You could just buy a professional destillery system, but unfortunatly the state doesn't allow it. And people make their own product because the state regulate and tax alcohol, making it quite expensive. If you really want to stop such things as home distillation, just remove regulations and taxes on alcohol.
Usually when I hear about illegal activities resulting in an explosion, it involves a far more interesting product than a make-your-own-wine kit as Tesco (note: I know, shining and all, but this enhances the never-doing-it concept). Coincidentally, when I hear illegal production activities just setting something on fire, it's often a far more popular and far less lethal product.
What a stupid video. How else to people learn how to distill? The thing he could have easily said was, "Distill it in an open space, ensure there are no leaks." Instead he implies that somehow legality equates to your knowledge of distillation safety.
Does he think the entire government of New Zealand is simply stupid for allowing "unprofessional amateurs" to distill their own alcohol at home?
When I was at university and taking organic chemistry years ago, a bad thing happened in lab one afternoon. A few lab benches over, a guy had a flask of alcohol over a burner. The idiot put a cork on it.
BANG! The flask exploded and boiling hot shards of glass sprayed the lab. Everyone instantly hit the floor and rolled under their benches. Luckily, no one was badly injured. It was scary stuff.
Shut up about fume hoods! Try using a colder condenser or absorbing the exhaust through something before it leaves your glassware. The goal should be to make things as inherently safe as possible. By e.g. using a different method or insitu neutralisation of a problem (in the glass). There are many, many examples were simply venting an exhaust to the atmosphere (fume hood) is entirely unacceptable. Both morally (the environment / other people) and practically (it will kill you in the process).
Yeah, because venting things like chemical plants and nuclear reactors directly into the atmosphere is a Pro idea that only bothers hippies.
"eh, distilling alcohol is a joke compared to the dangers of distilling diethyl ether.. DO IT OUTSIDE"
It is, although a huge percentage of youtuber chemists I doubt have ever used a still. It's more of a problem when doing it on a bulk industrial scale too, lots more to go wrong, in a bigger way.
You can only get professional by doing it to get experience.
Amateurs usually do two things wrong (usually due to stupidity and lack of proper basic research know-how that a good school will teach you, Thats right kids, schools is good for you!):
1. Not researching the process of how to do it right way.
2. Buying or making cheap equipment without said needed knowledge.
Why is the NFPA 704 health diamond a 1 with methanol and a 2 with ethanol? When Around 10 ml of methanol will cause permanent blindness And 30 ml Death!?
Amazing how often a good fume hood and 78% nitrogen atmosphere will save your ass. You can do a lot of things with a lot of volatiles but the environment must be very carefully controlled. EYEBROWS DO NOT GROW BACK QUICKLY. You walk around looking surprised all the time.
I love nearly every video from every series you do... but you should be aware that your videos are REALY quiet compared to other YouTube videos. For example, this video is very hard to hear on an iPad with YouTube volume and system volume turned up to maximum. It might be good to raise the volume a bit in future videos.
I thought you would mention methanol, too, as a danger of distillation. Maybe during the process it's not more dangerous that ethanol, but definitely afterwards, when someone tries to drink it.
I have a proper distillery. I won it in a lottery when when chemistry department at my college got new equipment. It's only the glass though, but it's nice to have on display until I get a Bunsen burner and proper hoses.
Explosions such as this are fairly common in the US. Usually the people involved are making 'crack' cocaine or methamphetamine, both processes requiring extraction with ether or hydrocarbon solvents, which can explode under proper conditions. We rarely see injuries making alcohol, since that is usually done in the woods with good ventilation. I have personally seen 5 people badly burned in the former circumstance.
Interesting video, as always! Reminds me of when I worked with extruded rubber. We had to be so careful around the toluene at the production level. And, yes, we had an explosion once, which was contained, partly due to an alert employee, in the explosion-proof room. Felt like an earthquake in the lab and made a very impressive hole in the floor and the roof of the containment room.
Amateur Brewing and distillation is NOT as dangerous as you say. I've worked with my dad distilling homemade moonshine for 5 years now and he's been at it even longer. As long as you're using a proper still in a well ventilated area AWAY FROM ANY HEAT SOURCE OR OPEN FLAME you're more likely to get blown up driving your kids to soccer practice.
@kuni45 - well, A) amateur brewing just involves a slight risk of concentrated CO2 in the brewing area, while distillation, on the other hand, because it involves concentrated combustibles, is another matter , and B) I'd love to know more about a proper still. All my redneck relatives have switched to cooking meth, and are a little hazy about the details in making a proper batch of "shine".
@47f0 Ya I kinda just put brewing and distillation together, I realize that small-scale brewing is no more dangerous then making a loaf of bread. I have huge copper apparatus which has been in my family for 2 generations, gives about a gallon (4L) of moonshine per half hour. People I know that have followed instructions on moonshine-still (dot com) have gotten pretty good results. Im sure as a fellow ptv junkie you're smart enough to run a still properly but still dont be an idiot.
@ajuk1 The words "flammable" and "inflammable" have the same meaning - in fact, "inflammable" was the more often used when I was younger. However, they have at some time (long ago) had opposite meanings - so "flammable" is probably the safer word.
@ajuk1 Inflammable and flammable both mean the same thing :). One of the stranger things in the world! (Though I think Inflammable might mean 'more' flammable than the other!)
@JJ4eva2 "Inflammable and flammable both mean the same thing :). One of the stranger things in the world! (Though I think Inflammable might mean 'more' flammable than the other!)"
They mean the same thing. Inflammable is from old Latin, meaning to set on fire. Technically, following the rules we apply to pretty much every other word with 'in' in front of it now, it should mean it won't support fire. But it's been a sticking point for a long time.
oh, another thing, I have yet to read about an explosive accident involving ethanol distillation, the only ones reported are incendiary, you just can't fill a room, there's just not enough ethanol in a batch, and the outflow is insufficient for a normal, porous construction, it just ain't going to happen, ever
@quaxk It ain't going to happen.. Unless you are operating some sort of industrial-scale clandestine distillery with insufficient safety procedures. While all you amateur brewers are correct in that it is very hard to induce an explosion from alcohol vapour in a small scale distillation of the type done at home, large-scale processes such as those that occur at factories present entirely new sets of problems and dangers.
this sort of disinformation only profit the alcohol producers lobby, amateur distillation is legal in new zeland and accidents are virtually inexistent, I'm sorry, this is your first video I call bullshit, research before you embark in that sort campaign, this is hogwash, that's what happen when you stray out of your field of expertise, btw, millions fill their car every day, same type of vapors, even more dangerous, I guess they should stop before the hurt themselves
I assure you professor, ethanol vapor has a very strong smell, and even the best reflux still carry some of the other alcohols from the brew which tend to smell like nail polish, not that I would know anything about this, but a big vapor leak like you describe would stink up the place quickly, beside, only idiots would distill in a non ventilated area, and a failing condenser would cause the reflux temperature to rise and stop the flow, two things a distiller has to monitor constantly
@quaxk he mentioned that you probably can't smell the vapor because of other smells in the room, if you're already making alcohol maybe the smell will already be there during the process, i don't know because i've never been at a distillery but it would make sense
@quaxk Yeah, I know the characteristic smell of ethyl acetate...I usually buy by alcohol when I so desire it. I did countless distillations in lab class and certainly, you want to make sure your condenser and receiving vial are kept very cold. The Prof is a man that sound be elected as world president. He goes beyond mere countries as a man who knows his stuff and as a genuine person. To be able to shake his hand would not be just a pleasure but an honor. All hail Professor Poliakoff!!
Well, taking into consideration that they probably were not professionals, they probably wouldn't have monitored those things very closely. it's possible that they thought the stench was just apart of the process. Who knows? maybe they were in a different room, and weren't even monitoring it at all, so they didn't even notice the stench.
It seems that the people involved in the moonshine still didn't educate themselves properly-- another example off the top of my head is an incident where a bananas foster dish (flambe using distilled liquor) turned into a serious fire. There were evidently some important safety steps that were disregarded by the server in that incident, like not bringing a bottle of booze to the table, or turning the flame off before pouring.
@quaxk you miss the point that fermentation smells horrible my grandfather who was born at the end of world war II tells us story's of when he was little and his neighbor had a distiller and on days when the wind was moving passed his neighbors house and across his there was a gut wrenching smell from the fermentation of potatoes this smell pervaded in the neighborhood even after he was caught and charged. The problem i have is, why did no one smell this?
@BacklTrack The purest, highest quality Wodka is supposed to have no odor, or impurities, but impurities are the distinction between elite Vødkas, being a nuance, hard to differentiate to all but professional tasters in many cases. I had a bandmate, (RIP 2004) that swore by the perfection of Ketel One, which, though Premium, isn't an Elite, as served in Ice Bars in Russia and Scandinavia. Does it has a smell? Kinda, cuz impurities are never 100% gone. Detectable by human Olafactory? Mostly not.
@painxtreme MANY oils are "burned" off during proper production. You also have to run it through twice if you want the kind you can pour in your car's gas tank in an emergency. Those impurities are why. Large activated carbon filters can do a lot of the same, but a 2nd distill almost always ups the products octane value anyway.
Respond to this video...Not really what I meant, but that'sa ok. People that evaluate Vodkas are like the folks that "chew" wine as they taste it . I do wine rituals if it's an exceptional vintage...But for the young guys, if you are at a posh Restaurant, have the Sommelier taste the wine first. Not only will the Sommelier be impressed you knew to do that, it has a mulitplier effect on impressing your date. My only real point was hardly anyone could detect the odor of an elite Vodka.
@painxtreme My moonshine is that clean. I usually add a cinnamon stick to the pint bottles and leave it there for a week or 2. It makes for a wonderful beverage.
@bamboo4tameshigiri I respect the "Shiners" a lot. You can legally brew beer, or make wine, but the Treasury guys cant have people who have honed a process through generations. Do accidents happen? Hell yes, they do in a lab too.
That sounds like it gives the Shine a good flavor to the kickback. Does it give it a whiskey-ish color? Ive had actual Shine just once in northern Georgia. I dont remember the ratio, but it was only a tiny % watered, and it was like a load of hay fell on me...hoo boy!
What people do for a living has no bearing on their leadership skills as far as I am concerned. I like the idea of a technocracy yet it is the professors character combined with his wisdom and knowledge that I admire, not his position(as far as leadership is concerned).
@chocomalk we need to have a spectrum of professions in Congress. Is having a Scientist in govt worse than Attorneys, Businessmen and Bankers? That's what you got now. How about some Engineers, Plumbers, Teachers,Truck Drivers, Software Guys, and a few Economists for Pete's sake? How about we have people who actually know what they are talking about when they make decisions that can be HUGE in our lives. Yes people's experience is huge in leadership, wanna be led into battle by a Ballet Dancer?
@painxtreme The system was actually designed to be a government run by the people for the people. Now it (the US) is owned by corporations and run for corporations.
@chocomalk You may as well be able to spin yarn into gold. The US is falling apart as it stands. The "tea party" are a bunch of the most ignorant and well armed tea baggers on the planet. This brings us to a strange sort of dilemma, considering how the US an UK are politically intertwined. When the next civil war breaks out, which will the (you?) Brits side with?
@bamboo4tameshigiri YUCK! Sack Juice, no good baggers. Yes, Michael Stipe got it right with the lyric "The world is collapsing around our ears". Ive said before, my biggest prayer (no theology fights please, I pray, I also live & let live...and fart), is, that if it is going to get really terrible, it happens before Im gone, so I can help my kids Through times theyve seen nothing comparable. They wouldn't know how to be self sufficient, without back knowledge, and they wont listen til it comes.
@painxtreme We absolutely need an amendment to the Constitution that gives an entirely new branch of power to scientists. That would change the course of human history in such a way that we would have colonies on other planets in no time at all and we might actually see a little justice and less military force. That's a wonderful idea and that is precisely why such things never happen in DC.
@bamboo4tameshigiri It would be a beautiful thing indeed. However, just like medicare for all, it would get twisted and perverted into something like.."they want to stack the House with Scientists, so they can start cloning, human experimentation (as if they haven't already), and expand stem cell research into mysterious dangerous directions". Hey, if they can sell the public on the idea that no one ever having to worry about medical bills again is something to be feared...
@chocomalk: they're too busy making the world into something worth being lead. Besides which, they are leaders of the world; they just don't need to call a press conference and demonize someone every time they have a plan of something or another.
As correct as you are, there will be no world left to lead to a better one unless people like him take the helm or unless we all collectively decide to participate in the decision making.
@chocomalk: unfortunately, this is a live probability. Alas, it's an odd paradox that those who are best qualified to run a world are--by the thing that makes them qualified--too busy trying to find out what runs a universe.
@PhattyMo no, in reality the main danger is very flammable hot distillate, it's never the vapor, to minimize this hazard amateur distillers add a second condenser to cool down the distillate before it flows out of the still, I see a lot of people commenting here not knowing a thing about ethanol distillation, that's sad
@wspol624 " Well designed equipment, proper temperature control, good ventialtion -- no problem." BINGO Bonzo! We have a winner! The law doesn't have a god damned thing to do with it! TAXES are what its all about. Let's be straight, in the hands of MORONS it can be dangerous. Outside of that, you're pretty much OK.
Good reminders professor. I enjoy a good batch of homemade rum myself once in a will, and I do know that the more you do something like that the more we let the safety standards go. We become overconfident in our abilities. Then an old girl friend phones and forget to shut the pot still off. BOOM.
anyone else find this funny "it only burns really fast or explodes when its in the vapor phase, because when its in a liquid it doesn't burn very quickly.."
@Gmc42082 no, not really, why? I'd say liquids doesn't combust. If you have a liquid you need to heat it until the surface has released enough kerosene in gas phase to sustain burning(%-age vary) + generates excess heat to BOIL off more gas. Most heavier oils, like kerosene, would kill smaller fires/flames if poured right over it. The energy it takes to heat kerosene will outpace a tiny fire's capability to boil it off. The fire will die a heat death.
@Paxmax no,no nobody gets it, i though it sounded funny b/c the way he worded it , it would be like saying " i'm on earth,because im not on mars". the way he started the statement, i though he was going to explain why gases are more flammable than liquids, rather than just saying gases burn explosively while liquids don't. i mean i do understand the reason why, i just though he was going to explain why.
@singlespies Yes, ethanol vaporizers exist. Their safety profile isn't completely understood. Some argue vaporization is a safer and healthier way to get drunk, while others argue it is too easy to become extremely intoxicated without really realizing how much booze you are consuming. Verily, it is just a different route of administration. I mean if you really wanted to, you load an IV with an ethanol infusion. Dangerous, yes, but nothing farfetched.
A company in London opened a bar where pure alcohol was vapourised, mixed with oxygen & then inhaled. The oxygen would give the people a head rush. And the alcohol would be absorbed far more quickly through their lungs. They've probably already been shut down. The concentrated alcohol could dehydrate (toughen) throat & lung tissue. They'd get drunk dangerously quick and the oxygen is a major fire hazard when mixed with pure ethanol vapour.
One of the students at York thought it'd be funny to have one in their campus bedroom. I shit ye not. No doubt on one of those 'special' degrees. The one's that were made up to meet the meaningless 50% uni uptake figure for labour.
Speaking of pressure, distilling your azeotrope under REDUCED pressure will split it and yield pure ethanol without entrainers. Pure ethanol which will then turn back into azeotropic ethanol when it touches the atmosphere. :D
In my experience, most stills blow up in the fermentation vessel. Poor still construction allows air to get in and when the mixture is right it goes boom. I've saw a fermentation vessel explode with such force it knocked over a nearby tree. Such is the problem when distilling from such a large vessel. Also, stills for moonshine are often under a great deal of pressure. In the event of a containment failure; the rapid release of vapors make for a big ole boom.
Professor : although you are half a world away , I look forward to and hang on your every word , if I were to ever want to further my education , I could only hope I had a teacher with your attributes , your an awesome man and I love listening to you speak. I always look forward to your next topic of discussion , had my American teachers had enthusiasm like yours I would have been far more educated than I am today....Thank you for all you do , my deepest sympathies for those who were injured .
@mycamguy Inflammable and flammable both mean “combustible.” Flammable now has certain technical uses, particularly as a warning on vehicles carrying combustible materials, because of a belief that some might interpret the intensive prefix in- of inflammable as a negative prefix and thus think the word means “noncombustible.” Inflammable is the word more usually used in nontechnical and figurative contexts: "The speaker ignited the inflammable emotions of the crowd."
Anybody see that Mythbusters episode where they try to blow up the gasoline tank and can't do so without extensive modifications and a carefully controlled mixture? Gas is even easier to ignite with something like a spark than alcohol. It must take incredibly precise conditions to accidentally create an explosive mixture of alcohol vapor in a room. You would probably be dead from inhaling the vapor if you were inside.
You should do a video about the different kinds of alcohols and the dangers of ingesting the wrong forms.
Bootleg stills often don't separate out the different kinds and (especially during the US prohibition when moonshiners were making stills out of anything they could find) can cause serious harm to the consumer of these spirits.
Blowing it around with fans could actually make things worse by mixing it with the atmosphere and providing a possible ignition source. This is a side effect of students being so used to only using fume hoods to control problems, which is not an industrially applicable method. It is not hard to gain complete control of the vapour phase and trap it; entirely. Stupidity or lack lustre concentration likely caused the release and build up of vapour.
@DevilMaster That's not a suitable way to be handling explosive gas mixtures on a large scale. They shouldn't be in the air, that the staff are breathing and all the equipment is running in, in the first place. There should be a condenser with at least a 20 degree C temperature difference between the room temperature and it's coolant over the containers exit, so they stay in the container; e.g. a dry ice trap in a lab or a phase changer cooler industrially.
A large collection of vapor is explosive, jut like gasoline. IF they had a vent fan they wouldn't have had a problem. The biggest problem here is THE LAW. They were trying to hide the vapors rather than vent them. Ethanol did not cause this problem. The law did.
"that blnd drunk could also come from moonshine use though, anything above 94% can cause blindness"
This is folklore.
It came from the time when prohibition was in effect. To increase the alcohol reading of the product without having to distil it again and again through columns, moonshiners would add methanol to it. Methanol causes blindness, not strong ethanol.
Cases of contraband Vodka from Russia were found quite recently in the UK, contaminated with methanol.
@lexichronicle2 Thank you for spreading the truth. The entire problem is prohibition. Back then there were also people using old car radiators as condensers, etc. When you don't have the neofascist pigs to worry about, none of these dangers arise.
@pgunn01 I've been brewing for ~15 years now. I've got 5 gallons of mash cooking right now. I make 1-2 pints whiskey at a time (enough vapor for a rather large explosion.) ALL of that propaganda you have heard about came from PROHIBITION. People would cut their good wine with cheap LEGAL methanol and people went blind. Some people would use old car radiators as their condensers and they would get sick. NONE of that would have happened without the god damned law interfering in the first place.
@bamboo4tameshigiri In my family tree, there was at least one instance of people brewing cider or wine (before prohibition) and blowing up their house. As far as I can tell, this was not a particularly rare thing. Likewise, I have friends whose families homebrew alcohol in Russia, some of whom have had serious health problems relating to that homebrew.
I am not a fan of prohibition of alcohol. That said, these instances had nothing to do with American prohibition.
@pgunn01 Argumentum ad ignoratium and argumentum from excess have no effect on me. I'm sorry. That red herring was a tasty fish, but now for something completely different...
There's not much point distilling it yourself for drinking because, unless you have a big, professional setup and are doing large volumes, the amount of work, time and effort needed means it's going to work out about the same as buying cheap vodka to start with. Pure alcohol is virtually undrinkable. It doesn't just burn, it damages the lining of ones throat. To be pedantic about safety, that vent on the distillation receiver shouldn't be open to the atmosphere.
"How adding an "in" to the beginning of the word does not change the meaning is beyond me."
The word comes from the Latin "Flamma"; fire. "Inflammāre" changed that to "TO SET ON fire". "able" came from old French and 'vulgar' latin, meaning "to be capable". As the languages crossed over, we switched to the "able" version, flammABLE, and using "in" to mean a negative. Some people insist on the old latin version, but use it as an adjective when it was originally a verb I believe.
@awesomejoe12 I'm really annoyed I had to sit through 4 years of mandatory French in school. I hated the first lesson, I knew I'd never use it and I was literally counting down the days to the last lesson, and the minutes off in that last lesson. Complete waste of my time. A huge chunk of the English language comes from Latin. I would have far rather gone all posh and public school and learnt that, so would I understand where the words I use come from and how they are connected.
@lexichronicle2 Than take a medical terminology. Its one of the best places to learn the Latin and Greek that make up the bastardized English language.
who is doing a distillation of alcohol either with an open flame or a hot plate oil bath that has it set to the flash point of ethanol. morons, i suppose.
One of our local (legal) vodka distilleries exploded a year or two ago, from a welder working in the stillhouse. And there's hardly a distillery in Scotland that hasn't had a disatrous explosion or warehouse fire in its history...
(By the way, the professor mentions vodka and brandy. I can understand, giving his location, why he might not mention tequila, but you know there is a bit of whisk(e)y made in the U.K. Just sayin'....)
Okay Brady, I asked you several times about this but now i'm really disapponted. This video has so silent sound I can barely hear The Professor speaking on my lappie, even when I maxed out all the volume regulators. Why can't you make your videos as loud as all the others on YouTube?
In Ireland, the poteen makers always distilled their mountain dew outdoors. I guess they might have had a few explosions until they learned to do that.
Probably cooked meth alongside it.
SSJkiller 3 days ago
You could just buy a professional destillery system, but unfortunatly the state doesn't allow it. And people make their own product because the state regulate and tax alcohol, making it quite expensive. If you really want to stop such things as home distillation, just remove regulations and taxes on alcohol.
genstian 1 week ago
Usually when I hear about illegal activities resulting in an explosion, it involves a far more interesting product than a make-your-own-wine kit as Tesco (note: I know, shining and all, but this enhances the never-doing-it concept). Coincidentally, when I hear illegal production activities just setting something on fire, it's often a far more popular and far less lethal product.
akashashen 2 weeks ago
What a stupid video. How else to people learn how to distill? The thing he could have easily said was, "Distill it in an open space, ensure there are no leaks." Instead he implies that somehow legality equates to your knowledge of distillation safety.
Does he think the entire government of New Zealand is simply stupid for allowing "unprofessional amateurs" to distill their own alcohol at home?
pyromodder2 1 month ago
OMG the screensaver! :O
LilMisTaken 1 month ago
legalize it!
njloetz 1 month ago
I know EXACTLY how the explosion happened.....ALCOHOL VAPORS IGNITED. DUH!!!!!
mcluvinisluvin 1 month ago
thumbs up if you saw the EPIC monitors in the back
Vladimerge 1 month ago
im 17 and i shall be distilling alcohol soon
HRHooChicken 2 months ago
When I was at university and taking organic chemistry years ago, a bad thing happened in lab one afternoon. A few lab benches over, a guy had a flask of alcohol over a burner. The idiot put a cork on it.
BANG! The flask exploded and boiling hot shards of glass sprayed the lab. Everyone instantly hit the floor and rolled under their benches. Luckily, no one was badly injured. It was scary stuff.
That guy failed the class, obviously.
pepsibookcat 6 months ago
Comment removed
Deeredman4 6 months ago
ALCOHOL ALCOHOL ALCOHOL; think about plants, flowers, bark. In France we do havent the right to buy pure alcohol because alcoholic asshole.
Duke49iFrance 6 months ago
Amateur distilling is a legal hobby in New Zealand. I've never heard of anyone blowing himself up doing it.
I think we should wait for the official reports on what happened in Boston.
FrancisCWolfe 6 months ago
Why is the audio depressed?
MichaelKingsfordGray 7 months ago
eh, distilling alcohol is a joke compared to the dangers of distilling diethyl ether.. DO IT OUTSIDE
moosey333 7 months ago
The reason for doing this was to avoid paying the alcohol tax?
anonysquirrel 7 months ago
Shut up about fume hoods! Try using a colder condenser or absorbing the exhaust through something before it leaves your glassware. The goal should be to make things as inherently safe as possible. By e.g. using a different method or insitu neutralisation of a problem (in the glass). There are many, many examples were simply venting an exhaust to the atmosphere (fume hood) is entirely unacceptable. Both morally (the environment / other people) and practically (it will kill you in the process).
lexichronicle2 7 months ago
@lexichronicle2 Go hug a tree fruit cake
progunist 7 months ago
@progunist "Go hug a tree fruit cake"
Yeah, because venting things like chemical plants and nuclear reactors directly into the atmosphere is a Pro idea that only bothers hippies.
"eh, distilling alcohol is a joke compared to the dangers of distilling diethyl ether.. DO IT OUTSIDE"
It is, although a huge percentage of youtuber chemists I doubt have ever used a still. It's more of a problem when doing it on a bulk industrial scale too, lots more to go wrong, in a bigger way.
lexichronicle2 7 months ago
EXPLOSION!!!!
I like the word.
SkreetGil 7 months ago
Humans are lazy, that's a fact.
Knowing when to _not_ be lazy is very important or things will go boom and your stupidity will hurt people.
If your stupidity would only hurt yourself no one would care.
One less stupid person is good for everyone.
Natural selection is harsh but so necessary.
labobo 7 months ago
Everyone is an amateur in the beginning
You can only get professional by doing it to get experience.
Amateurs usually do two things wrong (usually due to stupidity and lack of proper basic research know-how that a good school will teach you, Thats right kids, schools is good for you!):
1. Not researching the process of how to do it right way.
2. Buying or making cheap equipment without said needed knowledge.
labobo 7 months ago
@labobo "Thats right kids, schools is good for you!):". Not havin' a go at ya, it just hit my funny bone.
painxtreme 6 months ago
Why is the NFPA 704 health diamond a 1 with methanol and a 2 with ethanol? When Around 10 ml of methanol will cause permanent blindness And 30 ml Death!?
CrazyforDarkness 7 months ago
leave the brewing of hootch to the pros
Guinnie 7 months ago
keep pressing 0 and look at his eye brow (lol)
TheOverkill102 7 months ago
Amazing how often a good fume hood and 78% nitrogen atmosphere will save your ass. You can do a lot of things with a lot of volatiles but the environment must be very carefully controlled. EYEBROWS DO NOT GROW BACK QUICKLY. You walk around looking surprised all the time.
NorthForkFisherman 7 months ago
@NorthForkFisherman Eyelashes dont grow back at all after age 50, I believe...either 45 or 50. – from the Trivial and Useless Information Department.
painxtreme 6 months ago
all this talk about beer makes me want an alcohol!
alch3myau 7 months ago
For some reason all I can think of right now is ' Green Chemistry!!! ' ...
matics19 7 months ago
if they opened a few windows this would not of happened...
theskwiffy1 7 months ago
Thanks for the great business advice, doc :)
anchuxGames 7 months ago
I love nearly every video from every series you do... but you should be aware that your videos are REALY quiet compared to other YouTube videos. For example, this video is very hard to hear on an iPad with YouTube volume and system volume turned up to maximum. It might be good to raise the volume a bit in future videos.
maekern 7 months ago 20
@maekern don't use the iPad, save the world
Zolbat 1 week ago
I thought you would mention methanol, too, as a danger of distillation. Maybe during the process it's not more dangerous that ethanol, but definitely afterwards, when someone tries to drink it.
Rigo0Jancsi 7 months ago
I was all, dude, Boston is not small, then I was like, oh, right, england...
ModelOrange 7 months ago
not much of a tan considering you just came back from brasil!
phr0 7 months ago
@phr0 - maybe not much of a tan, but you should see the speedo tan lines that are there.
47f0 7 months ago
@phr0 With that hair, you are always in a shade! =o)
Paxmax 7 months ago
I have a proper distillery. I won it in a lottery when when chemistry department at my college got new equipment. It's only the glass though, but it's nice to have on display until I get a Bunsen burner and proper hoses.
FHomeBrew 7 months ago
@FHomeBrew Use a heating mantle not a Bunsen burner. You'd be foolish to heat a flammable mixture using an open flame like that.
thewiseowl 7 months ago
@thewiseowl Lol oops :p maybe it's best if I just don't use it at all. thnx for the tip. I'll try to avoid flammable substances anyway ;-)
FHomeBrew 7 months ago
Thanks for the tips....now I'm a specialist.
Downfacingdog 7 months ago 3
Explosions such as this are fairly common in the US. Usually the people involved are making 'crack' cocaine or methamphetamine, both processes requiring extraction with ether or hydrocarbon solvents, which can explode under proper conditions. We rarely see injuries making alcohol, since that is usually done in the woods with good ventilation. I have personally seen 5 people badly burned in the former circumstance.
BuickDoc 7 months ago
@BuickDoc As a child, however, I did witness a neighbor's chicken house explode from an illegal still. There were no injuries.
BuickDoc 7 months ago
Interesting video, as always! Reminds me of when I worked with extruded rubber. We had to be so careful around the toluene at the production level. And, yes, we had an explosion once, which was contained, partly due to an alert employee, in the explosion-proof room. Felt like an earthquake in the lab and made a very impressive hole in the floor and the roof of the containment room.
WhiteTiger333 7 months ago
Professor is so wise!
mvszao 7 months ago
adequate ventilation will solve this problem
Mike1614b 7 months ago
Amateur Brewing and distillation is NOT as dangerous as you say. I've worked with my dad distilling homemade moonshine for 5 years now and he's been at it even longer. As long as you're using a proper still in a well ventilated area AWAY FROM ANY HEAT SOURCE OR OPEN FLAME you're more likely to get blown up driving your kids to soccer practice.
kuni45 7 months ago
@kuni45 - well, A) amateur brewing just involves a slight risk of concentrated CO2 in the brewing area, while distillation, on the other hand, because it involves concentrated combustibles, is another matter , and B) I'd love to know more about a proper still. All my redneck relatives have switched to cooking meth, and are a little hazy about the details in making a proper batch of "shine".
47f0 7 months ago
@47f0 Ya I kinda just put brewing and distillation together, I realize that small-scale brewing is no more dangerous then making a loaf of bread. I have huge copper apparatus which has been in my family for 2 generations, gives about a gallon (4L) of moonshine per half hour. People I know that have followed instructions on moonshine-still (dot com) have gotten pretty good results. Im sure as a fellow ptv junkie you're smart enough to run a still properly but still dont be an idiot.
kuni45 7 months ago
I can has moonshine?
glenitube 7 months ago
@ajuk1 The words "flammable" and "inflammable" have the same meaning - in fact, "inflammable" was the more often used when I was younger. However, they have at some time (long ago) had opposite meanings - so "flammable" is probably the safer word.
pmr1973 7 months ago
INflamable?
ajuk1 7 months ago
@ajuk1 Inflammable and flammable both mean the same thing :). One of the stranger things in the world! (Though I think Inflammable might mean 'more' flammable than the other!)
JJ4eva2 7 months ago
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@JJ4eva2 "Inflammable and flammable both mean the same thing :). One of the stranger things in the world! (Though I think Inflammable might mean 'more' flammable than the other!)"
They mean the same thing. Inflammable is from old Latin, meaning to set on fire. Technically, following the rules we apply to pretty much every other word with 'in' in front of it now, it should mean it won't support fire. But it's been a sticking point for a long time.
lexichronicle2 7 months ago
What does the screen saver say? "Current Chemistry!!!", "Green Chemistry!!!", or something else?
ReasonableMe 7 months ago
@ReasonableMe Green
culwin 7 months ago
oh, another thing, I have yet to read about an explosive accident involving ethanol distillation, the only ones reported are incendiary, you just can't fill a room, there's just not enough ethanol in a batch, and the outflow is insufficient for a normal, porous construction, it just ain't going to happen, ever
quaxk 7 months ago 2
@quaxk It ain't going to happen.. Unless you are operating some sort of industrial-scale clandestine distillery with insufficient safety procedures. While all you amateur brewers are correct in that it is very hard to induce an explosion from alcohol vapour in a small scale distillation of the type done at home, large-scale processes such as those that occur at factories present entirely new sets of problems and dangers.
BobStinkfulla 7 months ago
this sort of disinformation only profit the alcohol producers lobby, amateur distillation is legal in new zeland and accidents are virtually inexistent, I'm sorry, this is your first video I call bullshit, research before you embark in that sort campaign, this is hogwash, that's what happen when you stray out of your field of expertise, btw, millions fill their car every day, same type of vapors, even more dangerous, I guess they should stop before the hurt themselves
quaxk 7 months ago 5
I assure you professor, ethanol vapor has a very strong smell, and even the best reflux still carry some of the other alcohols from the brew which tend to smell like nail polish, not that I would know anything about this, but a big vapor leak like you describe would stink up the place quickly, beside, only idiots would distill in a non ventilated area, and a failing condenser would cause the reflux temperature to rise and stop the flow, two things a distiller has to monitor constantly
quaxk 7 months ago 39
@quaxk he mentioned that you probably can't smell the vapor because of other smells in the room, if you're already making alcohol maybe the smell will already be there during the process, i don't know because i've never been at a distillery but it would make sense
pamukovich 7 months ago
@quaxk Yeah, I know the characteristic smell of ethyl acetate...I usually buy by alcohol when I so desire it. I did countless distillations in lab class and certainly, you want to make sure your condenser and receiving vial are kept very cold. The Prof is a man that sound be elected as world president. He goes beyond mere countries as a man who knows his stuff and as a genuine person. To be able to shake his hand would not be just a pleasure but an honor. All hail Professor Poliakoff!!
punishedexistence 7 months ago
@quaxk
Well, taking into consideration that they probably were not professionals, they probably wouldn't have monitored those things very closely. it's possible that they thought the stench was just apart of the process. Who knows? maybe they were in a different room, and weren't even monitoring it at all, so they didn't even notice the stench.
japanesepoptart 7 months ago
@quaxk beside, only idiots would destill alcohol illegally.
ThePizzahero1 7 months ago
@quaxk
It seems that the people involved in the moonshine still didn't educate themselves properly-- another example off the top of my head is an incident where a bananas foster dish (flambe using distilled liquor) turned into a serious fire. There were evidently some important safety steps that were disregarded by the server in that incident, like not bringing a bottle of booze to the table, or turning the flame off before pouring.
melchior00625 7 months ago
@quaxk you miss the point that fermentation smells horrible my grandfather who was born at the end of world war II tells us story's of when he was little and his neighbor had a distiller and on days when the wind was moving passed his neighbors house and across his there was a gut wrenching smell from the fermentation of potatoes this smell pervaded in the neighborhood even after he was caught and charged. The problem i have is, why did no one smell this?
andrdema44 7 months ago
@quaxk So, vodka, which has no smell, does indeed have an odor in production? That is something I was unaware of.
painxtreme 6 months ago
@painxtreme of course it's nothing Ive spent much time thinking about, until seeing the video.
painxtreme 6 months ago
@painxtreme Vodka has a smell lol. Its not as strong as other liquors..but its there.
BacklTrack 6 months ago
@BacklTrack The purest, highest quality Wodka is supposed to have no odor, or impurities, but impurities are the distinction between elite Vødkas, being a nuance, hard to differentiate to all but professional tasters in many cases. I had a bandmate, (RIP 2004) that swore by the perfection of Ketel One, which, though Premium, isn't an Elite, as served in Ice Bars in Russia and Scandinavia. Does it has a smell? Kinda, cuz impurities are never 100% gone. Detectable by human Olafactory? Mostly not.
painxtreme 6 months ago
@painxtreme MANY oils are "burned" off during proper production. You also have to run it through twice if you want the kind you can pour in your car's gas tank in an emergency. Those impurities are why. Large activated carbon filters can do a lot of the same, but a 2nd distill almost always ups the products octane value anyway.
bamboo4tameshigiri 6 months ago
Respond to this video...Not really what I meant, but that'sa ok. People that evaluate Vodkas are like the folks that "chew" wine as they taste it . I do wine rituals if it's an exceptional vintage...But for the young guys, if you are at a posh Restaurant, have the Sommelier taste the wine first. Not only will the Sommelier be impressed you knew to do that, it has a mulitplier effect on impressing your date. My only real point was hardly anyone could detect the odor of an elite Vodka.
painxtreme 6 months ago
@painxtreme My moonshine is that clean. I usually add a cinnamon stick to the pint bottles and leave it there for a week or 2. It makes for a wonderful beverage.
bamboo4tameshigiri 6 months ago
@bamboo4tameshigiri I respect the "Shiners" a lot. You can legally brew beer, or make wine, but the Treasury guys cant have people who have honed a process through generations. Do accidents happen? Hell yes, they do in a lab too.
That sounds like it gives the Shine a good flavor to the kickback. Does it give it a whiskey-ish color? Ive had actual Shine just once in northern Georgia. I dont remember the ratio, but it was only a tiny % watered, and it was like a load of hay fell on me...hoo boy!
painxtreme 6 months ago
It's people like the professor who should be world leaders.
chocomalk 7 months ago 189
@chocomalk What about me?
Wigggles1138 7 months ago
@chocomalk That kind of system called as 'technocracy'
TheScientista 7 months ago
@TheScientista
"People like the professor".
What people do for a living has no bearing on their leadership skills as far as I am concerned. I like the idea of a technocracy yet it is the professors character combined with his wisdom and knowledge that I admire, not his position(as far as leadership is concerned).
chocomalk 7 months ago
@chocomalk we need to have a spectrum of professions in Congress. Is having a Scientist in govt worse than Attorneys, Businessmen and Bankers? That's what you got now. How about some Engineers, Plumbers, Teachers,Truck Drivers, Software Guys, and a few Economists for Pete's sake? How about we have people who actually know what they are talking about when they make decisions that can be HUGE in our lives. Yes people's experience is huge in leadership, wanna be led into battle by a Ballet Dancer?
painxtreme 6 months ago
@painxtreme The system was actually designed to be a government run by the people for the people. Now it (the US) is owned by corporations and run for corporations.
bamboo4tameshigiri 6 months ago
@painxtreme
I agree, I would rather have, at the very least, a separate congress composed of scientists and professionals.
chocomalk 6 months ago
@chocomalk You may as well be able to spin yarn into gold. The US is falling apart as it stands. The "tea party" are a bunch of the most ignorant and well armed tea baggers on the planet. This brings us to a strange sort of dilemma, considering how the US an UK are politically intertwined. When the next civil war breaks out, which will the (you?) Brits side with?
bamboo4tameshigiri 6 months ago
@bamboo4tameshigiri I refuse to stop calling them tea baggers until they stop using the phrase "democrat party" You get what you give.
painxtreme 6 months ago
@painxtreme Who are you talking to? They are nothing but tea baggers. They ruin everything they dip their nuts in.
bamboo4tameshigiri 6 months ago
@bamboo4tameshigiri YUCK! Sack Juice, no good baggers. Yes, Michael Stipe got it right with the lyric "The world is collapsing around our ears". Ive said before, my biggest prayer (no theology fights please, I pray, I also live & let live...and fart), is, that if it is going to get really terrible, it happens before Im gone, so I can help my kids Through times theyve seen nothing comparable. They wouldn't know how to be self sufficient, without back knowledge, and they wont listen til it comes.
painxtreme 6 months ago
@painxtreme We absolutely need an amendment to the Constitution that gives an entirely new branch of power to scientists. That would change the course of human history in such a way that we would have colonies on other planets in no time at all and we might actually see a little justice and less military force. That's a wonderful idea and that is precisely why such things never happen in DC.
bamboo4tameshigiri 6 months ago
@bamboo4tameshigiri It would be a beautiful thing indeed. However, just like medicare for all, it would get twisted and perverted into something like.."they want to stack the House with Scientists, so they can start cloning, human experimentation (as if they haven't already), and expand stem cell research into mysterious dangerous directions". Hey, if they can sell the public on the idea that no one ever having to worry about medical bills again is something to be feared...
painxtreme 6 months ago
@chocomalk: they're too busy making the world into something worth being lead. Besides which, they are leaders of the world; they just don't need to call a press conference and demonize someone every time they have a plan of something or another.
integralmath 7 months ago
@integralmath
As correct as you are, there will be no world left to lead to a better one unless people like him take the helm or unless we all collectively decide to participate in the decision making.
chocomalk 7 months ago
@chocomalk: unfortunately, this is a live probability. Alas, it's an odd paradox that those who are best qualified to run a world are--by the thing that makes them qualified--too busy trying to find out what runs a universe.
integralmath 7 months ago 7
@chocomalk People like the professor are smart enough to not go into politics.
Anonymous5125 7 months ago
@Anonymous5125
Politics is a rat race between former used car salesmen, what we need is leadership.
chocomalk 7 months ago
The main danger is the alcohol VAPOR.
DO NOT distill using a gas burner! Electric is the way to go.
PhattyMo 7 months ago
@PhattyMo no, in reality the main danger is very flammable hot distillate, it's never the vapor, to minimize this hazard amateur distillers add a second condenser to cool down the distillate before it flows out of the still, I see a lot of people commenting here not knowing a thing about ethanol distillation, that's sad
lovablecritters 7 months ago
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@wspol624 " Well designed equipment, proper temperature control, good ventialtion -- no problem." BINGO Bonzo! We have a winner! The law doesn't have a god damned thing to do with it! TAXES are what its all about. Let's be straight, in the hands of MORONS it can be dangerous. Outside of that, you're pretty much OK.
bamboo4tameshigiri 7 months ago
Good reminders professor. I enjoy a good batch of homemade rum myself once in a will, and I do know that the more you do something like that the more we let the safety standards go. We become overconfident in our abilities. Then an old girl friend phones and forget to shut the pot still off. BOOM.
Stormrunner0002 7 months ago
anyone else find this funny "it only burns really fast or explodes when its in the vapor phase, because when its in a liquid it doesn't burn very quickly.."
Gmc42082 7 months ago
@Gmc42082 nop because in liquid form, it doesnt have a lot of oxygen around it, so it cant burn fast enough. while in vapou form, it has alot of O2.
FurkanKhan100 7 months ago
@Gmc42082 i wouldnt say funny
id say its accurate
god these people
voiceofreason2008 7 months ago
@Gmc42082 no, not really, why? I'd say liquids doesn't combust. If you have a liquid you need to heat it until the surface has released enough kerosene in gas phase to sustain burning(%-age vary) + generates excess heat to BOIL off more gas. Most heavier oils, like kerosene, would kill smaller fires/flames if poured right over it. The energy it takes to heat kerosene will outpace a tiny fire's capability to boil it off. The fire will die a heat death.
Paxmax 7 months ago
@Paxmax no,no nobody gets it, i though it sounded funny b/c the way he worded it , it would be like saying " i'm on earth,because im not on mars". the way he started the statement, i though he was going to explain why gases are more flammable than liquids, rather than just saying gases burn explosively while liquids don't. i mean i do understand the reason why, i just though he was going to explain why.
Gmc42082 7 months ago
@Gmc42082 Ah-ha! ..yeah, it was perhaps exceptional redundancy.
Paxmax 7 months ago
anyone ever notice his computer screen. its bad ass how it shifts computers
cainmike23 7 months ago
I love how Boston is a small town in the UK.
werothegreat 7 months ago
4 people blew up while making moonshine
grndmstrjoe 7 months ago
Is alcohol vapor intoxicating? Seems like it would be much faster (and more dangerous) than drinking.
singlespies 7 months ago
@singlespies Yes, ethanol vaporizers exist. Their safety profile isn't completely understood. Some argue vaporization is a safer and healthier way to get drunk, while others argue it is too easy to become extremely intoxicated without really realizing how much booze you are consuming. Verily, it is just a different route of administration. I mean if you really wanted to, you load an IV with an ethanol infusion. Dangerous, yes, but nothing farfetched.
almasapparition 7 months ago
@singlespies "Is alcohol vapor intoxicating?"
Yes.
A company in London opened a bar where pure alcohol was vapourised, mixed with oxygen & then inhaled. The oxygen would give the people a head rush. And the alcohol would be absorbed far more quickly through their lungs. They've probably already been shut down. The concentrated alcohol could dehydrate (toughen) throat & lung tissue. They'd get drunk dangerously quick and the oxygen is a major fire hazard when mixed with pure ethanol vapour.
lexichronicle2 7 months ago
Some of my forefathers came from Boston, Lincolnshire.
pinkytm1 7 months ago
Very informative video
coolliger 7 months ago
"woman had a BBQ in her tent"
One of the students at York thought it'd be funny to have one in their campus bedroom. I shit ye not. No doubt on one of those 'special' degrees. The one's that were made up to meet the meaningless 50% uni uptake figure for labour.
Speaking of pressure, distilling your azeotrope under REDUCED pressure will split it and yield pure ethanol without entrainers. Pure ethanol which will then turn back into azeotropic ethanol when it touches the atmosphere. :D
lexichronicle2 7 months ago
"BLEVE" = boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion
fegolem 7 months ago
In my experience, most stills blow up in the fermentation vessel. Poor still construction allows air to get in and when the mixture is right it goes boom. I've saw a fermentation vessel explode with such force it knocked over a nearby tree. Such is the problem when distilling from such a large vessel. Also, stills for moonshine are often under a great deal of pressure. In the event of a containment failure; the rapid release of vapors make for a big ole boom.
Ilovetheplatypus 7 months ago
at 0:10 are thath behind you quartz
MrLorum 7 months ago
Professor : although you are half a world away , I look forward to and hang on your every word , if I were to ever want to further my education , I could only hope I had a teacher with your attributes , your an awesome man and I love listening to you speak. I always look forward to your next topic of discussion , had my American teachers had enthusiasm like yours I would have been far more educated than I am today....Thank you for all you do , my deepest sympathies for those who were injured .
theeAlphaOne 7 months ago
I just noticed "the professor" figure behind him.
kcazzo69 7 months ago
Nice Video. How about a follow up on how methanol is formed when you distil ethanol the wrong way, and how it affects (kills) your body.
dumbzebra 7 months ago
Apparently a woman had a barbecue in her tent and died of monoxide poisoning.
G3org3Master 7 months ago
"Inflammable means flammable?!" -Dr.Nick
mycamguy 7 months ago 2
@mycamguy Inflammable and flammable both mean “combustible.” Flammable now has certain technical uses, particularly as a warning on vehicles carrying combustible materials, because of a belief that some might interpret the intensive prefix in- of inflammable as a negative prefix and thus think the word means “noncombustible.” Inflammable is the word more usually used in nontechnical and figurative contexts: "The speaker ignited the inflammable emotions of the crowd."
2334Johnlegend34 7 months ago
Anybody see that Mythbusters episode where they try to blow up the gasoline tank and can't do so without extensive modifications and a carefully controlled mixture? Gas is even easier to ignite with something like a spark than alcohol. It must take incredibly precise conditions to accidentally create an explosive mixture of alcohol vapor in a room. You would probably be dead from inhaling the vapor if you were inside.
Ormaaj 7 months ago
@Ormaaj You're probably right, but i've seen them make huge (unfair) mistakes before so I don't trust them.
G3org3Master 7 months ago
You should do a video about the different kinds of alcohols and the dangers of ingesting the wrong forms.
Bootleg stills often don't separate out the different kinds and (especially during the US prohibition when moonshiners were making stills out of anything they could find) can cause serious harm to the consumer of these spirits.
Firesoar13 7 months ago
Blowing it around with fans could actually make things worse by mixing it with the atmosphere and providing a possible ignition source. This is a side effect of students being so used to only using fume hoods to control problems, which is not an industrially applicable method. It is not hard to gain complete control of the vapour phase and trap it; entirely. Stupidity or lack lustre concentration likely caused the release and build up of vapour.
lexichronicle2 7 months ago
@lexichronicle2 He wrote "a VENT fan". Not one that recirculates air inside a room, but one that blows air OUT of a room.
DevilMaster 7 months ago
@DevilMaster That's not a suitable way to be handling explosive gas mixtures on a large scale. They shouldn't be in the air, that the staff are breathing and all the equipment is running in, in the first place. There should be a condenser with at least a 20 degree C temperature difference between the room temperature and it's coolant over the containers exit, so they stay in the container; e.g. a dry ice trap in a lab or a phase changer cooler industrially.
lexichronicle2 7 months ago
A large collection of vapor is explosive, jut like gasoline. IF they had a vent fan they wouldn't have had a problem. The biggest problem here is THE LAW. They were trying to hide the vapors rather than vent them. Ethanol did not cause this problem. The law did.
bamboo4tameshigiri 7 months ago 2
"that blnd drunk could also come from moonshine use though, anything above 94% can cause blindness"
This is folklore.
It came from the time when prohibition was in effect. To increase the alcohol reading of the product without having to distil it again and again through columns, moonshiners would add methanol to it. Methanol causes blindness, not strong ethanol.
Cases of contraband Vodka from Russia were found quite recently in the UK, contaminated with methanol.
lexichronicle2 7 months ago
@lexichronicle2 Thank you for spreading the truth. The entire problem is prohibition. Back then there were also people using old car radiators as condensers, etc. When you don't have the neofascist pigs to worry about, none of these dangers arise.
bamboo4tameshigiri 7 months ago
@bamboo4tameshigiri Except for all the people who poisoned or blew themselves up back then.
pgunn01 7 months ago
@pgunn01 I've been brewing for ~15 years now. I've got 5 gallons of mash cooking right now. I make 1-2 pints whiskey at a time (enough vapor for a rather large explosion.) ALL of that propaganda you have heard about came from PROHIBITION. People would cut their good wine with cheap LEGAL methanol and people went blind. Some people would use old car radiators as their condensers and they would get sick. NONE of that would have happened without the god damned law interfering in the first place.
bamboo4tameshigiri 7 months ago
@bamboo4tameshigiri In my family tree, there was at least one instance of people brewing cider or wine (before prohibition) and blowing up their house. As far as I can tell, this was not a particularly rare thing. Likewise, I have friends whose families homebrew alcohol in Russia, some of whom have had serious health problems relating to that homebrew.
I am not a fan of prohibition of alcohol. That said, these instances had nothing to do with American prohibition.
pgunn01 7 months ago
@pgunn01 Argumentum ad ignoratium and argumentum from excess have no effect on me. I'm sorry. That red herring was a tasty fish, but now for something completely different...
bamboo4tameshigiri 7 months ago
@pgunn01 The On Origin Of Species might have a word or two on your relatives.
bamboo4tameshigiri 7 months ago
@bamboo4tameshigiri wood alcohol as well...total blindness juice.
painxtreme 6 months ago
@painxtreme Show me how bread making yeast turns sucrose and fructose into methanol.
bamboo4tameshigiri 6 months ago
@pgunn01 Give me a list!
bamboo4tameshigiri 7 months ago
There's not much point distilling it yourself for drinking because, unless you have a big, professional setup and are doing large volumes, the amount of work, time and effort needed means it's going to work out about the same as buying cheap vodka to start with. Pure alcohol is virtually undrinkable. It doesn't just burn, it damages the lining of ones throat. To be pedantic about safety, that vent on the distillation receiver shouldn't be open to the atmosphere.
lexichronicle2 7 months ago
"How adding an "in" to the beginning of the word does not change the meaning is beyond me."
The word comes from the Latin "Flamma"; fire. "Inflammāre" changed that to "TO SET ON fire". "able" came from old French and 'vulgar' latin, meaning "to be capable". As the languages crossed over, we switched to the "able" version, flammABLE, and using "in" to mean a negative. Some people insist on the old latin version, but use it as an adjective when it was originally a verb I believe.
lexichronicle2 7 months ago
@lexichronicle2 latin derivatives FTW!!!
awesomejoe12 7 months ago
@awesomejoe12 I'm really annoyed I had to sit through 4 years of mandatory French in school. I hated the first lesson, I knew I'd never use it and I was literally counting down the days to the last lesson, and the minutes off in that last lesson. Complete waste of my time. A huge chunk of the English language comes from Latin. I would have far rather gone all posh and public school and learnt that, so would I understand where the words I use come from and how they are connected.
lexichronicle2 7 months ago
@lexichronicle2 Than take a medical terminology. Its one of the best places to learn the Latin and Greek that make up the bastardized English language.
bamboo4tameshigiri 7 months ago
BR?
Maladath 7 months ago
who is doing a distillation of alcohol either with an open flame or a hot plate oil bath that has it set to the flash point of ethanol. morons, i suppose.
shidoink 7 months ago
we want to see the professor on the beach again :3
QwertySkill 7 months ago
I'll stick to buying the stuff like everyone else. In the U.S., we sell a liquor called Everclear. It's 190 proof :)
norxcontacts 7 months ago
One of our local (legal) vodka distilleries exploded a year or two ago, from a welder working in the stillhouse. And there's hardly a distillery in Scotland that hasn't had a disatrous explosion or warehouse fire in its history...
(By the way, the professor mentions vodka and brandy. I can understand, giving his location, why he might not mention tequila, but you know there is a bit of whisk(e)y made in the U.K. Just sayin'....)
ThePeaceableKingdom 7 months ago
"Inflammable" has to be the stupidest word in the English language.
It SHOULD be the opposite of flammable. How adding an "in" to the beginning of the word does not change the meaning is beyond me.
PBDPBD 7 months ago 2
@PBDPBD "Inflammable means flammable? What a country!" --- Dr. Nick Riviera on the Simpsons
ThePeaceableKingdom 7 months ago
@PBDPBD Also the fact that knowing the difference could mean life or death, how many times could a sign with inflammable be misinterpreted :P
QuaziGNRLNose 7 months ago
@PBDPBD The same with "habitable" and "inhabitable".
DevilMaster 7 months ago
@DevilMaster Whaaa?! I didn't know inhabitable was even a word! I guess "uninhabitable" now makes sense though...
PBDPBD 7 months ago
I'd love to see what this guy looked like when he was in his twenties, might be pretty funny!
rackslap 7 months ago
Clandestine liquor in England?! Cool...
Trichomes503 7 months ago
In the UK it is perfectly legal to produce up to 2500 Liters per year for use as "bio-fuel"
deelean 7 months ago 2
small town lol more like a fat town lol (only joking) down the road from me bit of a rough town
thisusersuck 7 months ago
Last time I drank moonshine there was a disastrous explosion - a vomit explosion all over my room. All it took was four shots mixed with kool-aid.
cuntylishus 7 months ago
Audio is very low on this video :<. Simple yes, easy to control yes, but if you're lazy and don't get things right, it will still kill you.
FoxvoxDK 7 months ago
@FoxvoxDK the low audio will kill us?
OH GOD
jk
:D
brenoakiy 7 months ago
@brenoakiy Hmm yes, I should have divided those sentences, I agree :P
FoxvoxDK 7 months ago
Okay Brady, I asked you several times about this but now i'm really disapponted. This video has so silent sound I can barely hear The Professor speaking on my lappie, even when I maxed out all the volume regulators. Why can't you make your videos as loud as all the others on YouTube?
rageagainstthebath 7 months ago
How come I'm always the 303rd person to watch these? Does Youtube stop updating regularly after 303?
cuntylishus 7 months ago
@cuntylishus Its weird because it says that i'm number 303 aswell
TheAllSeeingToe 7 months ago
@cuntylishus It just happens because a large influx of viewers jams the counter. It goes back to the actual amount of views after a day or two.
wcastle9110 7 months ago
In Ireland, the poteen makers always distilled their mountain dew outdoors. I guess they might have had a few explosions until they learned to do that.
draoi99 7 months ago