Great Britain

I watch a few machinist videos on the internet.  This Old Tony is hilarious.  Even if you are only just barely interested in shop stuff, take a gander.

But this video came up in my feed about anodizing aluminum at home.  I don't know how to do that, so, cool.  But checkout the disclaimer at the beginning.



You can't buy sulphuric acid down at the hardware store, or whatever they use for Walmart, anymore.  I guess too many people from cultures where it is cool to throw acid in someone's face as an attack came to live in Britain.  So, gotta ban that.  Sheesh.  Nanny state.

Of course, we do that here, just not at bad.  For one thing, to get stuff in common places you gotta know how it is labelled for sale.  There isn't a jug that says sulphuric acid at any place besides a chemical sales place.  You gotta buy "Drain Opener".  Hydrochloric acid?  Look for Muriatic, it's for cleaning your concrete.  Yes it's dangerous. 

Salt Peter?  Get tree stump remover.

Your laundry detergent doesn't work so good anymore since they changed the formula to protect the environment.  But you can still get trisodium phosphate at the store, just not in your All Tempa Cheer or Tide or Biz.

This whole government has to step in to keep you safe really ramped up back in the 60s just before I was born.  Mandating stuff.  Same with eco-stuff a little bit later.  I could do with a little less of it. 

I dare you find a mercury thermometer to take your temperature. But mercury is poisonous?  Yes.  Don't eat the thermometer.

But hey, at least I know a bit more about anodizing.