> Vitaliy wrote:
>> Apptech wrote:
>>
>> Oh yeah, that certainly explains certain things, like 
>> your tendency to...
>> no, Russell, I'd say that you have suffered absolutely no 
>> ill effects. ;-)

>> I remember reading somewhere that in the olden times 
>> patients suffering from
>> twisted bowels were made to drink a pint of mercury to 
>> straighten them out.
>> I'm curious if there are any records of what happened to 
>> these patients.
>>
>> There's no doubt that mercury poisoning is real, but I 
>> think it takes more
>> than a single exposure to get a harmful dose.

> Mad as a hatter, 'e wuz, guvnor, mad as a hatter!

For those who miss Marcel's allusion.
Hat makers, aka "Hatters" used to employ mercury in the 
felting process whereby threads of wool etc are made into a 
continuous sheet. So mercury poisoning was a trade hazard 
and hatters often "went mad" as a consequence - hence the 
phrase "mad as a hatter".


        Russell


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