“How strong is this force?” “Oh, like, *so* strong. It can absolutely crush a soda can” “…like, a full one or something?” “No, like, one experiencing a vacuum” “Huh.” #books#gas
Humphry Davy, the doctor who tested nitrous oxide as a cure for disease, discovered: getting stoned. It will not surprise you to find out that he immediately set up group hangouts with his artist friends to all “test” it together #books#gas
Samuel Colt, yes, that one, the one who makes the revolver, funded his early experiments in firearms by doing laughing gas presentations. And I need you to see the advertisement used for them, just trust me, there’s so much going on #books#gas
Miodownik has this incredible ability to drop completely sincere statements into his text that are both charming and the beginning post of an absolutely unhinged thread #books#gas
I found this so impossible to believe that I had to look it up: trumpets with valves really *were* invented in 1818. They’re younger than the United States. This is a chapter about carbon dioxide, btw #books#gas
I need to express just how silly and fun this chapter about carbon dioxide is. Miodownik really does have a gift for this kind of information sharing. I’ve laughed out loud more than once, like when he describes an inflatable bed as “anarchic” #books#gas
