this post was submitted on 27 Jun 2025
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I think it was when we got to toxic metals and radioactive elements that chemists where forced to stop tasting their discoveries.
I hope it went: Safety person: Hey! Stop tasting any elements or new molecules. It's been getting people severely sick or killed!
Chemist: "Ugh, fine, but ima bitch about it the whole time"
It's coincidentally when we started getting radiation poisoning. Correlation? Causation? The younger generation is so weak smh.
I can still huff them though, right? How else will I know when my reaction is done?
I believe the guy who tasted plutonium did so accidentally when the powder got in his mouth. The metallic taste probably has something to do with how radioactive it is.
Or the fact that it’s, y’know, a metal
idk man. the tins I'm drinking out of don't really 'taste metallic', whereas when I got shot up with radioactive elements, I definitely described it as "having a metallic taste in my mouth".
(Oh and the answer is 'radiology' — shooting people up with radioactive elements is literally everyday stuff. There's a whole branch of medicine about it; "nuclear medicine.")
I know you deleted the reply, but I could still see it on Sync in my notifications.
I know tins have plastic liners, but like, normal forks and knives don't taste metallic. Something something interaction with the metal. I think coins wouldn't smell metallic if you wash them properly and then don't touch them with bare skin.
But I'm sure that's not what's happening when you're having a radioactive dye injected. It's a different metallic sensation.
And yes, my taste buds are in my mouth. The radioactive dye is injected into my circulatory system, which also circulates the blood in my mouth, which has my tastebuds.
I think some comedian has a bit sort of related? Holup I'll look for it,
Can't find it. I was thinking maybe Jim Jefferies, or John Mulaney, then maybe Ali Siddiq or Theo Von. Nah. Just can't recall. Anyway a standup comedian is impressed by some really crusty junkie comments on the quality of the drugs they inject, because they can taste the fillers through.
The point being it's surprising how you can taste things in your blood.