Re: xkcd: Good and Bad Ideas

In article <robertaw-D0AFE2.21530207052024@news.individual.net>,
Robert Woodward  <robertaw@drizzle.com> wrote:

In article <v1e9i1$3gl7l$1@dont-email.me>,
Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
>

xkcd: Good and Bad Ideas
    https://xkcd.com/2929/
 
We would have lost WWII without leaded gasoline. 

>
The Germans had leaded gasoline and they lost.
>

The bombers and fighters both required 100+ octane gasoline which was only
achievable using massive quantities of tetra-ethyl lead in those days.

>
What about the processes of cracking longer hydrocarbon chains down to 8
carbon chains?
>

I've always remembered Ellery's poor rabbit:

"I'll lay on," returned Prouty grimly. "You're right--I met
with a violent obstruction. I've had some little experience,
if you'll pardon the professional modesty, in examining the
innards of deceased ladies and gentlemen, but I'll confess
I never saw 'em in such a mess as this chap Field's.
Seriously, Jones will attest to the truth of that. His
aesophagus, for example, and the entire tracheal tract
looked as if some one had taken a blowtorch and played it
gently over his insides."

"What was it--couldn't have been bichloride of mercury,
could it, Doc?" asked Ellery, who prided himself on a
complete ignorance of the exact sciences.

"Hardly," growled Prouty. "But let me tell you what happened.
I analyzed for every poison on the calendar, and although
this one had familiar petroleum components I couldn't place
it exactly. Yes, sir--I was stumped good and proper. And
to let you in on a secret--the Medical Examiner himself,
who thought I was pie-eyed from overwork, made a stab at
it with his own fine Italian hand. The net result in his
case, my boys, was zero. And the M. E.'s not exactly a
novice either when it comes to chemical analysis. So we
surrendered the problem to our fountainhead of learning.
Let him spout his own story."

Dr. Thaddeus Jones cleared his throat forbiddingly. "Thank
you, my friend, for a most dramatic introduction," he said
in his deep lumbering voice. "Yes, Inspector, the remains
were turned over to me, and in all seriousness, I want to
say here and now that my discovery was the most startling
the Toxicologist's office has made in fifteen years!"

"My, my!" murmured Queen, taking a pinch of snuff. "I'm
beginning to respect the mentality of our friend the murderer.
So many things point to the unusual lately! And what did
you find, Doctor?"

"I took it for granted that Prouty and the Medical Examiner
had done the preliminaries very well," began Dr. Jones,
crossing his bony knees. "They generally do. And so, before
anything else, I analyzed for the obscure poisons. Obscure,
that is to say, from the standpoint of the criminal user.
To show you how minutely I searched--I even thought of that
favorite standby of our friends the fiction writers: curare,
the South American toxin which makes the grade in four out
of five detective stories. But even that sadly abused member
of the toxic family disappointed me . . . ."

Ellery leaned back and laughed. "If you're referring in a
mildly satirical way to my profession, Dr. Jones, let me
inform you that I have never used curare in any of my
novels."

The toxicologist's eyes twinkled. "So you're one of them,
too, eh? Queen, old man," he added dolorously, turning to
the Inspector, who was thoughtfully chewing on a piece of
French pastry, "allow me to offer you my condolences . . .
. At any rate, gentlemen, let me explain that in the case
of rare poisons we can generally come to a definite conclusion
without much trouble--that is, rare poisons that are in the
pharmacopoeia. Of course, there are any number of rare
poisons of which we have no knowledge whatever--Eastern
drugs particularly.

"Well, to make a long story short, I found myself faced
with the unpleasant conclusion that I was up a tree." Dr.
Jones chuckled in reminiscence. "It wasn't a pleasant
conclusion. The poison I analyzed had certain properties
which were vaguely familiar, as Prouty has said, and others
which didn't jibe at all. I spent most of yesterday evening
mulling over my retorts and testtubes, and late last night
I suddenly got the answer."

Ellery and Queen sat up straight and Dr. Prouty relaxed in
his chair with a sigh, reaching for a second cup of coffee.
The toxicologist uncrossed his legs, his voice booming more
terrifyingly than ever.

"The poison that killed your victim, Inspector, is known
as tetra ethyl lead!"

To a scientist this announcement, in Dr. Jones's profoundest
tones, might have carried a dramatic quality. To the Inspector
it meant less than nothing. As for Ellery, he murmured,
"Sounds like a mythological monster to me!"

Dr. Jones went on, smiling. "So it hasn't impressed you
much, eh? But let me tell you a little about tetra ethyl
lead. It is almost odorless--to be more exact, it resembles
chloroform in physical appearance. Point number one. Point
number two--it has an odor--faint, to be sure--but distinctly
like that of ether. Point number three--it is fearfully
potent. So potent--but let me illustrate just what this
devilishly powerful chemical substance will do to living
tissue."

By this time the toxicologist had gained the entire attention
of his audience.

"I took a healthy rabbit, of the sort we use for experiment,
and painted--just painted, mind you--the tender area behind
the creature's ear with an undiluted dose of the stuff.
Remember, this was not an internal injection. It was merely
a painting of the skin. It would have to be absorbed through
the dermis before it reached the bloodstream. I watched the
rabbit for an hour--and after that I didn't have to watch
him any more. He was as dead as any dead rabbit I ever saw."

"That doesn't seem so powerful to me, Doctor," protested
the Inspector.

"It doesn't, eh? Well, take my word for it that it's
extraordinary. For a mere daubing of whole, healthy skin--I
tell you, I was astounded. If the skin had an incision of
some sort, or if the poison were administered internally,
that would be a different story. You can imagine, therefore,
what happened to Field's insides when he swallowed the
stuff--and he swallowed plenty!"

Ellery's brow was wrinkled in thought. He began to polish
the lenses of his pince-nez.

"And that isn't all," resumed Dr. Jones. "As far as I
know--and I have been in the service of the city for God
knows how many years, and I've not kept uninformed about
the progress of my science in other parts of the world,
either--as far as I know, tetra ethyl lead has never before
been used for criminal purposes!"
--
columbiaclosings.com
What's not in Columbia anymore..