William's warning, the deadly dangers of glowsticks!

[butter scotch 79]

Ok so at the weekend it was my b-day party! We had glowsticks and my friend broke one and placed it on the desk with all my equipment. Luckily nothing was damaged apart from a book, a few documents and... a fairly expensive but old phone.

I never thought it would be this corrosive though:

 

Picture 1

Picture 2

Picture 3

Picture 4

 

 

Picture 1: Battery cover, it was the same leathery texture as the rest of the phone. Now it's a flakey, rubbery mess even after cleaning!

 

Picture 2: Micro-SD slot, it got in there and corroded the terminals. Right bugger to get the usually easy to remove cover off because the plastic had almost welded itself together.

 

Picture 3: Back of the phone, as you can see it melted the battery panel and went into the phone itself, the battery is rubbish now and the cover doesn't fit back on!

 

Picture 4: Comparison from before glowstick chemicals to after, the circle is where I had a sticker which protected that patch there. It was leathery now it's smooth and darker as well as quite brittle.

 

My point is though glowsticks are fucking dangerous, if it had gotton onto my cables or laptop or even more onto my phone it would have started a fire.

[sleepyhead. 174]

You broke a glowstick. What did you expect? Glow sticks aren't dangerous unless you dick around with them. And if it was broken, why didn't you throw it out?

 

Don't blame glow sticks because you didn't know how to dispose of it properly.

 

Actually, I found this article: http://www.ehow.com/facts_5326898_glow-sticks-dangerous.html

 

Point still stands.

Edited October 15, 2012 by sleepyhead.

[Alleviate 342]

Woah!

I mean, I knew Glowsticks were kinda poisonous an' stuff, But this corrosive? That's almost battery acid level (That does start a fire...On contact with pretty much anything.) I'm now thinking that Raves are possibly the most dangerous places to be in the world now...Imagine that on skin....

Just out of curiosity, what happened to the book? Completely burnt-through or just that annoying semi-burnt stuff you get from K-Hydro...Which kinda hurts on skin-contact...

[Viscra Maelstrom 3,718]

well, duh. it's a glowing liquid inside of a plastic tube. of course it's going to be unsafe if it gets out like most chemical substances when not taken care of properly.. a lot of things are dangerous, too. subways and commuter trains have power lines containing an incredibly dangerous voltage inside of them, for example. as long as you're level-headed and have a certain level of sense in your head you're not going to come in contact with either power-line and die instantly. not saying you're lacking of a certain level of sense, but you should think twice before putting damaged items with a substance that can leak out in the open like that.

[Kelvocity 211]

That was certainly an interesting read.

 

I'm not sure you didn't just immediately throw it away when it broke. I knew glowsticks were bad, but not THIS bad. Was this one of those one-dollar, one-time use glowsticks, or was it one of those more expensive, yet more permanent glowsticks? The warning label on my one-dollar glowsticks doesn't say anything about the contents of the sticks being this dangerous.

[Marcato 2,143]

When I was younger, I broke a glowstick once. My parents told me to run and wash my hands and throw the thing out. Now, I understand why.

 

That's rubbish, why did your friend put it down with all your equipment like that? Considering he should have noticed those things leak, you think he would have also figured liquid+electronics=BAD if he didn't know the stuff was corrosive.

 

Anyway, I hope you are able to get a new phone and that nothing else was damaged too much. That's real unfortunate mate.

[butter scotch 79]

well, duh. it's a glowing liquid inside of a plastic tube. of course it's going to be unsafe if it gets out like most chemical substances when not taken care of properly.. a lot of things are dangerous, too. subways and commuter trains have power lines containing an incredibly dangerous voltage inside of them, for example. as long as you're level-headed and have a certain level of sense in your head you're not going to come in contact with either power-line and die instantly. not saying you're lacking of a certain level of sense, but you should think twice before putting damaged items with a substance that can leak out in the open like that.

 

That was certainly an interesting read.

 

I'm not sure you didn't just immediately throw it away when it broke. I knew glowsticks were bad, but not THIS bad. Was this one of those one-dollar, one-time use glowsticks, or was it one of those more expensive, yet more permanent glowsticks? The warning label on my one-dollar glowsticks doesn't say anything about the contents of the sticks being this dangerous.

 

Woah!

I mean, I knew Glowsticks were kinda poisonous an' stuff, But this corrosive? That's almost battery acid level (That does start a fire...On contact with pretty much anything.) I'm now thinking that Raves are possibly the most dangerous places to be in the world now...Imagine that on skin....

Just out of curiosity, what happened to the book? Completely burnt-through or just that annoying semi-burnt stuff you get from K-Hydro...Which kinda hurts on skin-contact...

 

You broke a glowstick. What did you expect? Glow sticks aren't dangerous unless you dick around with them. And if it was broken, why didn't you throw it out?

 

Don't blame glow sticks because you didn't know how to dispose of it properly.

 

Actually, I found this article: http://www.ehow.com/...-dangerous.html

 

Point still stands.

 

Look, it was my FRIEND not me...

How am I supposed to know when I wasn't even there for most fo the day...

Don't tell me about not "dicking" around with chemicals, I'm a scientist I handle everything

from Acetone to Aqua Regia...

[sleepyhead. 174]

All I'm saying is that glowsticks are generally safe, otherwise they wouldn't be sold. I only read that the chemicals are harmful if ingested or come into skin contact. (Of course that means breaking them, I personally wouldn't break a glow stick. They're pretty.) I haven't read anything about them coming into contact with inanimate objects and corroding them.

 

And well, then it was your friend's fault. Why he set it on a desk with a bunch of electronics instead of throwing it away is beyond me.

 

Sucks about your stuff bro. :T

[be my waifu 2,842]

When I was about 3 I chewed on a glowstick and it broke, causing the goop to cover my front teeth.

 

Might be why I'm mentally unstable nowadays

[Sakamoto 103]

By the glorious Kraken. All that damage, it was all because of a single glowstick?

 

 

Yep, I guess I got the best idea on what to do on the next April Fool!

[Titan Rising 2,156]

hmm, i wonder if I could fashion a nozzle onto the glowstick containers so I can spray it at my enemies... Maybe i could even just poke a hole at the tip so I can pump it out by squeezing the stick.

 

Could prove quite effective in a tight spot, thanks for the tip.

Edited October 17, 2012 by Hollowshield

[Sakamoto 103]

i wonder if I could fashion a nozzle onto the glowstick containers so I can spray it at my enemies

Hydrochloric Acid do a much better job than that, and far more expensive

 

Better crack some glowsticks and drop them around their precious belongings, and run the fuck away. You should be far enough to get some alibi when the damage is done

[Lost 1,410]

A few years back i had some cheap glowsticks (they were 4 for £1) and i broke one to light it, but it actually split the outer layer of the glowstick, the chemicals inside sprayed across my face and into my right eye, i ran to a bathroom to wash it out, but i still suffered permanent damage. I'm short sighted as it is, but my right eye is now worse than my left.

 

The moral of the story is, don't buy cheap glowsticks, they seem to break easier.

[butter scotch 79]

hmm, i wonder if I could fashion a nozzle onto the glowstick containers so I can spray it at my enemies... Maybe i could even just poke a hole at the tip so I can pump it out by squeezing the stick.

 

Could prove quite effective in a tight spot, thanks for the tip.

 

I found that it made my skin itch like there was no tomorrow!

No flaking or burns though but still, itchy!

I agree about using an acid.

[Whiteshade 1,426]

I once ate a glowstick when I was young... I was puking and coughing and crying for like 3 hours straight. Good times, good times.

[Viscra Maelstrom 3,718]

Look, it was my FRIEND not me...

How am I supposed to know when I wasn't even there for most fo the day...

Don't tell me about not "dicking" around with chemicals, I'm a scientist I handle everything

from Acetone to Aqua Regia...

 

oh, i see. i took it as you were there when he was around and could have prevented this disaster from happening.

i guess the solution is to buy better glowsticks that don't break as easily as that one did, to prevent a second disaster from occurring.

[cuteycindyhoney 13,307]

When I was young and stupid, I was going to cut open a bunch of glow sticks and put the juice into a jar. Then I was going to break all the little glass tubes of the catalyst into it. My brother told my mom and she wouldn't let me!

 

Here's a totally relevant video!