✭goat2


    mzungu wrote: »
    Ever been in a swimming pool and your eyes go bloodshot?

    Usually chlorine gets the blame, however this is not the case. Chlorine on its own is fine and won't cause irritation. The irritation comes from contaminants in the pool (urine and sweat) which bind to the chlorine in the water creating a chemical compound which in turn causes your eyes to sting.

    looking at those already in the pool, give an indication as to whether a pool is clean or not, watching how often they rub their eyes


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,105 ✭✭✭RiderOnTheStorm


    After the war loads of German engineers went to NASA and the rest is history ...

    Might not be true, but read a story once (anyone remember "Lifes Like That in Readers Digest?") where Werner van Braun was being interviewed on tv in USA (in the 50s iirc). Before the recording there was a sound check, and he was asked to just count to 5 for sound levels, I guess. He was nervous and stumbled a bit. An engineer jokingly said "try it backwards" and he counted backwards, in German, from 3 to zero and then replied "yes, much easier that way".
    For Das Boot the cameras were so noisy they entire thing had to be dubbed. As most of the crew were bilingual they did both the German and English

    Love this show..... Bought dvd back in the day for my son who did German for the LC. Love that we now have an in-joke, if something goes wrong we mock shout "alaaarmm!"


  • Moderators, Arts Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators Posts: 76,501 Mod ✭✭✭✭New Home


    In the German versions of Arnold Schwarzenegger's films someone else does the voice.

    IIRC, he did ask to do it himself, but they wouldn't let him because his German accent was too regional.
    goat2 wrote: »
    looking at those already in the pool, give an indication as to whether a pool is clean or not, watching how often they rub their eyes

    I was told a while back that now there's a substance that's added to the pools that make the water turn black if it comes into contact with urine. Not sure if that's true, though, or if it's true only for some pools.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 18,625 ✭✭✭✭BaZmO*


    New Home wrote: »

    I was told a while back that now there's a substance that's added to the pools that make the water turn black if it comes into contact with urine. Not sure if that's true, though, or if it's true only for some pools.

    I’ve heard of that but not black from memory, I think it maybe blue or purple. There was a comedian (can’t remember who) that used to a skit about it years ago about incontinent pensioners doing water aerobics and looking like a Red Arrows display. :D


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,197 ✭✭✭SuperS54


    New Home wrote: »
    I was told a while back that now there's a substance that's added to the pools that make the water turn black if it comes into contact with urine. Not sure if that's true, though, or if it's true only for some pools.

    Phew! https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/piscine-of-the-crime/


  • Registered Users Posts: 10,943 ✭✭✭✭the purple tin


    Red wine has no taste. The flavour you get while drinking it is actually coming from the smell.
    The next time you have a head cold drink some and it will taste like water.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,072 ✭✭✭sunnysoutheast


    In the German versions of Arnold Schwarzenegger's films someone else does the voice.

    For Das Boot the cameras were so noisy they entire thing had to be dubbed. As most of the crew were bilingual they did both the German and English

    There's apparently a few dubbing mistakes due to this.

    The submarine which was used for the external shots was also the sub. in Raiders of the Lost Ark. They also used the real U-boat pens at La Rochelle for both films.


  • Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 90,852 Mod ✭✭✭✭Capt'n Midnight


    The submarine which was used for the external shots was also the sub in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
    No one told the Das Boot crew that.

    They showed up one morning and the sub was ... missing :eek:


  • Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 16,287 Mod ✭✭✭✭quickbeam


    Red wine has no taste. The flavour you get while drinking it is actually coming from the smell.
    The next time you have a head cold drink some and it will taste like water.

    Absolutely not! I'm completely anosmic (lack a sense of smell) and red wine (or white, come to that) certainly doesn't taste like water.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 32,688 ✭✭✭✭ytpe2r5bxkn0c1


    Red wine has no taste. The flavour you get while drinking it is actually coming from the smell.
    The next time you have a head cold drink some and it will taste like water.

    While smell plays an important part in the discernment of flavours in most things, it is completely untrue that red wine, of and in itself, has no flavour. My brother had no sense of smell and could certainly taste and discriminate between red wines.

    While blindfolded anosmics can struggle to differentiate between some particular flavours they can still tell red wine from water.


  • Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 6,307 Mod ✭✭✭✭mzungu


    Has it ever happened that when you yawn that a bit of saliva shoots from your mouth into the air? This is called Gleeking and is caused when salivary glands are stimulated (usually by your tongue) by accident.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,105 ✭✭✭RiderOnTheStorm


    While smell plays an important part in the discernment of flavours...

    Great trick to prove this, to yourself or others, is to hold your nose closed and pop some chocolate in your mouth. Suck it or chew it for a few seconds then let go your nose. You will get a magnified chocolate taste, as your nose is now in on the act!


  • Registered Users Posts: 24,476 ✭✭✭✭Cookie_Monster


    mzungu wrote: »
    Chlorine on its own is fine and won't cause irritation.
    Chlorine on it's own is not fine and will kill you.
    Our local pool had a bit of an issues last year where the chlorine dosing system had a malfunction and overdosed the pool. 7 people were hospitalised.


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  • Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 7,160 Mod ✭✭✭✭cdeb


    Dr Elsa Schneider, the Nazi villainess in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, went to school in Mount Anville.

    58931620a5013d5d73f2a16d4e0af796.jpg


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,933 ✭✭✭wally79


    cdeb wrote: »
    Dr Elsa Schneider, the Nazi villainess in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, went to school in Mount Anville.

    Less interesting when you say Alison Doody went to Mount Anville


  • Users Awaiting Email Confirmation Posts: 1,518 ✭✭✭Ciaran_B


    Irish actress goes to Irish school. More at 11.


  • Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 7,160 Mod ✭✭✭✭cdeb


    More that I (and maybe others) never knew that Nazi arch-villainess in American film was Irish in the first place.


  • Registered Users Posts: 8,386 ✭✭✭Riddle101


    I got some of these from a Cracked.com article so take it as you will.

    The first six years of the drug war in Mexico had more casualties than a decade of war in Afghanistan.

    Around one third of American households own a gun, down from approximately one half in the 1970's. Gun related homicides are also declining in the US. Down 49% from it's peak in 1993.

    According to statistics less then 13% of typical serial killers fit the profile of white, male, mid-to-late twenties. This is a famous stereotype about serial killers.

    Muslim Americans are not more sympathetic to terrorism or extremism. When asked if the targeting of civilians by a small group or individual was ever justified, 89% of Muslim American said it was never justified. as compared to 71% of Protestants, 71% of Catholics, and 76% of Atheists.

    Mexico tops the OECD for working the longest days with more than 10 hour days on average.

    According to data on philanthropy in the US, Jews are more likely to give to charity, give greater amounts when they do, and give a higher proportion to non secular charities.

    The dog with the most aggressive tendencies is the Dachshund.


  • Registered Users Posts: 21,520 ✭✭✭✭Tell me how


    ^^^^^^^

    By my count, you have enough there to start 8 independent threads on 5 different forums with that post. I reckon 6 of these threads could be expected to get 100+ posts in first 24 hours.


  • Registered Users Posts: 10,943 ✭✭✭✭the purple tin


    quickbeam wrote: »
    Absolutely not! I'm completely anosmic (lack a sense of smell) and red wine (or white, come to that) certainly doesn't taste like water.
    While smell plays an important part in the discernment of flavours in most things, it is completely untrue that red wine, of and in itself, has no flavour. My brother had no sense of smell and could certainly taste and discriminate between red wines.

    While blindfolded anosmics can struggle to differentiate between some particular flavours they can still tell red wine from water.
    It would appear that I've been sold a lemon :o


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,262 ✭✭✭di11on


    Solar power is nuclear energy... from a safe distance


  • Registered Users Posts: 11,410 ✭✭✭✭Exclamation Marc


    It would appear that I've been sold a lemon :o

    An odour free one at that! :)


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  • Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 6,307 Mod ✭✭✭✭mzungu


    Chlorine on it's own is not fine and will kill you.
    Our local pool had a bit of an issues last year where the chlorine dosing system had a malfunction and overdosed the pool. 7 people were hospitalised.
    Not to drag off topic, but that is completely different scenario as there was an overdose in your local pool. In the part you quoted, I was talking about when there are safe chlorine levels in the pool it won't irritate your skin and eyes.


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