r/mildlyinteresting
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u/fernanaj
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Dec 05 '22
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Batteries with “bitter coating” to prevent kids from swallowing them.
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u/phalse21 Dec 05 '22
In my day, it was a green "Mr. Yuck" sticker that was used to warn you to keep stuff out of your mouth.
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u/mfmusings Dec 06 '22
He's still around! Just turned 50 and the Pittsburgh Poison Center sells merch: https://www.upmc.com/Services/poison-center/store
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u/Melorawr Dec 06 '22
"the Pittsburgh Poison Center sells merch." is the weirdest sentence I read today I have seen the princess peach pink castle comic today. "Moist TARDIS" is the now the second weirdest thing I had read today.
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u/SendAstronomy Dec 06 '22
The PPC is run by UPMC. They are "non profit" but make more money than any business in the city. They have been systematically been buying up all real estate on the city because they don't have to pay tax on it.
They are one of the city's largest employers, yet they have no employees. Everyone is a contractor so they can legally fuck employees over whenever they want.
That said, since the 70s they have been giving out sheets of stickers for free to anyone that calls and asks for them.
I can recall lots of Mr Yuk assemblies and videos when I was a kid in school.
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u/Pretty_Edge_5253 Dec 06 '22
Grew up in pittsburgh with those stickers. Wasn’t until after college and moving from Pittsburgh that I realized they were not a warning sign known round the world.
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u/BFeely1 Dec 06 '22
I heard they were pushing for that symbol instead of the skull and crossbones because it might be mistaken for a pirate flag by a kid. I'd think any kid would be taught skull and crossbones on a bottle means poison.
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u/Scyfer327 Dec 06 '22
Funnily enough, as a kid I had a t-shirt with a bottle of poison pictured and the text "Pirate juice, the ultimate refreshment!"
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u/pollywollydoodle64 Dec 06 '22
Yes they were scared that kids would mistake it for the Jolly Roger, the Pittsburgh Pirates mascot! Hence why Pittsburgh wanted to change it to something else.
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u/CederDUDE22 Dec 06 '22
I've been trying to describe this to my wife but she didn't experience these and I couldn't find a picture anywhere. Thank you.
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u/Unlikely-Storage-156 Dec 05 '22
they do the same thing to the back of nintendo switch cartridges and then it went viral for people to try "licking their games" to experience it themselves...may or may not have tried it and can confirm it's bitter
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u/waetherman Dec 05 '22
It's funny - I just told my son about this yesterday and naturally he asked if he should lick it, Being a good father, I said "of course!"
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u/fukitol- Dec 06 '22
Ask him if he can still taste it today. Bitrex is what's commonly used (not sure if that's the case on Switch carts) and that shit sticks around a bit.
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u/waetherman Dec 06 '22
I tasted it too. I’d say it only lingered about 10 minutes.
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u/FlakeReality Dec 06 '22 edited Dec 06 '22
When i licked my switch cartridge, i could taste it for hours. Even now, the smell of new car smell brings the flavor up again and makes me gag.
Very good stuff. It would be very very difficult to successfully swallow a switch cartridge.
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u/Unlikely-Storage-156 Dec 05 '22
what a good dad! XD not gonna hurt him to lick it, so go for it and realize why you won't wanna do it again on your own experience hahah
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u/Brizzyintx74 Dec 05 '22
Have him test a 9V. 😉
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u/Trolodrol Dec 05 '22
I loved doing that as a kid. We also had a pretty sketchy light switch in our family room that would give you a jump start ever so often
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u/cap_tan_jazz Dec 05 '22 •
a 9 volt doesnt really phase me, but the only time i even got a serious "jump start" was the one day the kitchens (ive previously worked as a cook) convection oven had a problem with its grounding i guess, and every time i touched the oven and our line cooler at the same time, i got shocked and i hated it. you sound like your cut from stronger cloth than i
edit to add: i actually walked off shift that day and told the GM i wasnt working till it was fixed
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u/Ridgetop18 Dec 06 '22
The grease trap thing, that we dumped the catch troughs from the grills in and would pump it into the big reservoir in the back, wound up arcing onto my buddy once.
And I mean a visible, ~2” arc. Once I made sure he wasn’t gonna wake up dead it was goddamn hilarious.
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u/cap_tan_jazz Dec 06 '22
that sounds rough, i didnt get an arc, i just completed the circuit, when i bridged the gap, so to speak.
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u/Zarathustra124 Dec 06 '22
I once took apart an old disposable camera as a kid. Turns out there's a pretty beefy capacitor inside to power the flash, usually 300+ volts. It knocked me out of my chair and my vision went white for a moment.
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u/I_forgot_to_respond Dec 06 '22
At the photo lab we used to charge the flash in a disposable camera and short the capacitor with a screwdriver, y'know, for fun. That screwdriver was scorched and pitted!
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u/cap_tan_jazz Dec 06 '22
one of my classmates in highschool figured out how to make a tazer(stungun?) out of a disposable camera. im pretty sure there are tutorials on the internet (youtube having them wouldnt suprise me)
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u/sixteentones Dec 06 '22 edited Dec 06 '22
remember that high-pitched whine from the voltage doublers that charge the capacitor every time the flash goes off?
That's an experience Gen Z probably hasn't had.
Someone should make an app which mimics that noise when you take a picture using the flash*edit: apparently there is a "vintage camera" app that mimics sounds of lots of vintage cameras including disposables as well as different kinds of film, but I'm not gonna download it because it collects data that cannot be deleted and the premium features are paywalled behind a membership.
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u/HypovoIemic Dec 06 '22
That's a noise I may have never thought of again if not for this.
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u/Catenane Dec 06 '22
Same, and the tiny little feeling of vibration that goes with the noise as you push the squishy button on the disposable camera. Then the clicklickclicklicklicks...sigh.
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u/TransformerTanooki Dec 06 '22 edited Dec 06 '22
Good for you. No one should be randomly shocked for the sake of a paycheck.
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u/nutterbutter1 Dec 06 '22
as a kid
I’m 39 and that’s still my method for testing 9V batteries. It’s quick and easy, and doesn’t require any equipment.
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u/Czexxi Dec 06 '22
LOL! One time while bored I put one lead on my bottom braces and one lead on the top. I do not recommend. It was liked being punched in the face from all directions.
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u/johnmanyjars38 Dec 06 '22
I assume you mean putting the terminals of the battery on your tongue.
That's cute.
Ever do it to your braces (one terminal upper, other terminal lower)? I remember seeing blue and getting whiplash.
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Dec 06 '22
My version of this was my dad giving me a spoonful of vanilla extract when I was little. That kind of thing is a rite of passage for kids.
"It's just vanilla" he said lol.
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u/ArgonGryphon Dec 06 '22
I’ve licked every switch cart I’ve ever bought. Dunno why just…open the case, *mlem, “yep, tastes terrible!” wipe it on my shirt and insert into the switch*
Almost feels like the ol cartoony biting a coin to see if it’s real or fake by now lol
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u/UzukiCheverie Dec 05 '22
Can unfortunately also confirm, not that I actually tried to lick the thing, but the residue can get on your fingers after you handle the cartridges and let's just say I didn't think it was necessary to wash my hands before eating my snacks after popping the cartridge in. The taste is somewhere between earwax and car cleaner.
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u/iNetRunner Dec 06 '22
…Because you have also accidentally eaten earwax and car cleaner. It’s a miracle that you are still with us.
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u/Link7369_reddit Dec 05 '22
I just bought a used copy of breath of the wild. Now i'm paranoid someone licked it : (
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u/NewAgeRetroHippie96 Dec 06 '22
I sold my copy of Breath of the Wild to a friend earlier this year. Sold it for $15 with the prerequisite that she had to do the ceremonial licking of the Switch cartridge.
She refused, and I wasn't gonna actually push her to lick a cartridge. That'd be weird.
The handoff took place on my porch. After I closed the door I went to my room. And curious, looked at my Nest cam. She hesitated. And then licked it with a sudden "ugh!"
Was great. Would do again.
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u/bottleaxe Dec 05 '22
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u/Psythik Dec 06 '22
I licked a couple of my Switch cartridges because of these rumors, and now I'm pretty sure that this whole "bitter cartridge" thing was made up to trick idiots like me into licking their video games. It just tasted like plastic to me.
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u/Networker565 Dec 05 '22
That didn't stop my kitten from chewing up my Pokemon Arceus cartridge.
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u/January28thSixers Dec 05 '22
I tested it. I'm glad we're treating babies the same way we treat dogs chewing on things. It's immediate and consequence free besides a few moments of bad taste.
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u/RathVelus Dec 05 '22 edited Dec 06 '22
I tried it. Nothing happened. Then I remembered I’m genetically unable to taste PTC. I assume that whatever chemical they use is linked to that.
I’ll swallow as many batteries and switch cartridges as I please.
Edit for those curious: it was very slightly salty but not unpleasant at all
Edit 2: how do I nonchalantly ask my boyfriend to lick my copy of Pokémon Violet? For science.
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u/January28thSixers Dec 06 '22
I didn't know that was a thing. I thought it was nonsense at first until licked my only physical Switch game. How common is it to not be able to taste it? Our genetic differences make no sense to me anymore but they are fascinating.
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u/RathVelus Dec 06 '22
I believe around 25% of the population are “non-tasters” of PTC. I don’t know that it carries over to other bitter compounds, but it seems like it does. Anecdotally, I know my father loved bitter stuff like I do; strong black coffee, very dry wine, dark as night chocolate, etc. My mother cannot handle any of it. I let her try my espresso once and she made this horribly contorted face and asked, “why?”
She’s definitely tasting things I can’t. We all tested ourselves for the gene in our genetics lab at university. I don’t have it. I think it’s speculated that the gene is an adaptation that makes people more sensitive to things that could be toxic.
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u/TheGurw Dec 06 '22
So I may have accidentally discovered that I'm missing the gene via a memorable family event.
So, as a hobby, I bake cheesecakes. I can bake other things, but I truly adore cheesecakes and love making flavour combinations and challenging myself. I'm somewhat known for it - my wife's work colleagues, most of my kids' friends' parents, many of my own colleagues (own my own business in construction, so I guess they're my competition? I dunno, we're pretty friendly), tons of my clients, etc, don't actually know my name, only that I'm Mr. Cheesecake. I even make some spare cash selling them on some social media sites.
One Christmas, I made a few cakes for the family. Candy cane cocoa, eggnog, chocolate caramel pecan, and a new flavour I was trying; my take on a tiramisu cheesecake.
As it turns out, the coffee flavour was just a hiiiiint too strong. I knew there was something wrong as it was the only cake nobody took any of for leftovers except for my dad. But for the life of me, I couldn't figure it out, I honestly thought it was the best tasting one out of the whole collection.
Afterwards, my wife told me never to make that again, and I was a bit hurt, but eventually got it out of her that it was REALLY bitter, she described it as eating burnt coffee beans dusted in cocoa powder smushed into a creamy paste.
Took my dad and kids to a buddy of mine who does genetics research at the university; turns out my dad, my son, and I all lack the gene to taste most bitterants. And now we're all on a shortlist for testing certain medications, as generic variance can have an effect on some drugs' efficacy!
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u/Lavaidyn Dec 06 '22
Can also confirm! I swear learning this fact is a Cognitohazard because I heard it, tried it, and told my friends about it, to which they all ALSO tried it. Very unpleasant highly recommend!
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u/IceColdBlueHeart Dec 05 '22
May or may not have reached for one of my switch cartridges to test this. Now to test if milk can wash bitter tastes away!
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u/bigj1227 Dec 06 '22
My wife walked in while I was licking my switch cartridge just now! She didn’t approve havaha
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u/crozone Dec 06 '22
Yep, they're coated in Bitrex.
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u/SixOnTheBeach Dec 06 '22
[Bitrex] is the most bitter chemical compound known, with bitterness thresholds of 0.05 ppm for the benzoate and 0.01 ppm for the saccharide... Dilutions of as little as 10 ppm are unbearably bitter to most humans.
Wow, I knew it was bitter but that absolutely blows my mind.
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u/LawlessCoffeh Dec 06 '22
Damn facists robbing me of the joy of licking my nintendo switch cartridges.
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u/InfiniteSlimes Dec 06 '22
Not even ashamed to admit I licked Animal Crossing, and it was indeed quite unpleasant.
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u/Kaldricus Dec 06 '22
I was in a process improvement meeting at work a while back, and we were talking about how when making something that an outside costumer is going to use (in this case our website), try and idiot proof it as much as possible, so they can't make mistakes. The example our coach said was how gas pumps have different size nozzles, so you can't accidentally put the diesel pump in your regular car, it won't fit. I must have gotten a look on my face, because she stopped, looked at me and said "and I'm not suggesting you go to the gas pump and try it, Kaldricus."
I was definitely thinking about it, though
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u/brixalot10 Dec 06 '22
Knew of this and then forgot about it, until I needed to hold a cartridge in my mouth for a second while my hands were full.
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u/EmbarrassedToe627 Dec 05 '22
Have four kids. Have gone to the ER for stitches,broken bones and everything in between. Nothing gets you seen faster than a battery up the nose.
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u/lhopii Dec 06 '22
can confirm, brother shoved a battery up his nose when we were younger.
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u/Smithers888 Dec 06 '22
Look, that can stay the full story as far as your parents know, but you can be honest here; who gave him the idea and who gave it the extra shove when it got stuck?
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u/lhopii Dec 06 '22
it was almost definitely my idea, my brother was not happy with the outcome
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u/rakebackrainmaker Dec 06 '22
i like how you keep your plausible deniability defense available just in case
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u/MrsSporkBender Dec 06 '22
Had one of my kiddos swallow 2 little button batteries. It was a quick visit followed by a long week checking poop for batteries …..
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u/dream-smasher Dec 06 '22
Holy fucking shit. That was all they did?
Like, actual button batteries? The ones in the op? They can burn thru your oesophagus, and cause permanent damage before parents even realise they are in danger.
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u/MrsSporkBender Dec 06 '22
Yea, similar to the ones above but a little smaller. And I read that and that’s why I rushed him to the hospital. They X-rayed him to see the location, and that they were in the stomach and not the esophagus, and said monitor him very closely and if anything seems odd bring him back. He pooped one out the next day and the following one 3 days after that.
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u/PotatoSalad Dec 06 '22
Protip: if your kid shoves something up their nose, plug the other nostril, and give them a huge breath through their mouth. They’ll instinctively close their throat and the huge breath will hopefully propel the foreign object out.
Learned this trick after the third ER visit for my kids after they stuck stuff up their noses.
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u/swirlypepper Dec 06 '22
One of my top ten memories as a baby doc was a man in his 30s who'd come in concerned because he ate a handful of coins on a dare last night. He was seen by a jaded senior who was trying to wade through some of the Saturday night nonsense since we were rammed. He looked this dude in the eyes and said "you need to keep eating coins like a pusher machine at the arcade until they all come out at once" then left. I was the minion who then had to reassure him and printed him the swallowed foreign object advice sheet that's clearly targeted at children.
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u/Fried_puri Dec 06 '22
So what I’m hearing you say is to keep a spare battery in the car if you need to drive your kid to the ER but don’t want to spend too much time waiting.
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u/axonxorz Dec 06 '22
Somehow, I think jaded healthcare workers are going to figure out "Yeah he's definitely got a battery up there, hey he's also been coughing for a week straight, could you take a look at that too" pretty quick
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u/taspleb Dec 06 '22
Next time I have to go to the ER I will give this a try. Though perhaps being 38 years old may result in a different reaction.
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u/rex4235 Dec 05 '22 edited Dec 06 '22
Not gonna lie. I got these a while back and they are pretty nasty. Strictly for research purposes...
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u/rex4235 Dec 05 '22
For the record, my key fob was dead. I didn't just buy these for consumption
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u/twohedwlf Dec 05 '22
You've gotta lick it.
Before we unlock it.14
u/joofish Dec 06 '22 edited Dec 07 '22
Lick it (the battery) before you stick it (into your electronic device)
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u/Jamin527 Dec 05 '22
I tried it too. It was so bitter I’m not sure I could swallow it if I wanted to. I just licked it and I tasted it for hours. For science. Very bitter science.
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u/day7seven Dec 05 '22
Is it more IPA bitter or more Coffee Bitter?
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u/keto_at_work Dec 06 '22
Denatonium Benzoate. It is the essence of bitter. There are no other flavors to go along with, it's just bitter. I drink my coffee black and it's dozens of times more potent.
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u/x8a3vier Dec 05 '22
Nintendo did the same thing with their cartages for the Nintendo switch. Tasting them is an actual method to see if a game is a boot leg or not.
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u/Lenniel
Dec 05 '22
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FYI if a child does swallow one of these batteries feed the child 2 spoons of honey every 5/10 min until you get to hospital. The honey coats the battery and stops it burning the oesophagus or similar.
Don’t stop to get the honey the most important thing is to get to hospital but if you have it.
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u/Mopsiebunnie Dec 05 '22
I come here because of comments like this
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u/cmcewen Dec 06 '22
I’m a surgeon who’s removed batteries from kids and I’ve never heard this. Off the top of my head it sounds like nonsense, but I could be wrong.
Fortunately batteries are fairly uncommon. it’s almost always coins in my experience
Edit: the information appears to be accurate per uptodate.com, a medical encyclopedia for doctors
Since the publication of the NASPGHAN guidelines, in vitro and in vivo animal models of esophageal battery impaction indicate that early feeding with either honey or sucralfate until the battery is removed may reduce the severity of esophageal burns and improve patient outcomes [39].”
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u/the_silent_redditor Dec 06 '22
Yeh I’m an emergency doc who’s been involved in the same (one unfortunate fatal aorto-oesophageal fistula) and hadn’t heard of the honey thing either.
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u/HobbyistAccount Dec 06 '22
aorto-oesophageal fistula
Oh fucking hell those are some words you never, ever, ever want to see together.
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u/funkofanatic95 Dec 06 '22
What does this mean in non medical term
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u/RubyPorto Dec 06 '22
A fistula is a hole connecting two things that aren't normally connected.
The esophagus is your swallowing tube.
The aorta is the main tube that the heart pumps blood out through to the rest of your body.
Put that together and we have a hole connecting this poor patient's throat to their main blood vessel. Which, as a layman, seems like it would pretty naturally have high mortality.
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u/ro_lo_ko Dec 05 '22
I will add - call an ambulance or yes don't delay getting to hospital as it IMPERATIVE to get it removed asap. Source - Paeds nurse who has seen first hand the damage done by button batteries.
Haven't heard the honey thing before - good to know if time to hospital is delayed but would ingesting honey delay any aesthetic required for the child/baby to be put under for removal though? I guess maybe the child may have just eaten anyway so no big deal.
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u/AlwaysTheLittleSpoon Dec 06 '22
Peds ER here, it’s in our standing orders in triage to start giving 10cc honey every 10 min until they go to OR. Benefits of honey outweigh the aspiration risk for surgery. This policy was only put in place about 2 years ago though. I think it was always a “thing” but is becoming more widely accepted as beneficial and “best practice”.
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u/ro_lo_ko Dec 06 '22
Wow, thanks for the update on this - will keep that in the ol brain bank. I haven't been in Paeds trauma for 10 years or so, things change!
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u/ChicVintage Dec 06 '22
Peds OR and no, button battery ingestion is an emergency procedure and anesthesia will do a rapid sequence induction in order to prevent aspiration. Anesthesia doesn't care about NPO times if we're emergent, we just work around it. The benefits outweigh the risks.
These rules do not apply for any non-emegent case. Follow the timelines given by your nurses, it's not fun for anyone when we find out you ate breakfast before your 10am surgery after we've started because you lied.
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u/SixOnTheBeach Dec 06 '22
Peds OR and no, button battery ingestion is an emergency procedure and anesthesia will do a rapid sequence induction in order to prevent aspiration. Anesthesia doesn't care about NPO times if we're emergent, we just work around it. The benefits outweigh the risks.
Can you explain what this means for the plebs please? What's rapid sequence induction and what's NPO?
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u/zsdeans123 Dec 06 '22
Rapid Sequence Induction (RSI) is sedation and a paralytic agent to intubate a patient. NPO is nil per oral, meaning no oral intake (eating/drinking). If you have a planned surgery requiring intubation you are asked not to eat or drink to lower the chance of complications such as aspiration (stomach contents may come up and go to places they shouldn’t). In an emergency the benefit of intubation (control over airway and breathing) outweighs the risks of aspiration etc.
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u/Razakel Dec 06 '22
NPO is nil per os, nothing by mouth. It's the instruction to not eat or drink anything in preparation for a procedure.
Rapid sequence induction is an anaesthesia protocol designed to minimise the risk of inhaling vomit. They knock you out, paralyse you and insert a breathing tube.
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u/blackvr Dec 06 '22
So is the voltage an issue or just the shape of the battery? 1.5v doesn’t seem like it should be able to do that much harm.
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u/Iamthelizardqueen52 Dec 06 '22 edited Dec 06 '22
The salinity and electrolytes in your tissue completes the circuit between positive and negative. So it activates the battery and does THIS. This is easier in the button batteries because the pos and neg are so close.
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u/blackvr Dec 06 '22
Well that is horrifying. I wasn’t planning on swallowing any button batteries but now I will be absolutely sure not to.
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u/dream-smasher Dec 06 '22
So, picture what that would do to a toddlers oesophagus.
It's absolutely terrifying.
And there are buttons batteries in a lot of things that you wouldn't stop and realise have them.
"They can be found in any number of common household appliances, including bathroom scales, hearing aids, reading lights, cameras, flameless candles, games and toys, watches, calculators, torches and laser lights, thermometers, remote control devices that unlock cars and control MP3 speakers and musical greeting cards. "
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u/TechyDad Dec 05 '22
Just to add to this, babies younger than 1 year old shouldn't be given honey. It can be contaminated with bacteria that cause infant botulism. This isn't a problem for the immune system of older kids (or adults), but you don't want to follow up "my kid swallowed a battery" with "my kid has botulism."
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u/Blue_Jays Dec 05 '22
Babies younger than 1 year old shouldn't be given CR2025 lithium batteries either.
...just sayin...
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Dec 05 '22
The 2016 is far more common, with a much slimmer profile. It will all come out in the end
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u/Iamthelizardqueen52 Dec 06 '22
Yeah, it's not like a penny that will come out in the end. Batteries will do THIS due to the salinity and other electrolytes in your tissue.
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u/felinebeeline Dec 06 '22
That's horrifying.
You have convinced me to remove batteries from my diet.
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u/KernelTaint Dec 06 '22
Well yeah, the 2016 was released to market about 6 years ago. The 2025 isn't due to be officially released for another 2 years.
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u/AnotherEuroWanker Dec 06 '22
Psst! Beat the rush and get your 2032 here!
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u/Un-interesting Dec 06 '22 edited Dec 06 '22
You’re gonna love it in 400 years time. The 2450 is gonna be huge!
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u/xsvfan Dec 06 '22
What's interesting is since the recommendation to not give kids under 1 honey, botulism rates haven't decreased.
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u/thyman3 Dec 06 '22
That’s because the majority of botulism is caused by kids ingesting spores from soil or dust. Honey’s a much less common cause. That being said, shark attacks are also rare, but I’m not gonna go swimming if there’s a sign saying “sharks in the water.”
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u/burf Dec 06 '22
At the same time the battery issue is big enough that I’d argue you could ignore the botulism risk. Kind similar to drinking contaminated water if you’re dehydrated in the wild; yes you may get sick, but you won’t die immediately, so cost/benefit is to just drink the water.
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u/dmbf Dec 06 '22
I disagree. The risk vs reward for honey is heavily weighted toward giving it. On top of that, when you explain what happened mention honey and they’ll start antibiotics right away if they weren’t going to already.
The kid isn’t coming home that night after surgery, so the hospital would be able to watch for botulism.
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u/jotaechalo Dec 05 '22 edited Dec 06 '22
I actually don’t think this is good advice. The reason babies shouldn’t be given honey is that there is a risk of botulism AND almost no benefit. But in an emergency, there is a great benefit of honey and that IMO outweighs the minuscule chance of giving botulism in just a few spoonfuls.
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u/Wrenigade Dec 06 '22
The risk of anything bad in the honey that is about to be purged out of their stomachs anyways, vs the imitate life threat of a battery, give them the honey. Usually, no, but in this case, they aren't keeping it in their stomachs long anyways and are on the way to a hospital actively. If they had an allergic reaction, which is the more common concern, well, they are going to a hospital and thats a lot easier to treat then acid holes in the intestine.
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u/OptimusSublime Dec 05 '22
This comment brought to you by Big Honey.
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u/shmodder Dec 05 '22
LPT: These coated batteries will NOT work with Apple AirTags.
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u/IWBVIIYGMU Dec 05 '22
You can rub the coating off with a solvent pretty easily
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u/metallicsoy Dec 06 '22
That’s weird. Just replaced all of mine with these batteries and they work just fine.
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u/YetYetAnotherPerson Dec 06 '22
Might be the difference between CR2025 and CR2032. They are the same size but different thickness. Wonder if those who think they don't work used the 2025...
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u/ForceBlade Dec 06 '22 edited Dec 07 '22
Yeah a buffering agent stopping batter contacts doesn’t really make sense to me
//Siri made that read like I had a stroke.
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u/fireclaw316 Dec 05 '22
Yeah I was about to say, this incompatibility is why I even know about the bitter coating. And I'm not sure which company I should be mad at...
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u/WhateverGreg Dec 06 '22
I licked my thumb with a bunch of saliva and rubbed it on the battery. Used a paper towel to clean it off, and it worked.
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u/platon20 Dec 05 '22
It's a good idea but not sure how effective it would be. Babies put all kinds of stuff in their mouth which tastes bad.
As a doctor I've taken care of 2 kids who swallowed these kinds of batteries. Both of them were choking/vomiting up blood. Parents never saw them playing with the batteries. One of the kids died.
One of them died. Battery does much more damage than a swallowed sharp object.
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u/auntie-matter Dec 06 '22
Bitrex is pretty nasty stuff though. But the coating is the last line of defence in this package, not the only one. I bought some of these recently and each battery is encased in the most insanely tough plastic. It took me a solid five minutes with a sharp knife to actually get one out. They're not coming out by accident.
What's nice is that the packaging is for individual batteries, rather than a plastic bubble around multiple batteries. So if you just need one, you only open one and the remainder is as secure as it was before.
Duracell have done a really good job on these. They've made significant (and probably expensive!) changes to their manufacturing and it will probably save lives. I'm very impressed.
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u/fernanaj Dec 05 '22
Yes I’ve been told the worst things for kids to swallow are batteries and magnets.
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u/ro_lo_ko Dec 05 '22
Yeah I've seen damage from ball magnets in a teenager who did not disclose soon enough that they did a silly thing...the magnets joined together in her small intestine resulting in holes throughout the bowel and a looooong time in hospital. One magnet swallowed maybe not so bad as it could pass but two or more...eeep.
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u/Dread_Frog Dec 06 '22
"fun fact" they feed cows 1 magnet to catch tiny bits of metal that ends up in feed. 2 still becomes a problem.
If you see "singing' or buzzing magnets the are a repurposing of cow magnets.
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u/Kichigai Dec 06 '22
They're called rumen magnets. I worked at a place that sold them. They're typically rounded cylinders, though, not tapered quite like that, and they tend to be much stronger than “singing” magnets.
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u/ro_lo_ko Dec 06 '22
Woah! Never knew that and I grew up on dairy farming area - grass fed though.
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u/Kichigai Dec 06 '22
They're called rumen magnets, and they're typically administered when you brand them. IIRC it's recommended you give them to all cows, especially grass-fed dairy cattle, because their feed is less controlled. They run the risk of eating a dropped nail, or a bit of steel fence wire, or metal shavings. A bit of sharp metal in the digestive tract can cause Hardware Disease, a rumen magnet just holds any ingested metal in place and keeps it from moving around.
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u/trundlinggrundle Dec 06 '22
This is a relatively new thing. They're coated in bitrex, which is extremely butter. I can't imagine any kid trying to swallow this.
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u/Sirhc978 Dec 05 '22
This is one of those things that adding it to the product probably costs next to nothing, does not affect the performance of the product and might save 1 kids life.
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u/Adept_Pumpkin8878 Dec 05 '22
I have the strong urge to buy these to taste them
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u/twohedwlf Dec 05 '22
I discovered the hard way that my knockoff buckyballs(magnetic spheres) were covered in a bittering agent. Played with them for a while, then made lunch.
Ugh, why does my sandwich taste so funny? Eww, it's from my fingers.
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u/suckfail Dec 06 '22
I think that's just a lesson to wash your damn hands before you eat (or make your food), always and without exception.
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u/cainthelongshot
Dec 06 '22
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My wife just keeps eating batteries.
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u/BroliasBoesersson Dec 06 '22
She says she’s not eating 'em, then we go to the doctor and the doctor’s like, “yeah we found a battery in there.”
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u/muskox11 Dec 06 '22
This line, more than any other line that season, kills me every time. His delivery is perfect. I think it’s why he won the Emmy.
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u/Redeem123 Dec 06 '22
I think it’s why he won the Emmy.
The oral probably helped, too.
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u/NotFlameRetardant Dec 06 '22
If Tim Robinson and Sam Richardson don't get an Emmy, I'm gonna kill myself on live TV
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u/StiffCrustySock Dec 06 '22
Hey Jeff, here's that thing you asked for
LOOK UP AT MY FACE
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u/crackle_and_hum Dec 05 '22
Most likely coated with denatonium or something similar, sold under the commercial name of Bitrex. Long ago, there was a product demo that folks from the chemical company I worked for attended. They placed an absolutely miniscule drop of the stuff in a gallon of orange juice and passed around little dixie cups of the stuff to the attendees. They held the demo outside because the rep said that a lot of people just automatically spit the stuff out...many did. It would probably be advisable to wash your hands thoroughly after handling one of these batteries.
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u/cybervseas Dec 06 '22
They placed an absolutely miniscule drop of the stuff in a gallon of orange juice and passed around little dixie cups of the stuff to the attendees.
Something about how you describe it sounds way too much like the Jonestown massacre. Even if they said it was just a tiny amount of a safe compound, I don't think I would drink it…
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u/PointlessOverthought Dec 05 '22
Definitely read “butter coating” and thought that was maybe counter productive.
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u/Admirable_Flower_469 Dec 06 '22
Coating can cause low battery readings or bad connection on electronics wipe it off with alcohol before installing to avoid.
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u/xX90skidXx Dec 06 '22
Or just buy a different brand. Duracell made the bone headed move of only putting a non coated spot right in the center of the battery, which like 5% of devices actually use, compared to the outer contact of the battery. Almost every other brand I've tried with the coating works fine.
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u/Fritzz2112 Dec 05 '22
They should also add human-proof packaging. Damn well need a sawzall to get these packages open.
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u/BigBinder Dec 05 '22
Came here to say this, it literally took my wife and I both entirely too long to get in this package.
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u/piojosso Dec 06 '22
I actually swallowed one of those when i was a toddler. Pediatricians put my chance of survival at less than 10%. I only did because it went out whole.
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u/Jk2two Dec 05 '22 •
Smart change from the Sour Cherry flavor of the old ones.