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German students turn blue.

Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2021 8:10 pm
by Boustrophedon
Apparently there has been an incidence of poisoning at Darmstadt Technical University, with students feeling nauseous and with their extremities turning blue. The poison seems to have been added to bottles of free water or milk at the residences and was discovered because of an acrid smell.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/ ... -turn-blue

Now what smells acrid and turns your extremities blue?

Re: German students turn blue.

Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2021 8:37 pm
by WFJ
Some sort of silver solution? Maybe some colloidal silver quack thought they were doing the students a favour by dosing them.

Re: German students turn blue.

Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2021 8:57 pm
by jdc
Is it cyanide?

Re: German students turn blue.

Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2021 9:06 pm
by Bird on a Fire
Could be nitrate/nitrite poisoning too. That'll make you go blue and smell nasty.

Re: German students turn blue.

Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2021 9:07 pm
by Bird on a Fire
jdc wrote:
Tue Aug 24, 2021 8:57 pm
Is it cyanide?
I don't want to alarm you, but your username seems to be turning blue. Have you been drinking milk with German students again?

Re: German students turn blue.

Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2021 4:03 pm
by Boustrophedon
Turns out it was 1,4-Butanediol, bromophenols anddicyclohexylamine. (Scroll to bottom of article.)

None of which explains the blue colour.

More here: https://www.stern.de/panorama/stern-cri ... 87682.html

Re: German students turn blue.

Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2021 4:20 pm
by Bird on a Fire
Weird and interesting.

I'd guess in Germany it's sold as a (questionably) "legal high" for parties, as it's a GHB precursor. Which might broaden opportunities for access beyond chemistry departments a little.

Doesn't sound like a rave gone wrong, though - reports make it sound like deliberate poisoning.

Though I also wonder if it would work as a "date rape" (there may be a better term?) drug, given the effects.