Comment on It definitely *was* a good idea though
bogdugg@lemmy.world 1 month agoI don’t know what “fossilized algae” refers to
Looked it up:
Nobel found that when nitroglycerin was incorporated in an absorbent inert substance like kieselguhr (diatomaceous earth) it became safer and more convenient to handle, and this mixture he patented in 1867 as “dynamite”.
Diatomaceous earth consists of the fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled microalgae.
LemmyKnowsBest@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Ooh. Diatomaceous earth is also the best safest healthiest most humane method of fending off bed bugs.
JudahBenHur@lemm.ee 1 month ago
I’m all for being humane but I would stab a bed bug with a pin and yell “die, fucker”. Same goes for mosquitos, ticks and fleas.
Isn’t diotemacious earth cancer causing if you breath it in?
Microplasticbrain@lemm.ee 1 month ago
Most shit will cause lung cancer if you make it into a powder and inhale enough of it.
Steve@startrek.website 1 month ago
Water. (Snow or frost)
TwoCubed@feddit.de 1 month ago
In this case it’s pretty much the same risk as inhaling asbestos dust. Fun fact, in the past beer was filtered through asbestos, which was perfectly safe because asbestos is only dangerous when inhaled. Nowadays it’s filtered through Kieselgur because it’s properties are pretty much identical to those of asbestos.
sandalbucket@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Fortunately, diacontagious (or however you spell it) earth is not very “humane”. It cuts their wax layer as they crawl through it, leaving just enough of a gap that they can’t contain moisture, and they dehydrate / mummify to death.
This fun fact brought me much comfort while I lied in bed, slapping every itch and wincing at every breeze.
DrRatso@lemmy.ml 1 month ago
DE is abrasive, and that does help, but the main reason it works is because it is a desiccant, so like a silica packet it dehydrates the insect.
Quereller@lemmy.one 1 month ago
Not when you mix it with nitroglycerin.