1 00:00:01,480 --> 00:00:07,280 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you Should Know, a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:11,160 --> 00:00:13,880 Speaker 2: Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh, and there's Chuck. 3 00:00:14,360 --> 00:00:17,680 Speaker 2: Jerry's here too, floating around somewhere out there. And that 4 00:00:17,720 --> 00:00:18,919 Speaker 2: makes the stuff you should know. 5 00:00:19,440 --> 00:00:20,040 Speaker 3: That's right. 6 00:00:21,520 --> 00:00:23,760 Speaker 1: You thought of this one, and Dave helped us out 7 00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:28,080 Speaker 1: with the research on chemistry sets. I will go ahead 8 00:00:28,120 --> 00:00:30,040 Speaker 1: and to say that I never had a chemistry set, 9 00:00:30,880 --> 00:00:34,680 Speaker 1: but you know darn well that somebody in my family did, 10 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:39,720 Speaker 1: was it Scott? Oh, of course he did. He was 11 00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:42,280 Speaker 1: voted most likely to have a chemistry set in preschool. 12 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:46,760 Speaker 2: That's a Did he do anything magical with it? 13 00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:49,280 Speaker 1: I mean, I just remember him having it in it, 14 00:00:49,320 --> 00:00:52,360 Speaker 1: being around the house, and you know, he's just always 15 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:55,720 Speaker 1: had a more scientifically minded brain than me and has 16 00:00:55,760 --> 00:00:58,880 Speaker 1: always been smarter than me from the drop. So he 17 00:00:59,880 --> 00:01:01,920 Speaker 1: was into chemistry sets, and I was into you know, 18 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:03,080 Speaker 1: baseball cards. 19 00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:06,000 Speaker 2: Well, I was into baseball cards too. I was gonna say, 20 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:08,880 Speaker 2: don't feel bad because I didn't have a chemistry set either, 21 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:11,880 Speaker 2: but I did have like an electrical set, like the 22 00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:14,600 Speaker 2: electrical version of a chemistry So, yeah, you do all 23 00:01:14,640 --> 00:01:17,960 Speaker 2: sorts of stuff, Yeah, yeah, And I distinctly remember just 24 00:01:18,200 --> 00:01:20,520 Speaker 2: hitting it with a hammer because I had no idea 25 00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:22,039 Speaker 2: what was going on with that thing. 26 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:23,640 Speaker 3: You can't build a circuit. 27 00:01:24,880 --> 00:01:27,399 Speaker 2: No, you could put a gun to my head and 28 00:01:27,400 --> 00:01:29,160 Speaker 2: be like, build a circuit, and I'd just start hitting 29 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:30,840 Speaker 2: it with a hammer. I think you know. 30 00:01:30,840 --> 00:01:32,840 Speaker 1: Who got good at that is a friend of the 31 00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:35,399 Speaker 1: show and Palavars in real. 32 00:01:35,319 --> 00:01:38,160 Speaker 3: Life, David Reese. Oh yeah, he. 33 00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:42,080 Speaker 1: Got into circuitry and like building and refurbishing old like 34 00:01:43,240 --> 00:01:45,920 Speaker 1: musical electronics and pedals and stuff like that. 35 00:01:46,240 --> 00:01:48,680 Speaker 2: What an interesting dude. If you don't know who Dave 36 00:01:48,720 --> 00:01:51,520 Speaker 2: Reese is, yeah, go look up. What's the name of 37 00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:53,680 Speaker 2: this book about artisanal pencil sharpened? 38 00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:55,960 Speaker 1: I think it's how to sharpen pencils. See outside A 39 00:01:55,960 --> 00:01:57,720 Speaker 1: great TV show that I'm not sure if you can 40 00:01:57,760 --> 00:01:59,040 Speaker 1: find it, but you can try. 41 00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:01,040 Speaker 3: Called Going Deep with day Man. 42 00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:01,760 Speaker 2: It was so good. 43 00:02:02,440 --> 00:02:04,160 Speaker 1: But you know, it's like how to shake someone's hand. 44 00:02:04,240 --> 00:02:07,560 Speaker 1: Stuff like that seems very intuitive, but not through David's 45 00:02:07,680 --> 00:02:09,320 Speaker 1: odd point of view. 46 00:02:09,840 --> 00:02:12,160 Speaker 2: He also was on Dick Town with Hodgmen. 47 00:02:12,320 --> 00:02:15,160 Speaker 1: Right, that's right, and he can build the heck out 48 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:17,079 Speaker 1: of a circuit. I bet you had a chemistry set. 49 00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:20,400 Speaker 2: Too, very nice. I know that Dave Russ, who helps 50 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:21,919 Speaker 2: us with this, said that he had one of those 51 00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:25,480 Speaker 2: electronic sets too. Dave's pretty sharp, so I'm presuming he 52 00:02:25,520 --> 00:02:26,680 Speaker 2: didn't hit it with the hammer. 53 00:02:28,200 --> 00:02:29,639 Speaker 1: But this is a pretty fun when we're going to 54 00:02:29,720 --> 00:02:32,800 Speaker 1: talk about the history of chemistry sets, which, believe it 55 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:36,440 Speaker 1: or not, go back to the eighteenth century when they 56 00:02:36,480 --> 00:02:42,400 Speaker 1: were called chemical chests. But this was pre let's make 57 00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:44,960 Speaker 1: this a toy for kids. It was like, Hey, if 58 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:49,880 Speaker 1: you're a university student or a professional or amateur young chemist, 59 00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:51,720 Speaker 1: button chemist. 60 00:02:51,919 --> 00:02:53,080 Speaker 2: Do you like to wear capes? 61 00:02:54,200 --> 00:02:57,679 Speaker 3: Yeah, exactly, you like a smock, get a chemistry set, right. 62 00:02:57,960 --> 00:02:59,840 Speaker 2: So the first one, actually they traced it back to 63 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:01,720 Speaker 2: I named You're gonna make me say his name? Huh. 64 00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:06,120 Speaker 2: Watch this, yeah, Johann Friedrich August Goudding. 65 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:08,600 Speaker 3: Nay, not bad, may mean not bad. 66 00:03:08,639 --> 00:03:09,959 Speaker 2: That was dead on the nose. 67 00:03:10,240 --> 00:03:12,000 Speaker 3: I think it was perfect. 68 00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:14,720 Speaker 2: I think I can hear our German listeners giving me 69 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:16,200 Speaker 2: a standing ovation right now. 70 00:03:16,720 --> 00:03:17,519 Speaker 3: Ah vundebar. 71 00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:21,160 Speaker 2: He came up with a chemistry chest in I think 72 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:23,960 Speaker 2: seventeen eighty nine, if I didn't say that already, and 73 00:03:24,040 --> 00:03:27,120 Speaker 2: it was called garay for this a portable chest of 74 00:03:27,200 --> 00:03:30,480 Speaker 2: chemistry or a complete collection of chemical tests for the 75 00:03:30,600 --> 00:03:37,520 Speaker 2: use of chemists, physicians, mineralogists, metallurgists, scientific artists, manufacturers, farmers 76 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:41,280 Speaker 2: and cultivators of natural philosophy and party boys. 77 00:03:43,600 --> 00:03:45,520 Speaker 3: And again this thing wasn't a toy. 78 00:03:45,560 --> 00:03:50,200 Speaker 1: It had thirty five chemicals, had a very robust like balance, 79 00:03:50,520 --> 00:03:54,000 Speaker 1: you know, like a balance for weighing things, had a 80 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:54,680 Speaker 1: mortar and pestle. 81 00:03:54,720 --> 00:03:56,920 Speaker 3: Of course, it had a book. 82 00:03:56,680 --> 00:03:58,360 Speaker 1: And this is kind of as you'll see a key 83 00:03:58,400 --> 00:04:00,760 Speaker 1: with all chemistry sets is a come with a book 84 00:04:00,880 --> 00:04:06,200 Speaker 1: of experiments. Otherwise you're just going to be dangerous. You 85 00:04:06,280 --> 00:04:08,520 Speaker 1: might be anyway, But this one had about one. 86 00:04:08,520 --> 00:04:10,280 Speaker 3: Hundred and fifty experiments. 87 00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:14,640 Speaker 1: And interestingly it had this platinum foil included that they 88 00:04:14,640 --> 00:04:17,280 Speaker 1: would not include now because this stuff was very valuable. 89 00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:20,400 Speaker 1: I believe in today dollars would be worth about a 90 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:21,359 Speaker 1: thousand bucks. 91 00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:26,520 Speaker 2: Wow, if the price is right, that's right. The reason 92 00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:29,320 Speaker 2: they include platinum foil is platinum is a really valuable 93 00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:32,440 Speaker 2: and useful catalyst and a lot of chemical reactions. It 94 00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:33,680 Speaker 2: wasn't just to show. 95 00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:35,920 Speaker 3: Off, no, of course not so. 96 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:38,880 Speaker 2: There were other early chemistry sets too. Like you said 97 00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:41,520 Speaker 2: they were for grown ups, they were for chemistry professionals, 98 00:04:41,920 --> 00:04:45,520 Speaker 2: and people used to train to be chemistry professionals and 99 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:47,800 Speaker 2: go to college for it. Still do. But there was 100 00:04:47,839 --> 00:04:51,640 Speaker 2: a guy at the University of Pennsylvania's medical school all 101 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:54,800 Speaker 2: the way back in seventeen ninety seven named James Woodhouse, 102 00:04:55,279 --> 00:04:58,520 Speaker 2: and he was a professor of chemistry, and he also 103 00:04:58,520 --> 00:05:01,560 Speaker 2: had a nice little sideline selling chemistry chests to his 104 00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:04,320 Speaker 2: students and being like, you really won't get an A 105 00:05:04,760 --> 00:05:06,960 Speaker 2: or even maybe past this class if you don't buy 106 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:08,000 Speaker 2: my chemistry set. 107 00:05:08,520 --> 00:05:09,400 Speaker 3: Yeah, not bad. 108 00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:11,680 Speaker 1: It's like when the professor wrote the book that you're 109 00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:16,200 Speaker 1: exact textbook. One little just sort of fun fact that 110 00:05:16,320 --> 00:05:19,719 Speaker 1: Dave threw in here was this was pre test tube. 111 00:05:19,760 --> 00:05:21,800 Speaker 1: They didn't have test tubes yet. So in both of 112 00:05:21,800 --> 00:05:27,160 Speaker 1: these early eighteenth century chemistry chests they said to use wineglasses. 113 00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:29,919 Speaker 2: Very nice, very swanky. 114 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:31,680 Speaker 1: Yeah. 115 00:05:31,920 --> 00:05:35,039 Speaker 2: So there was also even back then, well maybe not 116 00:05:35,160 --> 00:05:40,400 Speaker 2: back in the seventeen hundreds, but certainly very quickly after that. No, 117 00:05:40,839 --> 00:05:43,920 Speaker 2: I'm going to go ahead and say the seventeen hundreds 118 00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:48,320 Speaker 2: in everybody was like this is not just like interesting 119 00:05:48,640 --> 00:05:50,479 Speaker 2: and you can do stuff with it. This can be 120 00:05:50,560 --> 00:05:53,400 Speaker 2: kind of fun too, Like it's fun to take two 121 00:05:53,480 --> 00:05:57,200 Speaker 2: chemicals and suddenly make these two clear things turn blue. 122 00:05:57,240 --> 00:05:59,520 Speaker 2: Who doesn't love that kind of thing. And so there 123 00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:03,760 Speaker 2: was always a certain element of magic to chemistry, and 124 00:06:03,800 --> 00:06:10,040 Speaker 2: in particular chemistry sets, and eventually people started like selling 125 00:06:10,120 --> 00:06:13,320 Speaker 2: them as that, not just as that, but there was 126 00:06:13,360 --> 00:06:19,800 Speaker 2: a transition from just for chemical professionals chemists, to for 127 00:06:20,279 --> 00:06:22,960 Speaker 2: chemists but also for chemists who'd like to have a 128 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:23,400 Speaker 2: good time. 129 00:06:23,880 --> 00:06:26,840 Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean there were and we talked about this before, 130 00:06:26,880 --> 00:06:31,839 Speaker 1: like scientific demonstrations in the you know, nineteenth century could 131 00:06:31,880 --> 00:06:34,200 Speaker 1: be everything from just like straight up science to a 132 00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:37,800 Speaker 1: little little magic, a little showmanship, involved a little flare. 133 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:41,599 Speaker 1: People like Faraday were doing stuff like this in public. 134 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:46,920 Speaker 1: There was a chemist named Frederick Acam I guess Accum 135 00:06:47,279 --> 00:06:50,240 Speaker 1: who would do these big public demonstrations that were, you know, 136 00:06:50,400 --> 00:06:53,120 Speaker 1: kind of part magic show, part science, and you could 137 00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:55,880 Speaker 1: even buy one of his sets. He had a chemistry set. 138 00:06:55,920 --> 00:06:57,560 Speaker 1: I don't think they were called chess at this point, 139 00:06:58,520 --> 00:07:02,159 Speaker 1: called alums still called the chests. Oh yeah, there it 140 00:07:02,200 --> 00:07:08,719 Speaker 1: is in the title Acom's Chest of Chemical Amusement again, 141 00:07:09,520 --> 00:07:11,560 Speaker 1: which you know lends itself to amusement. I think that 142 00:07:11,680 --> 00:07:15,920 Speaker 1: was the booklet was called Chemical amusement colon a series 143 00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:18,960 Speaker 1: of curious and instructive experiments in chemistry which are easily 144 00:07:18,960 --> 00:07:21,560 Speaker 1: performed and unattended by danger. 145 00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:25,400 Speaker 2: That's important right there. Yeah, because one of the things 146 00:07:25,480 --> 00:07:28,040 Speaker 2: that kind of got all over chemistry sets over the 147 00:07:28,120 --> 00:07:32,680 Speaker 2: years was safety. And this was even like back in 148 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:35,160 Speaker 2: the early nineteenth century that they were like, these can 149 00:07:35,240 --> 00:07:39,360 Speaker 2: be dangerous. So yeah, that was a big, a big 150 00:07:39,360 --> 00:07:41,000 Speaker 2: thing that he included that in the title of the 151 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:42,160 Speaker 2: booklet that came with it. 152 00:07:42,480 --> 00:07:45,240 Speaker 1: Yeah, for sure, and all of this, you know, talk 153 00:07:45,280 --> 00:07:48,200 Speaker 1: of sort of magic and fun is a is a 154 00:07:48,240 --> 00:07:50,360 Speaker 1: long way to get to the fact that by the 155 00:07:50,960 --> 00:07:54,559 Speaker 1: sort of early ish eighteen hundreds and like eighteen thirty five, 156 00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:58,200 Speaker 1: they started saying, hey, these like we should sell these 157 00:07:58,200 --> 00:07:58,640 Speaker 1: to kids. 158 00:07:58,720 --> 00:08:00,120 Speaker 3: These are fun. 159 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:01,760 Speaker 2: You know who's trustworthy kids? 160 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:02,480 Speaker 3: Exactly. 161 00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:06,280 Speaker 1: There was one called the Eedies Youth Laboratory from eighteen 162 00:08:06,320 --> 00:08:10,560 Speaker 1: thirty five. A few years later was Statham's Students Chemical Laboratory, 163 00:08:10,960 --> 00:08:12,920 Speaker 1: and then by eighteen fifty six they had one called 164 00:08:12,960 --> 00:08:14,680 Speaker 1: Pike's Youth Chemical Cabinet. 165 00:08:15,200 --> 00:08:20,560 Speaker 2: Wow, chemical cabinet sounds amazing, it does. And then by 166 00:08:20,600 --> 00:08:24,040 Speaker 2: the time the twentieth century rolled around, so they were 167 00:08:24,040 --> 00:08:27,000 Speaker 2: making these things here or there for centuries by now 168 00:08:27,760 --> 00:08:31,080 Speaker 2: finally they were like, Okay, our market is young people 169 00:08:31,160 --> 00:08:36,280 Speaker 2: who are enthusiastic about chemistry, but also again wear capes 170 00:08:36,320 --> 00:08:40,160 Speaker 2: because they like magic. And one of the good examples 171 00:08:40,200 --> 00:08:42,360 Speaker 2: that Dave turned up about this was came out in 172 00:08:42,440 --> 00:08:47,200 Speaker 2: nineteen hundred. It was Kingsley's Primus Chemical Magic and Practical 173 00:08:47,280 --> 00:08:52,120 Speaker 2: Chemistry Cabinet, and it had everything you needed to carry 174 00:08:52,160 --> 00:08:57,160 Speaker 2: out like these serious chemistry experiments. And it came with 175 00:08:57,200 --> 00:08:59,880 Speaker 2: a booklet too that had plenty of instructions, but it 176 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:03,960 Speaker 2: also had a lot of stuff to set things on 177 00:09:04,040 --> 00:09:07,400 Speaker 2: fire and instructions on how to essentially make fireworks and 178 00:09:07,440 --> 00:09:08,120 Speaker 2: things like that. 179 00:09:08,720 --> 00:09:11,800 Speaker 1: Yeah, I would love to see a Venn diagram of 180 00:09:12,120 --> 00:09:16,640 Speaker 1: gen X kids who had chemistry sets. 181 00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:18,520 Speaker 3: Yeah, who could. 182 00:09:18,440 --> 00:09:21,200 Speaker 1: Pull a rabbit out of a hat or a card 183 00:09:21,240 --> 00:09:24,559 Speaker 1: out of somebody's ear and like knew how to do 184 00:09:24,640 --> 00:09:27,079 Speaker 1: the Rubik's cube and draw a flip book. 185 00:09:27,720 --> 00:09:29,240 Speaker 2: That's the trifecta. 186 00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:31,560 Speaker 3: Yeah, that was my brother in a nutshell. 187 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:34,000 Speaker 2: Sure it's like oh Ruber's cube, Sure you. 188 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:34,920 Speaker 3: Want to see how to solve it. 189 00:09:35,520 --> 00:09:37,520 Speaker 2: But he wouldn't even say watch this. He'd be like, here, 190 00:09:37,559 --> 00:09:38,320 Speaker 2: let me help you. 191 00:09:38,520 --> 00:09:39,679 Speaker 3: Right exactly. 192 00:09:41,240 --> 00:09:43,320 Speaker 2: I also, just as a little side note, I'm like, 193 00:09:43,360 --> 00:09:47,640 Speaker 2: why did they call that a primus chemistry cabinet? So 194 00:09:47,679 --> 00:09:50,640 Speaker 2: it turns out primus, one of the definitions of it 195 00:09:50,720 --> 00:09:54,240 Speaker 2: is a small stove that burns paraffin, so presumably that 196 00:09:54,320 --> 00:09:56,480 Speaker 2: was included in the kid as like a Bunsen burner. 197 00:09:57,320 --> 00:09:59,040 Speaker 2: And it went a little deeper. I was like, okay, 198 00:09:59,080 --> 00:10:02,040 Speaker 2: why is the band Imus called Primus? And it turns 199 00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:04,640 Speaker 2: out they were originally called the Primates. There was another 200 00:10:04,720 --> 00:10:07,200 Speaker 2: band called the Primates that said we will sue the 201 00:10:07,320 --> 00:10:09,520 Speaker 2: pants off of you if you call yourself the Primates. 202 00:10:09,800 --> 00:10:14,320 Speaker 2: So less Claypool and friends looked up primate definitions and 203 00:10:14,360 --> 00:10:16,920 Speaker 2: words and found out that Primus is the root word 204 00:10:16,960 --> 00:10:19,240 Speaker 2: for Primates, so they went with Primus instead. 205 00:10:19,800 --> 00:10:23,120 Speaker 1: Look at that one of my most hated bands of 206 00:10:23,120 --> 00:10:27,040 Speaker 1: all time. Really yeah, I hate Primus, And you know 207 00:10:27,120 --> 00:10:29,720 Speaker 1: what I'm gonna hear from Primis fans. 208 00:10:29,760 --> 00:10:31,480 Speaker 3: You are not yuck and you'r yum. 209 00:10:32,360 --> 00:10:35,640 Speaker 1: I love for you to love what you love, but 210 00:10:35,679 --> 00:10:37,560 Speaker 1: I've got to be able to hate Primis as well. 211 00:10:37,640 --> 00:10:41,240 Speaker 2: Sure they can't yung. You're yuck. Yeah, like everybody, It's 212 00:10:41,240 --> 00:10:42,920 Speaker 2: not like you're telling them not to listen, or that 213 00:10:42,960 --> 00:10:44,120 Speaker 2: they suck for listening. 214 00:10:44,440 --> 00:10:47,720 Speaker 3: No, I'm sure they're great for certain years. It's just 215 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:49,040 Speaker 3: that's not mine. 216 00:10:49,400 --> 00:10:51,959 Speaker 2: They have some good songs, though Chuck Jerry was a 217 00:10:52,040 --> 00:10:56,800 Speaker 2: race car driver. You honestly don't like that song, no, okay, 218 00:10:56,920 --> 00:10:57,360 Speaker 2: all right. 219 00:10:57,640 --> 00:10:59,280 Speaker 1: They also sound the same to me. They all sound 220 00:10:59,320 --> 00:11:01,960 Speaker 1: like his bass just all sounds. 221 00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:06,600 Speaker 2: Like that was really good impression actually, and. 222 00:11:06,640 --> 00:11:10,480 Speaker 3: All the singing and just Downrue too. 223 00:11:10,640 --> 00:11:11,920 Speaker 2: Yeah, you don't like Primis. 224 00:11:12,080 --> 00:11:15,640 Speaker 3: I don't like it. Checks out. One of my very 225 00:11:15,640 --> 00:11:18,600 Speaker 3: best friends loves Primus, and so you know we cannot we. 226 00:11:18,520 --> 00:11:21,680 Speaker 1: Can all co exist, You're like, so I can say that, Yeah, exactly. 227 00:11:22,360 --> 00:11:26,680 Speaker 1: A lot of my friends are Primis fans. All right, 228 00:11:26,840 --> 00:11:29,840 Speaker 1: let's take a break and we'll enter the twenty twenties, 229 00:11:30,040 --> 00:11:31,280 Speaker 1: twentieth century right after this. 230 00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:39,640 Speaker 4: Sure loss a much stuff from Josh and shuck stuff fui. 231 00:11:57,320 --> 00:11:59,600 Speaker 2: Okay, So I think, like I said, in the early 232 00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:02,480 Speaker 2: twenty century, they were like, yep, young boys who are 233 00:12:02,480 --> 00:12:05,800 Speaker 2: interested in chemistry, And let's go back and emphasize this boys. 234 00:12:06,880 --> 00:12:10,360 Speaker 2: That's who we're going to market these things too. Yeah, 235 00:12:10,400 --> 00:12:13,600 Speaker 2: this is who chemistry sets belonged to. Like little Boy 236 00:12:13,679 --> 00:12:18,560 Speaker 2: scientists who have an interest in chemistry, and the thing 237 00:12:18,600 --> 00:12:21,640 Speaker 2: that went basically throughout the twentieth century, at least up 238 00:12:21,679 --> 00:12:24,640 Speaker 2: until like the sixties. If you bought a chemistry set 239 00:12:24,679 --> 00:12:27,720 Speaker 2: for your kid, like that was the first step toward 240 00:12:27,760 --> 00:12:30,000 Speaker 2: being a professional chemist as they grew up. 241 00:12:30,520 --> 00:12:34,280 Speaker 1: Yeah, and you were guaranteed to have a little boy 242 00:12:34,440 --> 00:12:35,640 Speaker 1: on the front box. 243 00:12:35,880 --> 00:12:36,800 Speaker 2: One hundred percent. 244 00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:38,559 Speaker 3: That's just the way it was back then. 245 00:12:38,600 --> 00:12:41,360 Speaker 1: And we'll get to more of that sort of weird 246 00:12:41,400 --> 00:12:44,360 Speaker 1: sexism and science that still continues today in a little bit. 247 00:12:44,480 --> 00:12:47,080 Speaker 1: But one of the big players, there were a couple 248 00:12:47,120 --> 00:12:49,800 Speaker 1: of big ones. The first one was the Kim Craft Company. 249 00:12:50,520 --> 00:12:53,760 Speaker 1: Kimkraft Chemistry Set in nineteen sixteen was the first really 250 00:12:54,240 --> 00:12:57,680 Speaker 1: sort of popular toy chemistry set produced by the Porter 251 00:12:57,800 --> 00:13:01,360 Speaker 1: Chemical Company out of Merryland, and it was about a 252 00:13:01,360 --> 00:13:03,640 Speaker 1: buck fifty to maybe ten bucks if you were pretty 253 00:13:03,640 --> 00:13:08,160 Speaker 1: well healed, because that's it's about forty to three hundred 254 00:13:08,160 --> 00:13:12,240 Speaker 1: bucks today, so some pretty decent money you'd have to 255 00:13:12,240 --> 00:13:15,200 Speaker 1: throw down on the high end chemistry set back then. 256 00:13:15,880 --> 00:13:17,400 Speaker 3: Yeah, these had test tubes. 257 00:13:17,440 --> 00:13:19,880 Speaker 1: By this point, you had an alcohol lamp, of course, 258 00:13:19,880 --> 00:13:22,200 Speaker 1: you had your weights and balances, and you had lots 259 00:13:22,280 --> 00:13:23,120 Speaker 1: of chemicals. 260 00:13:23,600 --> 00:13:26,640 Speaker 2: Yeah, this is like a serious chemistry set. It had 261 00:13:26,840 --> 00:13:29,679 Speaker 2: like all this stuff you needed, and it was substantial 262 00:13:29,720 --> 00:13:35,160 Speaker 2: in form right. The manual also was like we're going 263 00:13:35,240 --> 00:13:39,640 Speaker 2: to do some serious stuff. One of the first experiments 264 00:13:39,679 --> 00:13:43,719 Speaker 2: from this manual came from nineteen nineteen. That edition is 265 00:13:43,800 --> 00:13:48,320 Speaker 2: called Combination of Elements, and basically, you put powdered zinc 266 00:13:48,400 --> 00:13:50,839 Speaker 2: and sulfur on a metal spoon and start heating it. 267 00:13:51,520 --> 00:13:53,920 Speaker 2: Be sure to quote keep your face at a little distance. 268 00:13:54,559 --> 00:13:57,880 Speaker 2: And then as the mass becomes hot, the sulfur takes 269 00:13:57,920 --> 00:14:01,440 Speaker 2: fire and burns, and then the mixture starts to swell 270 00:14:01,520 --> 00:14:04,600 Speaker 2: to a bulky porous mass while on fire, and then 271 00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:08,200 Speaker 2: suddenly there's a flash and sulfur and zinc unite, chemically 272 00:14:08,240 --> 00:14:11,920 Speaker 2: forming zinc sulfide, and hopefully you have your eyebrows left afterwards. 273 00:14:12,240 --> 00:14:14,520 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's funny, Like the literal quote was keeping your 274 00:14:14,520 --> 00:14:17,000 Speaker 1: face at a little distance, and the first three times 275 00:14:17,040 --> 00:14:19,120 Speaker 1: I read that, I read it as keeping your little 276 00:14:19,120 --> 00:14:20,240 Speaker 1: face at a distance. 277 00:14:20,640 --> 00:14:23,479 Speaker 2: Oh, I wish they'd said that that's adorable. 278 00:14:23,600 --> 00:14:23,880 Speaker 3: It was. 279 00:14:24,120 --> 00:14:25,680 Speaker 1: It should have been keep your little face at a 280 00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:29,600 Speaker 1: great distance, because that was dangerous. There was also something 281 00:14:29,640 --> 00:14:33,080 Speaker 1: called fire ink, which is exactly what you think is 282 00:14:33,560 --> 00:14:36,360 Speaker 1: you would combine, or you may not know what you combined, 283 00:14:36,400 --> 00:14:38,000 Speaker 1: but you know what the result probably is. You combine 284 00:14:38,040 --> 00:14:41,320 Speaker 1: potassium nitrate and water in a test tube and then 285 00:14:41,400 --> 00:14:43,880 Speaker 1: write on a piece of paper and light that on fire, 286 00:14:44,400 --> 00:14:47,080 Speaker 1: and you know what you have spelled out is now 287 00:14:47,120 --> 00:14:47,520 Speaker 1: on fire. 288 00:14:48,320 --> 00:14:50,840 Speaker 2: Yeah, so the potassium nitrate water is the ink, the 289 00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:53,120 Speaker 2: fire ink, as it were, which sounds pretty cool. 290 00:14:53,120 --> 00:14:53,280 Speaker 3: Man. 291 00:14:53,400 --> 00:14:56,920 Speaker 2: Imagine being like, hello, how are you suddenly on fire 292 00:14:57,000 --> 00:14:59,520 Speaker 2: on a piece of paper. Your friend's kind of think 293 00:14:59,520 --> 00:15:02,960 Speaker 2: you're pretty I literally wrote neat with an exclamation point 294 00:15:03,040 --> 00:15:03,720 Speaker 2: after that one. 295 00:15:04,120 --> 00:15:06,560 Speaker 1: Yeah, but you would also probably be more likely to 296 00:15:06,680 --> 00:15:08,440 Speaker 1: write butthole or something like that. 297 00:15:08,520 --> 00:15:09,440 Speaker 3: Then, hey, how are you? 298 00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:13,600 Speaker 2: That's true? You know that's totally true. Also, I want 299 00:15:13,680 --> 00:15:16,920 Speaker 2: to take back the word literally. I'm really trying hard 300 00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:20,600 Speaker 2: to abandon that. Even when it's properly used. It's just 301 00:15:20,680 --> 00:15:22,400 Speaker 2: so so wrong these days. 302 00:15:22,760 --> 00:15:26,640 Speaker 3: Well, good for you, I think, literally, good for you. 303 00:15:27,640 --> 00:15:28,600 Speaker 2: So what else? 304 00:15:28,960 --> 00:15:32,280 Speaker 3: Well, that was another experiment. This is so fun. It's 305 00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:33,440 Speaker 3: called making a fuse. 306 00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:36,720 Speaker 1: That basically all you need to know is like, you know, 307 00:15:36,800 --> 00:15:38,800 Speaker 1: you can you can probably make things that'll blow up. 308 00:15:38,840 --> 00:15:39,760 Speaker 3: So you're gonna need a fuse. 309 00:15:41,160 --> 00:15:43,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, and that went really well with the manufacture of 310 00:15:43,640 --> 00:15:48,000 Speaker 2: colored fire, which was homemade fireworks. It was genuinely and 311 00:15:48,120 --> 00:15:53,360 Speaker 2: sincerely a flash in a pan because you would put 312 00:15:53,360 --> 00:15:57,840 Speaker 2: these different metals in and make for you make gunpowder. 313 00:15:58,120 --> 00:16:00,440 Speaker 2: The little kid would make gunpowder and then depending on 314 00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:03,120 Speaker 2: the chemical or metal that they added, it would burn 315 00:16:03,160 --> 00:16:07,240 Speaker 2: a different color in a pan as a flash. Genuinely. 316 00:16:07,720 --> 00:16:10,920 Speaker 1: Yeah, if you found another some cool research on like 317 00:16:11,400 --> 00:16:13,560 Speaker 1: just how dangerous some of these chemicals. 318 00:16:13,160 --> 00:16:14,960 Speaker 2: Were, right, Oh yeah, let's talk about those. 319 00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:16,480 Speaker 3: Yeah. What else? What else was in there? 320 00:16:17,320 --> 00:16:18,960 Speaker 2: In some of these sets that came out in the 321 00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:24,520 Speaker 2: twentieth century, there was iodine solution, which sounds kind of innocuous, 322 00:16:24,560 --> 00:16:26,800 Speaker 2: but they figured out over time that you could use 323 00:16:26,840 --> 00:16:30,520 Speaker 2: that to make meth with Okay, you could also if 324 00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:32,640 Speaker 2: you ate two grams of it or more, you would 325 00:16:32,640 --> 00:16:37,080 Speaker 2: probably die. I think ammonium nitrate was in that, which 326 00:16:37,120 --> 00:16:40,080 Speaker 2: is frequently used to make bombs. 327 00:16:40,440 --> 00:16:40,680 Speaker 3: Yeah. 328 00:16:40,720 --> 00:16:42,600 Speaker 1: What else, Well, one thing you could do that was 329 00:16:42,640 --> 00:16:45,760 Speaker 1: fun is you could make smoke bombs right with that 330 00:16:45,800 --> 00:16:48,520 Speaker 1: potassium nitrate, which is I don't know if you mentioned 331 00:16:48,520 --> 00:16:51,400 Speaker 1: it's also in gunpowder. True, So a lot of these 332 00:16:51,440 --> 00:16:55,720 Speaker 1: experiments were like watch it flame, spark, or boom in 333 00:16:55,800 --> 00:16:56,720 Speaker 1: a small way. 334 00:16:57,280 --> 00:17:00,800 Speaker 2: Another one used to show up with sodium cyanide, which 335 00:17:01,840 --> 00:17:05,720 Speaker 2: is more commonly referred to as cyanide, and you would 336 00:17:05,720 --> 00:17:10,600 Speaker 2: bind two metals like make essentially dissolved gold into water, 337 00:17:10,760 --> 00:17:13,399 Speaker 2: metals into water. It's pretty neat, that's what it's used for. 338 00:17:13,520 --> 00:17:16,880 Speaker 2: But it's also a rapidly acting toxin that can kill 339 00:17:16,920 --> 00:17:20,280 Speaker 2: you dead pretty easily. And this was one of those 340 00:17:20,359 --> 00:17:23,160 Speaker 2: chemicals in the glass vials that arrived in the chemistry 341 00:17:23,200 --> 00:17:24,440 Speaker 2: sets for kids back then. 342 00:17:25,119 --> 00:17:27,919 Speaker 1: Yeah, and speaking of glass, or even some chemistry sets 343 00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:32,760 Speaker 1: that had the material and instruction for blowing glass, which 344 00:17:32,800 --> 00:17:36,600 Speaker 1: is no doubt a super cool, awesome thing to learn, 345 00:17:37,119 --> 00:17:40,199 Speaker 1: but it's you know, it's not something it should be 346 00:17:40,240 --> 00:17:41,080 Speaker 1: drying in their bedroom. 347 00:17:41,200 --> 00:17:43,679 Speaker 2: No, I mean, it has to get really hot to 348 00:17:43,760 --> 00:17:46,920 Speaker 2: melt glass enough to blow it. One of my favorites 349 00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:51,560 Speaker 2: is calcium hypochlorite, which is one of the main ingredients 350 00:17:51,560 --> 00:17:54,520 Speaker 2: for chlorine gas, which was I think the first chemical 351 00:17:54,560 --> 00:17:57,199 Speaker 2: weapon to ever be banned by the world. So you 352 00:17:57,200 --> 00:18:02,159 Speaker 2: could make a chemical weapon in your bedroom if you 353 00:18:02,240 --> 00:18:03,160 Speaker 2: knew what you were doing. 354 00:18:04,440 --> 00:18:06,440 Speaker 1: And as we're saying, all this, we should point out 355 00:18:06,440 --> 00:18:11,240 Speaker 1: that these early kits and sets did not offer things 356 00:18:11,280 --> 00:18:14,199 Speaker 1: like eye protection, like not even a little pair of 357 00:18:14,200 --> 00:18:17,200 Speaker 1: like fun goggles, you know, like, hey kid, these are 358 00:18:17,200 --> 00:18:19,720 Speaker 1: cute and fun. You look like a real scientist if 359 00:18:19,720 --> 00:18:22,640 Speaker 1: you wear these, like just didn't come with them. And 360 00:18:22,680 --> 00:18:24,080 Speaker 1: the whole thing with you know that we tied it 361 00:18:24,080 --> 00:18:26,960 Speaker 1: into earlier with magic. A lot of them have like 362 00:18:27,040 --> 00:18:29,640 Speaker 1: hares or like you know, your science experiments you can do. 363 00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:32,439 Speaker 1: But also here's some just really fun, like sort of 364 00:18:32,520 --> 00:18:34,159 Speaker 1: literal magic tricks you can do. 365 00:18:34,440 --> 00:18:39,880 Speaker 2: Right. There was one that's called the magic handkerchief. And 366 00:18:40,200 --> 00:18:42,320 Speaker 2: you take a handkerchief and you put I think blue 367 00:18:42,320 --> 00:18:44,199 Speaker 2: cobalt on it, and as you dry it out, I 368 00:18:44,200 --> 00:18:48,399 Speaker 2: think it turns white. You're no blue, and you can 369 00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:51,720 Speaker 2: change it to white magically by it instructs you to 370 00:18:51,960 --> 00:18:53,600 Speaker 2: ball it up and rub it in your hands for 371 00:18:53,640 --> 00:18:56,480 Speaker 2: a few minutes. Any magic trick that takes a few 372 00:18:56,520 --> 00:18:59,920 Speaker 2: minutes of repetitive motion is not a magic trick worth doing. 373 00:19:00,320 --> 00:19:04,000 Speaker 2: But it's what was great is it said, now here's 374 00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:06,159 Speaker 2: where you have some fun, and then it went on 375 00:19:06,200 --> 00:19:10,120 Speaker 2: to the next instruction. So these these were really mid 376 00:19:10,160 --> 00:19:14,440 Speaker 2: century written instruction booklets. That really captured the time. If 377 00:19:14,480 --> 00:19:15,160 Speaker 2: you think. 378 00:19:14,960 --> 00:19:17,159 Speaker 3: About it, Shall we take a break? 379 00:19:17,720 --> 00:19:20,520 Speaker 2: Oh my, you bet? 380 00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:22,400 Speaker 1: All right? 381 00:19:22,480 --> 00:19:24,640 Speaker 3: That was very insure, but we're doing it anyway. We'll 382 00:19:24,680 --> 00:19:25,200 Speaker 3: be right back. 383 00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:33,240 Speaker 4: We loss so much stuff from Josh and shuck stuff fui. 384 00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:53,400 Speaker 1: All right, So you're getting these chemistry sets. Another big 385 00:19:53,400 --> 00:19:55,600 Speaker 1: part of the whole sort of branding thing for these 386 00:19:56,400 --> 00:19:59,080 Speaker 1: companies making these and this was just sort of big 387 00:19:59,160 --> 00:20:01,960 Speaker 1: back in those days in the nineteen fifties was. 388 00:20:01,840 --> 00:20:03,199 Speaker 3: Like clubs, like kids clubs. 389 00:20:03,680 --> 00:20:05,600 Speaker 1: So if you got a chemistry set, it was a 390 00:20:05,600 --> 00:20:07,879 Speaker 1: pretty good chance it would come with like a membership 391 00:20:08,359 --> 00:20:11,440 Speaker 1: in like a science club, and there could be local 392 00:20:11,520 --> 00:20:13,840 Speaker 1: chapters that you get together with your friends and things 393 00:20:13,880 --> 00:20:17,800 Speaker 1: you could mail in for Probably a magazine is involved, 394 00:20:18,240 --> 00:20:20,680 Speaker 1: like a quarterly magazine. Certainly in the case of kim 395 00:20:20,800 --> 00:20:23,840 Speaker 1: Kraft they had the Science Club and the Kimcraft Chemists. 396 00:20:23,880 --> 00:20:26,760 Speaker 1: Was there was there rag that they sent out, which 397 00:20:26,840 --> 00:20:29,919 Speaker 1: was usually just ads for more stuff to buy, but 398 00:20:29,960 --> 00:20:33,679 Speaker 1: there are they were like kind of fun little stories 399 00:20:33,880 --> 00:20:36,520 Speaker 1: like where a kid would like save the day through 400 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:38,280 Speaker 1: some cool chemistry experiment. Yeah. 401 00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:42,800 Speaker 2: They seem very Mark Trail esque, Yeah, for sure. So 402 00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:49,160 Speaker 2: in addition to Gilbert was essentially Kimcraft's rival, and Gilbert 403 00:20:49,800 --> 00:20:53,440 Speaker 2: was the company of Alfred Carlton Gilbert, who had invented 404 00:20:53,440 --> 00:20:59,240 Speaker 2: the original Erector Set thirteen that originally was debuted as 405 00:20:59,280 --> 00:21:04,080 Speaker 2: like an engineer's chemistry set. That's what directors were sold 406 00:21:04,119 --> 00:21:07,000 Speaker 2: as is. But so Gilbert was like, well, let's get 407 00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:09,280 Speaker 2: into chemistry too, So they came up with a Gilbert 408 00:21:09,359 --> 00:21:12,840 Speaker 2: Chemistry outfit for boys. So the name of the product 409 00:21:13,640 --> 00:21:16,040 Speaker 2: literally specifies that it's just for boys. 410 00:21:16,960 --> 00:21:19,199 Speaker 1: Yeah, And it had a little astisk and at the 411 00:21:19,280 --> 00:21:22,480 Speaker 1: very bottom it said must have penis. 412 00:21:23,359 --> 00:21:26,159 Speaker 2: On the label too, Like the picture on the box 413 00:21:26,640 --> 00:21:29,399 Speaker 2: had a little boy with his shirt sleeves rolled up, 414 00:21:29,400 --> 00:21:33,080 Speaker 2: wearing a tie doing his chemistry stuff, like an eight 415 00:21:33,119 --> 00:21:34,080 Speaker 2: year old wearing a tie. 416 00:21:34,200 --> 00:21:37,520 Speaker 3: Yeah, this is nineteen twenty. Yeah. Yeah. 417 00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:41,520 Speaker 1: So they found an instruction manual, not from the nineteen 418 00:21:41,560 --> 00:21:45,400 Speaker 1: twenty edition but from nineteen thirty six, and this one 419 00:21:45,480 --> 00:21:48,000 Speaker 1: finally did have a warning here and we should read 420 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:50,840 Speaker 1: this because this is pretty fun. Gilbert Chemistry sets are 421 00:21:50,840 --> 00:21:53,159 Speaker 1: not intended for children who cannot read and understand the 422 00:21:53,200 --> 00:21:57,359 Speaker 1: accompanying instruction books. The sets do not contain dangerous poisons, 423 00:21:57,440 --> 00:22:01,240 Speaker 1: and the chemicals mentioned in this manual are not embraced 424 00:22:01,280 --> 00:22:04,720 Speaker 1: under the term poisons. They're perfectly safe to use if 425 00:22:05,480 --> 00:22:09,639 Speaker 1: handled carefully and intelligently. They're not intended to be taken 426 00:22:09,720 --> 00:22:13,280 Speaker 1: by mouth or swallowed, and no intelligent person would be 427 00:22:13,280 --> 00:22:16,840 Speaker 1: expected to use them for such purposes. So they're shaming. 428 00:22:16,840 --> 00:22:20,040 Speaker 1: At the same time. It is necessary, however, to emphasize 429 00:22:20,040 --> 00:22:22,360 Speaker 1: the fact that carelessness on the part of the experimenter 430 00:22:22,680 --> 00:22:23,800 Speaker 1: can always lead to trouble. 431 00:22:24,320 --> 00:22:26,520 Speaker 2: Yes, and if you ever signed up for Disney Plus, 432 00:22:26,560 --> 00:22:28,520 Speaker 2: you can't sue us if you blow up and burn 433 00:22:28,560 --> 00:22:29,160 Speaker 2: your house. 434 00:22:28,960 --> 00:22:30,960 Speaker 3: Down, exactly. 435 00:22:31,080 --> 00:22:32,960 Speaker 1: And then they have a few tips at the end, 436 00:22:33,080 --> 00:22:34,760 Speaker 1: like you know, never point the open end of a 437 00:22:34,840 --> 00:22:38,480 Speaker 1: test tube that you're heating at anybody. Never just put 438 00:22:38,520 --> 00:22:40,280 Speaker 1: your nose at the end of one while heating to 439 00:22:40,320 --> 00:22:42,680 Speaker 1: smell it, or put your face with your little face 440 00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:43,040 Speaker 1: near it. 441 00:22:43,440 --> 00:22:47,280 Speaker 2: Yep, exactly. So at least Gilbert's this is the thirties, 442 00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:51,040 Speaker 2: mid thirties where Gilbert's like, okay, we need to let 443 00:22:51,160 --> 00:22:53,560 Speaker 2: kids know, like you need to be responsible with this. 444 00:22:54,200 --> 00:22:57,280 Speaker 2: And that was actually I read one of the expectations 445 00:22:57,680 --> 00:23:00,000 Speaker 2: of chemistry sets in the middle of the twentieth century 446 00:23:00,520 --> 00:23:03,840 Speaker 2: that it went to a home populated by a boy 447 00:23:03,880 --> 00:23:08,520 Speaker 2: who had parents that taught that kid responsible stuff, how 448 00:23:08,520 --> 00:23:11,199 Speaker 2: to be responsible, how to handle chemicals correctly, how to 449 00:23:11,240 --> 00:23:13,520 Speaker 2: be safe, how to be smart. That that was kind 450 00:23:13,560 --> 00:23:16,800 Speaker 2: of part and parcel with buying a chemistry set. You 451 00:23:16,960 --> 00:23:19,320 Speaker 2: a parent, didn't just hand it to your kid and say, like, 452 00:23:19,720 --> 00:23:22,000 Speaker 2: leave me alone for a while, like you were supposed 453 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:23,480 Speaker 2: to be involved, at least initially. 454 00:23:23,520 --> 00:23:27,880 Speaker 1: Yeah, at least looking over his shoulder with your least 455 00:23:27,920 --> 00:23:28,520 Speaker 1: pipe in your. 456 00:23:28,400 --> 00:23:30,240 Speaker 2: Mouth and knocking on the door and being like still 457 00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:31,160 Speaker 2: alive in there. 458 00:23:31,280 --> 00:23:35,160 Speaker 3: Right, mom, want you to always knock. 459 00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:39,240 Speaker 1: So we talked a little bit about the sort of 460 00:23:39,359 --> 00:23:42,359 Speaker 1: sexism involved with all this stuff. Is only marketed to boys. 461 00:23:42,840 --> 00:23:46,239 Speaker 1: Pictures of boys literally on the package for boys. In 462 00:23:46,280 --> 00:23:50,159 Speaker 1: some cases that was just the deal, was like boys 463 00:23:50,160 --> 00:23:54,480 Speaker 1: were scientists. Girls were not considered for science. That is 464 00:23:54,560 --> 00:23:57,399 Speaker 1: still a problem. There are so many initiatives these days 465 00:23:58,200 --> 00:24:03,240 Speaker 1: to get young girls into at a young age, very successfully, 466 00:24:03,359 --> 00:24:06,520 Speaker 1: you know, in a lot of cases, but it's still 467 00:24:06,520 --> 00:24:08,680 Speaker 1: a challenge to be a woman in the world of science. 468 00:24:09,400 --> 00:24:11,199 Speaker 1: I think we've heard from plenty of listeners who have 469 00:24:11,320 --> 00:24:15,280 Speaker 1: verified that. But in the nineteen twenties they did the 470 00:24:15,320 --> 00:24:19,119 Speaker 1: Porter Chypical Chemical Company did say, hey, we're some of 471 00:24:19,119 --> 00:24:20,879 Speaker 1: these things to boys. What about the girls, And they 472 00:24:20,880 --> 00:24:25,600 Speaker 1: were like, oh, how about Sashet craft the girl's sachet outfit, 473 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:28,480 Speaker 1: which was chemistry in that it was a way to 474 00:24:28,560 --> 00:24:29,560 Speaker 1: mix perfumes. 475 00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:33,399 Speaker 2: Yeah, making flowery smells from aromatic powders. 476 00:24:34,160 --> 00:24:36,000 Speaker 3: Yeah. It was basically a perfum set. 477 00:24:35,920 --> 00:24:40,280 Speaker 2: Right exactly. And they're still in use today. In Who 478 00:24:40,320 --> 00:24:43,520 Speaker 2: Do Love Potions? And I was looking at some of these, 479 00:24:43,560 --> 00:24:46,240 Speaker 2: and the names of the ones that I could find 480 00:24:46,280 --> 00:24:52,520 Speaker 2: were confusion, Destroy Everything is one of the potions. Follow 481 00:24:52,600 --> 00:24:54,440 Speaker 2: me gal was another one. 482 00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:55,679 Speaker 3: No, I'll have that. 483 00:24:55,800 --> 00:24:58,240 Speaker 2: So you want to steer clear of people using who 484 00:24:58,280 --> 00:25:01,240 Speaker 2: Do Love Potions on you because there's no telling what 485 00:25:01,280 --> 00:25:03,760 Speaker 2: they'll make you do is essentially the thinking behind it. 486 00:25:04,440 --> 00:25:08,520 Speaker 2: But they're made from sashe powders as well, That's why 487 00:25:08,520 --> 00:25:10,480 Speaker 2: I say that. I don't know if that was clear. 488 00:25:12,080 --> 00:25:14,840 Speaker 1: Eventually, in the nineteen sixties, Gilbert finally was like, all right, 489 00:25:14,960 --> 00:25:18,800 Speaker 1: let's make a four girls chemistry set. But even then, 490 00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:22,280 Speaker 1: in the books and stuff, it was like, so you 491 00:25:22,520 --> 00:25:26,000 Speaker 1: too can become a lab technician. A lab technician, Yeah, 492 00:25:26,200 --> 00:25:29,320 Speaker 1: like not, you know, they weren't encouraging you to reach 493 00:25:29,359 --> 00:25:30,920 Speaker 1: for the stars and become a scientist. 494 00:25:31,160 --> 00:25:33,520 Speaker 2: No, it was like, so you could learn what you're 495 00:25:33,520 --> 00:25:36,840 Speaker 2: doing and go assist boy chemists, the real. 496 00:25:36,680 --> 00:25:39,480 Speaker 3: Kind, right, exactly, it's so nuts boo. 497 00:25:40,320 --> 00:25:43,639 Speaker 2: So this was in the sixties. You said that at 498 00:25:43,720 --> 00:25:46,600 Speaker 2: least chemistry sets for girls came out, even if they 499 00:25:46,600 --> 00:25:51,200 Speaker 2: were still derogatory. That was the golden era of chemistry sets, 500 00:25:51,240 --> 00:25:54,119 Speaker 2: the fifties to the sixties. Usually about the early to 501 00:25:54,200 --> 00:25:55,480 Speaker 2: mid sixties, they say. 502 00:25:55,320 --> 00:25:56,280 Speaker 3: We love a golden age. 503 00:25:56,520 --> 00:26:00,320 Speaker 2: Yeah, and this was definitely it. And I've seen in 504 00:26:00,440 --> 00:26:03,240 Speaker 2: multiple places that the reason why this was the golden 505 00:26:03,280 --> 00:26:07,040 Speaker 2: age of chemistry sets was because this was a time 506 00:26:07,080 --> 00:26:11,160 Speaker 2: when America in particular was feeling pretty good about science. 507 00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:14,359 Speaker 2: Not only had America been the first to come up 508 00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:18,520 Speaker 2: with the bomb, we were also making things like nylon. 509 00:26:19,080 --> 00:26:23,080 Speaker 2: We were making more durable goods out of plastics, like 510 00:26:23,520 --> 00:26:27,600 Speaker 2: science was improving people's lives, and at the heart of 511 00:26:27,640 --> 00:26:31,320 Speaker 2: this was chemistry. So there was a real desire to 512 00:26:31,440 --> 00:26:35,800 Speaker 2: keep the party going by creating the next generation of chemists, 513 00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:39,280 Speaker 2: by really going all in onto chemistry sets, and so 514 00:26:39,320 --> 00:26:42,159 Speaker 2: they started selling even better than they ever had before. 515 00:26:43,119 --> 00:26:46,400 Speaker 1: Yeah, the two slogans changed in the fifties and sixties. 516 00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:49,240 Speaker 1: For Kim Kraft, they changed it to porter Science prepares 517 00:26:49,880 --> 00:26:54,320 Speaker 1: young America for world leadership, and Gilbert responded in kind 518 00:26:54,359 --> 00:26:57,879 Speaker 1: with today's adventures in science will create tomorrow's America. And 519 00:26:57,920 --> 00:27:01,399 Speaker 1: it was this idea. I think even a c. Gilbert 520 00:27:01,480 --> 00:27:04,800 Speaker 1: the Founder like included a note that said hello boys, 521 00:27:05,359 --> 00:27:08,120 Speaker 1: that said, Hello boys, the need for chemistry is greater 522 00:27:08,160 --> 00:27:10,959 Speaker 1: now than any point in our country's history. This Gilbert 523 00:27:11,040 --> 00:27:13,080 Speaker 1: Chemistry set may well be the means of launching you 524 00:27:13,920 --> 00:27:17,880 Speaker 1: on a useful and well paying career. So it was like, Hey, 525 00:27:17,920 --> 00:27:20,960 Speaker 1: this is a toy, but if you're interested in science, 526 00:27:21,880 --> 00:27:24,240 Speaker 1: just wait, because there's a career out there waiting for you. 527 00:27:24,440 --> 00:27:26,760 Speaker 2: Yeah, if you like making things catch on fire, wait 528 00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:29,120 Speaker 2: until they pay you money to make things catch on fire. 529 00:27:29,160 --> 00:27:32,080 Speaker 2: You're gonna really like it. And so things just kind 530 00:27:32,080 --> 00:27:35,359 Speaker 2: of started to get like anything they could throw at 531 00:27:35,359 --> 00:27:37,240 Speaker 2: the wall. Because they were selling so many of these, 532 00:27:37,280 --> 00:27:39,600 Speaker 2: they were willing to try a lot more than just 533 00:27:39,720 --> 00:27:42,560 Speaker 2: the standard chemistry set. And one of the ones that 534 00:27:42,640 --> 00:27:47,080 Speaker 2: came out, chuck In I think nineteen fifty is widely considered, 535 00:27:47,800 --> 00:27:51,760 Speaker 2: at least by some the world's most dangerous toy. 536 00:27:52,920 --> 00:27:54,160 Speaker 3: It was it bag of glass. 537 00:27:54,960 --> 00:27:57,800 Speaker 2: It was even worse than that, although I don't know 538 00:27:57,920 --> 00:27:59,639 Speaker 2: at the end of the day, I think bag of 539 00:27:59,680 --> 00:28:00,679 Speaker 2: glass might be worse. 540 00:28:01,760 --> 00:28:03,920 Speaker 1: That, of of course, was from the great Saturday Night 541 00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:07,680 Speaker 1: Live from the seventies, think dan Ackroyd. But we did, 542 00:28:08,080 --> 00:28:09,639 Speaker 1: or maybe you did, back in the day when we 543 00:28:09,640 --> 00:28:12,560 Speaker 1: were tasked with doing what are they called, what do 544 00:28:12,600 --> 00:28:16,320 Speaker 1: we call them image galleries? And you did something on 545 00:28:16,400 --> 00:28:19,240 Speaker 1: dangerous toys, and I think I remember like this was 546 00:28:19,280 --> 00:28:22,000 Speaker 1: in there, because I remember we talked about it, either 547 00:28:22,040 --> 00:28:24,680 Speaker 1: there or in a maybe a podcast or one of 548 00:28:24,720 --> 00:28:28,000 Speaker 1: the videos we used to do about the Atomic energy lab. 549 00:28:28,840 --> 00:28:31,000 Speaker 3: Yeah, it had real uranium in it. 550 00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:33,600 Speaker 2: It did not only did it have four vials of 551 00:28:33,720 --> 00:28:38,040 Speaker 2: actual uranium or super radioactive uranium or well, I should 552 00:28:38,080 --> 00:28:42,040 Speaker 2: say actual radioactive uranium ore. There are also three different 553 00:28:42,080 --> 00:28:46,680 Speaker 2: sources of alpha, beta and gamma particle radiation too, So 554 00:28:46,800 --> 00:28:51,920 Speaker 2: this box was like quite radioactive. It was a legit, 555 00:28:52,240 --> 00:28:56,960 Speaker 2: real deal science box. It had a Geiger counter in it, 556 00:28:57,440 --> 00:29:00,400 Speaker 2: thank god. It had something called the spintherroscope. You could 557 00:29:00,440 --> 00:29:05,800 Speaker 2: look through it's almost like a seeing eyeglass. Now what 558 00:29:05,840 --> 00:29:08,920 Speaker 2: are they called like that, like a captain would like 559 00:29:09,520 --> 00:29:12,280 Speaker 2: pull out the not a telescope. 560 00:29:12,320 --> 00:29:13,600 Speaker 3: Like a sextant. 561 00:29:14,120 --> 00:29:17,240 Speaker 2: No, it's like the telescope that's small and pocket sized 562 00:29:17,280 --> 00:29:21,120 Speaker 2: that telescopes into a smaller version of itself. 563 00:29:21,920 --> 00:29:24,080 Speaker 3: I mean think it's called telescope in it whatever. 564 00:29:24,200 --> 00:29:29,560 Speaker 2: So it's like that, but you can actually watch radioactive 565 00:29:29,840 --> 00:29:33,920 Speaker 2: isotopes decaying under this thing. There was also a cloud 566 00:29:34,040 --> 00:29:37,640 Speaker 2: chamber in there, which is really impressive that they had 567 00:29:37,640 --> 00:29:38,880 Speaker 2: cloud chambers. 568 00:29:39,200 --> 00:29:42,520 Speaker 3: Yeah, is this the thing you sent? Yes? I did 569 00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:45,000 Speaker 3: not get a chance to look over this, so feel free. 570 00:29:45,080 --> 00:29:48,680 Speaker 2: Okay. So a cloud chamber is a specific kind of 571 00:29:49,520 --> 00:29:52,760 Speaker 2: like flask or vial that's set up to hold alcohol 572 00:29:52,880 --> 00:29:56,040 Speaker 2: vapor that in some way shape or form I guess 573 00:29:56,040 --> 00:30:01,640 Speaker 2: through magic. You can see the trails of radioactive particles 574 00:30:01,720 --> 00:30:06,200 Speaker 2: moving through the alcohol vapor, very similar to like a 575 00:30:06,280 --> 00:30:09,160 Speaker 2: contrail from an airplane, if you believe that those are 576 00:30:09,160 --> 00:30:14,000 Speaker 2: actually contrails. Yeah, and the particles, the lower, lesser active 577 00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:19,080 Speaker 2: radioactive particles would kind of zigzag and make little cute lines, 578 00:30:19,160 --> 00:30:21,920 Speaker 2: but that's because they were actually being slowed down by 579 00:30:21,960 --> 00:30:22,960 Speaker 2: the alcohol vapor. 580 00:30:23,080 --> 00:30:23,280 Speaker 3: There. 581 00:30:23,320 --> 00:30:25,560 Speaker 2: Really strong ones would make a nice bold straight line 582 00:30:25,600 --> 00:30:27,520 Speaker 2: through there, and you could just see all these little 583 00:30:27,600 --> 00:30:31,320 Speaker 2: trails of radioactive particles show up in your own personal 584 00:30:31,360 --> 00:30:34,920 Speaker 2: cloud chamber that came in this play set. I know, 585 00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:36,240 Speaker 2: it was really impressive. 586 00:30:37,720 --> 00:30:42,640 Speaker 1: Well, the ones that came with uranium, they had you know, booklets. 587 00:30:42,880 --> 00:30:47,120 Speaker 1: One was called Prospecting for Uranium that taught you how 588 00:30:47,120 --> 00:30:51,640 Speaker 1: to mine a radioactive or so you're thinking, like all right, 589 00:30:51,720 --> 00:30:55,000 Speaker 1: like how literally how dangerous was this? There have been 590 00:30:55,040 --> 00:30:58,800 Speaker 1: modern calculations about, you know, what was contained in these boxes, 591 00:30:59,280 --> 00:31:03,520 Speaker 1: and suppose that the amount of radiation from the uranium 592 00:31:03,560 --> 00:31:05,640 Speaker 1: in one of these sets equaled about a day of 593 00:31:05,800 --> 00:31:09,280 Speaker 1: UV exposure from the sun. So it's not the most 594 00:31:09,360 --> 00:31:11,440 Speaker 1: dangerous thing in the world, but it is pretty funny 595 00:31:11,440 --> 00:31:13,680 Speaker 1: that it came with like actual uranium, right. 596 00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:16,720 Speaker 2: I couldn't find an answer though, like over what period 597 00:31:16,800 --> 00:31:20,080 Speaker 2: of time was it day's worth of UV exposure? Like 598 00:31:20,080 --> 00:31:22,360 Speaker 2: an hour if you spent the day with this thing, 599 00:31:22,840 --> 00:31:25,720 Speaker 2: Like I couldn't quite nail it down. But I'm from 600 00:31:25,720 --> 00:31:29,440 Speaker 2: the context that everybody describes it, and it sounds fairly harmless. 601 00:31:29,960 --> 00:31:32,440 Speaker 1: Yeah, and it's exposure, but like what if it's on 602 00:31:32,480 --> 00:31:34,960 Speaker 1: your skin or gets in your body somehow, your your. 603 00:31:34,920 --> 00:31:36,960 Speaker 3: Teeth, it can't be good. 604 00:31:37,120 --> 00:31:39,720 Speaker 2: So I saw that they only sold about five thousand 605 00:31:39,800 --> 00:31:41,960 Speaker 2: of them, and that it wasn't There's a great Atlas 606 00:31:41,960 --> 00:31:45,120 Speaker 2: Obscure video on this where they talked to a curator 607 00:31:45,120 --> 00:31:48,120 Speaker 2: at a science museum who opens one of these and 608 00:31:48,160 --> 00:31:52,160 Speaker 2: just talks about it, and she said that they were 609 00:31:52,200 --> 00:31:55,120 Speaker 2: discontinued after two years, not because of safety concerns, but 610 00:31:55,160 --> 00:31:57,720 Speaker 2: because they didn't sell very many. Because it was about 611 00:31:57,880 --> 00:32:01,960 Speaker 2: five hundred or something dollars in today's money for these things, 612 00:32:01,960 --> 00:32:04,080 Speaker 2: so most parents weren't like, sure, I'll buy you this, 613 00:32:04,800 --> 00:32:07,000 Speaker 2: you know, atomic lab for five hundred bucks. 614 00:32:07,440 --> 00:32:10,880 Speaker 1: Yeah, And here's the thing, it was just kind of fun. 615 00:32:10,920 --> 00:32:12,680 Speaker 1: We won't read through all these quotes, but a lot 616 00:32:12,720 --> 00:32:16,440 Speaker 1: of you know, legit Nobel winning chemistry chemists over the 617 00:32:16,520 --> 00:32:19,680 Speaker 1: years got their start in chemistry sets. I imagine a 618 00:32:19,680 --> 00:32:23,320 Speaker 1: lot of real deal scientists and chemists had these things 619 00:32:23,320 --> 00:32:26,760 Speaker 1: when they were kids. And we'll read one from Oliver Sacks, 620 00:32:28,040 --> 00:32:30,440 Speaker 1: the neurologist and author, said, I do not think there 621 00:32:30,440 --> 00:32:33,720 Speaker 1: can be any adequate substitute for having a chemistry set 622 00:32:33,800 --> 00:32:37,720 Speaker 1: or a little chemistry lab and doing experiments oneself, thinking 623 00:32:37,800 --> 00:32:41,760 Speaker 1: them out, taking responsibility for them, and occasionally facing risks too. 624 00:32:42,480 --> 00:32:45,080 Speaker 1: So Oliver Sacks talking about risk was one of the 625 00:32:45,120 --> 00:32:49,120 Speaker 1: big sort of cells of chemistry sets for kids, like 626 00:32:49,520 --> 00:32:53,360 Speaker 1: a little bit of danger involved. You know, they were 627 00:32:53,360 --> 00:32:55,280 Speaker 1: fun and all, but I think it was that little 628 00:32:55,280 --> 00:32:57,480 Speaker 1: bit of like, you know, you are making fire, you 629 00:32:57,520 --> 00:33:00,360 Speaker 1: are making things go boom or smoke. That was one 630 00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:04,280 Speaker 1: of the things that appealed to kids and probably still does, yeah. 631 00:33:04,040 --> 00:33:07,680 Speaker 2: For sure. And the problem is is that over time, 632 00:33:08,520 --> 00:33:10,600 Speaker 2: so like kids who were like, I'm really into this 633 00:33:10,640 --> 00:33:12,880 Speaker 2: and I need to learn to be a responsible chemists 634 00:33:12,840 --> 00:33:14,440 Speaker 2: because I want to grow up to be a chemist. 635 00:33:15,800 --> 00:33:18,680 Speaker 2: Over like, there were also kids that got these that 636 00:33:18,720 --> 00:33:20,760 Speaker 2: were not that interested in being a chemist. They just 637 00:33:20,800 --> 00:33:23,440 Speaker 2: wanted to blow things up. And then I think also 638 00:33:23,480 --> 00:33:26,280 Speaker 2: there were kids who were responsible but just had accidents, 639 00:33:26,720 --> 00:33:30,160 Speaker 2: and so there were reports of people burning down their 640 00:33:30,200 --> 00:33:34,760 Speaker 2: family house with these chemistry sets are injuring themselves. And 641 00:33:34,800 --> 00:33:38,760 Speaker 2: that kind of coincided with a couple of things. One 642 00:33:39,280 --> 00:33:44,400 Speaker 2: this increasing interest in protecting kids from toys, and then 643 00:33:44,480 --> 00:33:50,160 Speaker 2: two also a greater emphasis on things like environmental pollutants 644 00:33:50,160 --> 00:33:54,239 Speaker 2: and toxins, and that whole like love of chemistry that 645 00:33:54,320 --> 00:33:57,480 Speaker 2: really carried everybody in the fifties and early sixties was 646 00:33:57,480 --> 00:34:00,840 Speaker 2: starting to be questioned and like, exactly where these chemicals 647 00:34:00,880 --> 00:34:03,200 Speaker 2: doing to us? So you put those two things combined, 648 00:34:03,440 --> 00:34:05,120 Speaker 2: and chemistry sets started. 649 00:34:04,760 --> 00:34:06,960 Speaker 3: To take a hit, Yeah for sure. 650 00:34:07,280 --> 00:34:11,120 Speaker 1: In sixty six, Congress passed the Child Protection Act, which 651 00:34:11,200 --> 00:34:12,480 Speaker 1: you know, all of a sudden you could ban a 652 00:34:12,480 --> 00:34:16,080 Speaker 1: toy that had something dangerous or hazardous in there. A 653 00:34:16,080 --> 00:34:19,560 Speaker 1: couple of years later, the US Department of Health, Education, 654 00:34:19,600 --> 00:34:23,319 Speaker 1: and Welfare they estimated that toys, just all toys, caused 655 00:34:23,320 --> 00:34:28,319 Speaker 1: about seven hundred thousand injuries a year. So more regulations 656 00:34:28,320 --> 00:34:32,040 Speaker 1: were passed in the late sixties and early seventies seventies 657 00:34:32,040 --> 00:34:35,239 Speaker 1: for like you said, just protecting kids from dangers and 658 00:34:35,280 --> 00:34:38,360 Speaker 1: toys and what these toys were made of, in the 659 00:34:38,400 --> 00:34:41,680 Speaker 1: case of chemistry sets, like the chemicals that were in there. 660 00:34:41,920 --> 00:34:46,400 Speaker 2: Yeah. So, like this increasing concern among parents and what 661 00:34:46,520 --> 00:34:49,800 Speaker 2: are in these chemistry sets led to decline in sales, 662 00:34:50,120 --> 00:34:54,960 Speaker 2: and in fact, Porter Chemical and Gilbert the two rivals 663 00:34:54,960 --> 00:34:57,960 Speaker 2: who've made Chemcraft and Gilbert Chemistry sets, were bought by 664 00:34:57,960 --> 00:35:01,319 Speaker 2: a toy maker named Gabriel Toys. You might recognize that 665 00:35:01,440 --> 00:35:06,800 Speaker 2: name from Othello Trouble. The pottery craft activity, a little 666 00:35:06,920 --> 00:35:09,440 Speaker 2: set where you could make your own pottery You remember 667 00:35:09,480 --> 00:35:11,640 Speaker 2: that it was this little pottery wheel. 668 00:35:11,320 --> 00:35:13,239 Speaker 3: And probably remember the box. 669 00:35:13,080 --> 00:35:16,319 Speaker 2: You can you definitely would, but you could recreate that 670 00:35:16,360 --> 00:35:17,360 Speaker 2: scene from Ghost. 671 00:35:17,280 --> 00:35:20,319 Speaker 3: But for cheap Yeah, yeah, as a teenager too. 672 00:35:20,400 --> 00:35:25,040 Speaker 2: Anyway, Gabriel they bought those two in nineteen sixty seven, 673 00:35:25,080 --> 00:35:27,279 Speaker 2: and by the eighties they were like, no chemistry set. 674 00:35:27,400 --> 00:35:30,600 Speaker 2: You just couldn't sell them. Some companies went on like, no, 675 00:35:30,760 --> 00:35:33,880 Speaker 2: we're going to keep the flame going, but they really 676 00:35:33,960 --> 00:35:37,040 Speaker 2: really watered them down starting in the eighties and nineties. 677 00:35:37,880 --> 00:35:39,880 Speaker 1: Yeah, for sure, and that I mean, I guess my 678 00:35:39,920 --> 00:35:42,480 Speaker 1: brother would have had one probably from the seventies, so 679 00:35:42,680 --> 00:35:46,479 Speaker 1: it may have still been a little bit legit. But yeah, 680 00:35:46,480 --> 00:35:49,720 Speaker 1: in the eighties they started literally watering them down, watering 681 00:35:49,760 --> 00:35:54,920 Speaker 1: down the chemicals. Things you know, became plastic, like you 682 00:35:54,960 --> 00:35:58,400 Speaker 1: didn't get glass test tubes and metal scales and stuff 683 00:35:58,440 --> 00:36:00,959 Speaker 1: like that anymore. Like you know, the old kids were 684 00:36:01,520 --> 00:36:04,840 Speaker 1: just sort of smaller condensed versions of like the real deal, 685 00:36:05,360 --> 00:36:07,799 Speaker 1: and that all changed. They just became cheaper, kind of 686 00:36:07,840 --> 00:36:10,960 Speaker 1: like everything else. I think in two thousand and one 687 00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:15,279 Speaker 1: there was a recall of a set called Professor Wacko's 688 00:36:15,320 --> 00:36:21,480 Speaker 1: Exothermic Exuberance that had glycerine and potassium. 689 00:36:22,960 --> 00:36:23,759 Speaker 3: What is that work? 690 00:36:24,040 --> 00:36:24,560 Speaker 2: Manging it? 691 00:36:25,400 --> 00:36:28,719 Speaker 1: Yeah, okay, great, and that could cause things to catch 692 00:36:28,719 --> 00:36:33,640 Speaker 1: on fire and spontaneously combust. These these this particular kid 693 00:36:33,680 --> 00:36:36,920 Speaker 1: had containers with removable lids, but they weren't labeled, so 694 00:36:37,040 --> 00:36:41,040 Speaker 1: kids were mislabeling things or just getting them confused basically 695 00:36:41,160 --> 00:36:43,440 Speaker 1: because there were no labels. And there were two separate 696 00:36:43,440 --> 00:36:46,440 Speaker 1: house fire incidents. So that one was recalled and that 697 00:36:46,600 --> 00:36:49,320 Speaker 1: was I mean that was in the early two thousands. 698 00:36:49,360 --> 00:36:51,120 Speaker 1: It was surprising those were still around. 699 00:36:51,840 --> 00:36:52,080 Speaker 3: Yeah. 700 00:36:52,680 --> 00:36:54,880 Speaker 2: Yeah, I think those people try to throw back to 701 00:36:54,960 --> 00:36:57,160 Speaker 2: like the real deal and it just didn't quite work. 702 00:36:57,760 --> 00:36:57,960 Speaker 4: Yeah. 703 00:36:58,000 --> 00:37:02,680 Speaker 2: There was another one that's YESI Fingerprinting Examination Kit, which 704 00:37:02,719 --> 00:37:06,080 Speaker 2: sounds extremely innocuous, but it was recalled in two thousand 705 00:37:06,080 --> 00:37:08,520 Speaker 2: and seven because they found out that the fingerprint powder 706 00:37:08,560 --> 00:37:11,799 Speaker 2: that you used to dust for prints with had asbestos 707 00:37:11,800 --> 00:37:14,319 Speaker 2: in it. It was up to five percent asbestos, which 708 00:37:14,360 --> 00:37:19,920 Speaker 2: is obviously I think a mesothelioma causing carcinogen. Yeah, so 709 00:37:20,000 --> 00:37:22,640 Speaker 2: that was like no, and parents were like, what are 710 00:37:22,640 --> 00:37:26,480 Speaker 2: you guys doing. Stop selling our kids, Like, we're clearly 711 00:37:26,520 --> 00:37:29,880 Speaker 2: into products safety, Stop selling our kids this stuff. So 712 00:37:30,880 --> 00:37:33,840 Speaker 2: a toymaker named oh, I don't know who made it, 713 00:37:33,880 --> 00:37:36,960 Speaker 2: but they came out with a set called Chemistry sixty 714 00:37:37,480 --> 00:37:40,480 Speaker 2: and they were like, watch this. This is sixty fun 715 00:37:40,600 --> 00:37:42,680 Speaker 2: activities with no chemicals. 716 00:37:43,840 --> 00:37:49,240 Speaker 3: In other words, boring this. This is the irony here. 717 00:37:49,280 --> 00:37:52,280 Speaker 1: Despite that it had no chemicals, it had two kinds 718 00:37:52,360 --> 00:37:55,560 Speaker 1: of safety goggles, the goggles and those little clear safety 719 00:37:55,560 --> 00:37:58,440 Speaker 1: glasses made out of whatever they're made out of, the 720 00:37:58,800 --> 00:37:59,960 Speaker 1: chat non chat or something. 721 00:38:00,160 --> 00:38:02,160 Speaker 2: And to fold it up, nanny who came out of 722 00:38:02,200 --> 00:38:05,560 Speaker 2: the box to hover while all of these experiments are 723 00:38:05,560 --> 00:38:08,359 Speaker 2: going on, and you could get the items that you needed, 724 00:38:08,400 --> 00:38:10,480 Speaker 2: Like you did need some chemicals, but these are like 725 00:38:10,600 --> 00:38:15,560 Speaker 2: kitchen level chemicals like vinegar, baking, soda, that kind of stuff. 726 00:38:15,920 --> 00:38:19,000 Speaker 2: And I thought that was kind of reminiscent. Remember, Dave 727 00:38:19,040 --> 00:38:21,640 Speaker 2: came up with a bunch of quotes of Nobel scientists 728 00:38:21,680 --> 00:38:26,200 Speaker 2: who credit chemistry sets for like increasing their or starting 729 00:38:26,239 --> 00:38:29,160 Speaker 2: their interest in science. There was one other scientist named 730 00:38:29,200 --> 00:38:31,520 Speaker 2: Kerrie Mullis who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 731 00:38:31,600 --> 00:38:35,640 Speaker 2: ninety three, who said that their objective with their chemistry 732 00:38:35,640 --> 00:38:37,600 Speaker 2: set was to figure out what things I might put 733 00:38:37,600 --> 00:38:41,400 Speaker 2: together to cause an explosion, and that they discovered whatever 734 00:38:41,480 --> 00:38:44,200 Speaker 2: chemicals might be missing, they could buy them at the 735 00:38:44,239 --> 00:38:48,920 Speaker 2: local drug store or hardware store, and so like that's 736 00:38:49,040 --> 00:38:51,399 Speaker 2: this is like the antithesis of that, Rather than being 737 00:38:51,440 --> 00:38:53,520 Speaker 2: like I need more explosive stuff or I need this 738 00:38:53,600 --> 00:38:56,040 Speaker 2: other thing to make this explosion happen. I'm going to 739 00:38:56,080 --> 00:38:58,440 Speaker 2: go down to the drug store hardware store. 740 00:38:58,640 --> 00:38:59,000 Speaker 3: This was. 741 00:38:59,120 --> 00:39:01,160 Speaker 2: I'm going to go to the kitchen and make a 742 00:39:01,520 --> 00:39:05,239 Speaker 2: baking soda and vinegar volcano in this chemistry set that 743 00:39:05,280 --> 00:39:07,359 Speaker 2: my parents bought me, and then I'm going to go 744 00:39:07,400 --> 00:39:10,000 Speaker 2: to sleep and maybe hopefully never wake up. 745 00:39:10,520 --> 00:39:10,840 Speaker 3: Right. 746 00:39:12,600 --> 00:39:14,239 Speaker 1: Dave did a little research, though, and found that there 747 00:39:14,280 --> 00:39:16,719 Speaker 1: are some pretty good ones today that you can still get. 748 00:39:17,400 --> 00:39:19,799 Speaker 1: There are some companies that are, you know, trying to 749 00:39:19,800 --> 00:39:22,640 Speaker 1: make a safe version of a real deal chemistry set 750 00:39:22,680 --> 00:39:26,040 Speaker 1: these days. This one called I don't know, it's TIMS 751 00:39:26,160 --> 00:39:29,120 Speaker 1: or Themes in this case, and Cosmos with a K. 752 00:39:30,480 --> 00:39:34,719 Speaker 1: It's called the kim C three thousand, two hundred and 753 00:39:34,719 --> 00:39:38,319 Speaker 1: eighty bucks plus money for chemicals, So it better be 754 00:39:38,360 --> 00:39:39,439 Speaker 1: good for that kind of dough. 755 00:39:40,239 --> 00:39:43,279 Speaker 2: Yeah. It got best overall Chemistry set by the Wall 756 00:39:43,280 --> 00:39:45,480 Speaker 2: Street Journal in two thousand and six. I didn't know 757 00:39:45,520 --> 00:39:47,560 Speaker 2: the Wall Street Journal rated such things. 758 00:39:47,520 --> 00:39:48,919 Speaker 3: But it makes steen years ago. 759 00:39:49,000 --> 00:39:50,960 Speaker 2: It does make sense that they would rate it though, 760 00:39:51,000 --> 00:39:56,960 Speaker 2: because these some of the legit chemistry sets sold today. Therefore, 761 00:39:56,960 --> 00:40:00,200 Speaker 2: like homeschoolers like, who need this kind of stuff? And 762 00:40:00,239 --> 00:40:02,480 Speaker 2: in fact, if you want to plunk down six hundred 763 00:40:02,520 --> 00:40:06,160 Speaker 2: and forty five simoleans, you can get a chemistry set 764 00:40:06,200 --> 00:40:10,280 Speaker 2: that covers an entire year of eleventh grade chemistry. Oh wow, 765 00:40:10,600 --> 00:40:13,760 Speaker 2: pretty neat. I also saw one other reason that chemistry 766 00:40:13,800 --> 00:40:16,279 Speaker 2: sets kind of got watered down over the years are 767 00:40:16,400 --> 00:40:18,799 Speaker 2: meth labs. People were finding like they could actually buy 768 00:40:18,880 --> 00:40:21,040 Speaker 2: these things and use them to make meth. Right, So 769 00:40:21,080 --> 00:40:24,120 Speaker 2: there was another there was another prong to like be like, 770 00:40:24,200 --> 00:40:28,439 Speaker 2: we need to really stop making these legit chemistry sets. Yeah, 771 00:40:29,080 --> 00:40:29,880 Speaker 2: got anything else? 772 00:40:31,239 --> 00:40:32,240 Speaker 3: I got nothing else? 773 00:40:33,719 --> 00:40:37,240 Speaker 1: You know, support support science for your for your kids, 774 00:40:37,600 --> 00:40:40,000 Speaker 1: little little girls, little boys, get them, get them a 775 00:40:40,040 --> 00:40:40,680 Speaker 1: chemistry set. 776 00:40:40,800 --> 00:40:42,240 Speaker 3: Very nice, That's what I say. 777 00:40:42,360 --> 00:40:45,839 Speaker 2: That's right. Since Chuck gave us a nice PSA, it's 778 00:40:45,920 --> 00:40:47,640 Speaker 2: time of course for a listener, mate. 779 00:40:50,239 --> 00:40:52,640 Speaker 1: I'm going to call this all caught up. Hey, everybody 780 00:40:52,719 --> 00:40:55,000 Speaker 1: got hooked on your show. In twenty nineteen, after a 781 00:40:55,040 --> 00:40:56,839 Speaker 1: few weeks of listening, I decided I had to listen 782 00:40:56,920 --> 00:40:59,760 Speaker 1: to all of it, and after five years, I finally 783 00:41:00,080 --> 00:41:03,600 Speaker 1: have completed that task. Just finished listening to the Judas 784 00:41:03,680 --> 00:41:07,000 Speaker 1: Priest suicide trial during a morning trail run, and now 785 00:41:07,000 --> 00:41:08,520 Speaker 1: I feel like I have a little void in my life. 786 00:41:08,520 --> 00:41:10,880 Speaker 1: You guys having to wait patiently throughout the week for 787 00:41:10,960 --> 00:41:13,600 Speaker 1: new content. I often listen for hours on end during 788 00:41:13,600 --> 00:41:18,000 Speaker 1: trail runs training for ultra marathons. By the way, Josh 789 00:41:18,040 --> 00:41:22,360 Speaker 1: has many times called them ultrathons, which never fails to 790 00:41:22,400 --> 00:41:23,120 Speaker 1: give me a chuckle. 791 00:41:25,000 --> 00:41:26,120 Speaker 3: Ultrathon is that another thing? 792 00:41:26,560 --> 00:41:30,400 Speaker 2: I think they're called ultra marathons. Ultrathon is like a 793 00:41:30,440 --> 00:41:34,520 Speaker 2: bad guy on in a character Yeah, and some Japanese anime. 794 00:41:35,360 --> 00:41:36,400 Speaker 3: Yeah. I like ultrathon. 795 00:41:36,800 --> 00:41:40,160 Speaker 1: Your voices and content, guys, always give me keep me 796 00:41:40,200 --> 00:41:42,400 Speaker 1: in a positive mood, even when I'm at the point 797 00:41:42,440 --> 00:41:45,440 Speaker 1: of exhaustion. You've been with me and my wife through 798 00:41:45,480 --> 00:41:48,560 Speaker 1: some big life events, our marriage, multiple cross country moves, 799 00:41:48,600 --> 00:41:49,520 Speaker 1: new jobs. 800 00:41:49,440 --> 00:41:52,640 Speaker 3: And now a new baby in a few weeks. 801 00:41:53,360 --> 00:41:55,200 Speaker 1: And by the time this comes out, that baby will 802 00:41:55,200 --> 00:41:58,600 Speaker 1: be around, I would imagine, because we're ahead by a 803 00:41:58,600 --> 00:41:59,439 Speaker 1: few weeks at this point. 804 00:41:59,520 --> 00:42:01,279 Speaker 3: So keep up the great work, guys. 805 00:42:02,040 --> 00:42:04,080 Speaker 1: I can continue to share this and enjoy it with 806 00:42:04,080 --> 00:42:07,120 Speaker 1: my family as it grows by one. Maybe a long shot, 807 00:42:07,160 --> 00:42:08,440 Speaker 1: but I'd love to see a live show up here 808 00:42:08,480 --> 00:42:11,360 Speaker 1: in Halifax, Nova Scotia. That you get a couple one 809 00:42:11,400 --> 00:42:15,239 Speaker 1: hundred people in a room here, that's for Matt. Well, Matt, 810 00:42:15,239 --> 00:42:17,520 Speaker 1: we got a couple of hundred people in a room 811 00:42:17,520 --> 00:42:18,080 Speaker 1: in Atlanta. 812 00:42:19,719 --> 00:42:22,040 Speaker 2: Yeah, we can't get worse than that, right. 813 00:42:22,280 --> 00:42:25,840 Speaker 1: Yeah, I'd rather go to Halifax than have a hometown 814 00:42:25,880 --> 00:42:26,880 Speaker 1: show be under sold. 815 00:42:26,960 --> 00:42:29,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, you got any barns in Halifax, Matt. That we 816 00:42:29,640 --> 00:42:30,279 Speaker 2: can do is. 817 00:42:30,239 --> 00:42:32,319 Speaker 3: Showing that Bet Matt has a barn. 818 00:42:33,000 --> 00:42:37,920 Speaker 2: Well. Congratulations in advance retroactively to you and your family 819 00:42:38,040 --> 00:42:42,080 Speaker 2: for your baby's birth. And if you want to get 820 00:42:42,120 --> 00:42:44,640 Speaker 2: in touch with us like Matt did and tell us 821 00:42:44,719 --> 00:42:48,759 Speaker 2: how much we've kept you going on your ultrathons, you 822 00:42:48,840 --> 00:42:51,560 Speaker 2: can do so by sending us an email to Stuff 823 00:42:51,600 --> 00:42:56,560 Speaker 2: podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. 824 00:42:56,719 --> 00:42:59,040 Speaker 4: Stuff you Should Know is a production of iHeartRadio. 825 00:42:59,520 --> 00:43:02,720 Speaker 3: For more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 826 00:43:02,920 --> 00:43:05,800 Speaker 3: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.