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The Maya coveted mercury. It may have hastened their downfall.
bigthink.com ^

Posted on 08/17/2023 6:56:49 AM PDT by BenLurkin

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To: BenLurkin

As ways to poison your empire with heavy metals goes, mercury is cooler than lead. Romans at least can claim some practical usage of lead in plumbing but it was lead acetate used to sweeten the wine that really did them in.


21 posted on 08/17/2023 9:09:47 AM PDT by Flying Circus
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To: Worldtraveler once upon a time

“Thinking of “lead in paint chips” and small children versus the situation of small children in Democrat-led inner cities today, I’d pick paint chips over being shot at.”

Something important in what you say here about the paint chips. “Who” did the studies and was their agenda honest and unbiased? Or was there a psyops behind it? And would they purposely fudge the studies to fit an agenda?

https://thecraftsmanblog.com/lead-paint-the-whole-story/

Reminds me of a study that came out when I was about 12. The state of Ca produced a “study” that claimed milk causes cancer. It killed the dairy industry for about three years before it started to come back again.

Turns out they hid the true whole story. The true facts were that you would have to drink a truck load a day for 300 years for milk to “possibly” give you cancer.

This is how they fudge these things to fit an agenda. When they say something “may cause cancer” it could be three consecutive lifetimes before it actually will. They hide that inconvenient fact.


22 posted on 08/17/2023 9:16:40 AM PDT by Openurmind (The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world it leaves to its children. ~ D. Bonhoeffer)
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To: 9422WMR
Did the same back in the 70’s, and took it to school, and a teacher used it as a prop one day for teaching about mercury.

Surprised I haven't gone mad as a hatter by now!

23 posted on 08/17/2023 10:31:31 AM PDT by Pox (Eff You China. Buy American!)
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To: GaltAdonis

Very nice collection of vermillion-named things! Thanks for doing that.


24 posted on 08/17/2023 11:22:22 AM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom (We are proles, they are nobility.)
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To: Getready

Fentanyl.


25 posted on 08/17/2023 11:51:37 AM PDT by nwrep
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To: Openurmind

“We used to play with it as kids. Use it in high school labs

My guess is that the vapor may do you harm. I suspect the vapor pressure at room temperatures is pretty low so there won’t be much in the air from the from the small bulbs you chased around on your desk. Would probably need to breath a bunch of the dust that flies out when you break a florescent light bulb. Any florescent light bulb engineers out with some real data?


26 posted on 08/17/2023 12:10:39 PM PDT by Western Phil
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To: ProtectOurFreedom
You are most welcome! It was my pleasure!


27 posted on 08/17/2023 12:11:14 PM PDT by GaltAdonis
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To: GaltAdonis

Does Joe eat Vermillion flavored Ice Cream?


28 posted on 08/17/2023 12:11:42 PM PDT by Scrambler Bob
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To: ProtectOurFreedom
Vermillion Red 2002 Ford - Paint Cross Reference -


29 posted on 08/17/2023 12:14:36 PM PDT by GaltAdonis
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To: Scrambler Bob
I don't know.

.

1. What does Vermillion Ice Cream taste like?

2. Is it poisonous?


30 posted on 08/17/2023 12:21:18 PM PDT by GaltAdonis
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To: BenLurkin

Fast & Bulbous


31 posted on 08/17/2023 12:23:31 PM PDT by P.O.E. (Pray for America.)
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To: GaltAdonis

LOL...some vermillion objects are not like others!


32 posted on 08/17/2023 12:44:11 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom (We are proles, they are nobility.)
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To: BenLurkin; nickcarraway
Thanks for posting this. It's fascinating history. I had no idea that mercury was used by the Maya.

In Santa Clara County, CA, we have the New Almaden mine that was named after the Almaden mercury mine in Spain. The (old) Almadén, Spain mine had operated since at least Roman times. It is now the Almaden Quicksilver County Park and has some spectacular hiking. You still see cinnabar ore outcroppings all over the place. The mine was a major player in the California Gold Rush as the mercury creates an amalgam with gold to remove the gold from the crushed rock.

By 1863, the mine was a huge operation:

Today, there are three ghost towns there and an old retort that stopped operating in the 1970s. You can still see the rotary ore furnace and the condensers that condensed the mercury vapor. Unfortunately it is falling into ruins and much of it will collapse in the coming years.


33 posted on 08/17/2023 12:56:41 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom (We are proles, they are nobility.)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom; BenLurkin

Of course, the Maya Mercury. I think the Mercury Comet was their favorite muscle car.


34 posted on 08/17/2023 2:30:47 PM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: ProtectOurFreedom; BenLurkin
On a serious note, I'm glad you brought up AQCP. The mercury from the mine was necessary for the Gold Rush =, to purify, the gold. There is another abandoned mercury mine about an hour South of AQCP called New Idria. Both Almaden and Idria Were the largest mercury nines in Spain.

Almaden is from Arabic - from the time Spain was occupied by the Moors.

And the 34 miles of hiking trails are great.

35 posted on 08/17/2023 2:40:49 PM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway
I always thought New Idria was named after the Spanish mine, too, but it is actually named after Idrija (Slovenia), where mercury was first found in 1490 AD. The Idrija and Almaden sites comprise a UNESCO world heritage site.

New Idria was the second most productive mercury mine in North America, producing over 38 million pounds of mercury during its lifetime. Mercury mining operations ceased in 1972, with the closure of the New Idria Quicksilver Mining Company.


36 posted on 08/17/2023 2:49:51 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom (We are proles, they are nobility.)
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To: Western Phil

I grew up with miners who used it to amalgamate gold and silver. Yes... They never sat downwind when they were burning it off.


37 posted on 08/17/2023 3:16:01 PM PDT by Openurmind (The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world it leaves to its children. ~ D. Bonhoeffer)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

“where mercury was first found in 1490 AD.”

I have to disagree... It has been running out of the hills forever all over the world. Someone just finally noticed and documented it.

“First found “ is not “it didn’t exist before it was first found”

Why is it man always tries to take credit for nature timeless?

“I Invented fire!” No you were lucky and lightening stuck close to you...


38 posted on 08/17/2023 3:24:55 PM PDT by Openurmind (The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world it leaves to its children. ~ D. Bonhoeffer)
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To: Vermont Lt

It’s awash in Satanism.


39 posted on 08/17/2023 6:54:21 PM PDT by fieldmarshaldj (America Owes Anita Bryant An Enormous Apology)
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