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submitted 3 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

We are going to Vietnam this year for holiday and I've read horror stories of poorly distilled alcohol in cocktails and such. Several tourists have died from methanol poisoning.

Would it be feasible to build a small detector for methanol? I'm okay with either a small chemical identification test or something like an IR spectrum analysis.

There are commercial test kits for professional laboratories but I need something affordable for regular consumers.

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[-] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

The need for such a device depends where you drink. And life skills.

Ever bought any illicit drugs? Taken or done anything that could enhance your life? Own a gun? Thought about using it for a split-second?

Do you see yourself a potential Darwin Award winner? Are you in training?

Everything is a risk-reward balancing act. If your day-to-day analysis of that continuous series of balances is repeatedly flawed then best not go. Best not step out of your house. Or room. Or Bed. Depending.

Vietnam is lovely. Went a few years ago as part of a group thing. And I checked today: I am still alive. I prefer the north to the south: people with nothing will share and engage with you, the south provides you with all the opportunities to buy stuff from curbside ventures you could ever wish for (read between the lines).

They will bombard you with details of the 'American war' which as a British bloke was rather sad. Maybe some of you know that history.

this post was submitted on 08 Mar 2025
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