The misapplication of chemistry
May. 2nd, 2008 06:23 pmThere is, it seems, a bizarre trend in Japan: people are brewing up toxic gases from household goods in order to kill themselves. Unfortunately, the reaction used to generate the poison often yields far more than expected:
Recent victims included a 14-year-old girl whose suicide last week forced more than 100 people out of their homes as toxic fumes spread through her neighbourhood.
The girl had mixed the substance in the bathroom of her family home, leaving a note outside the door saying: "Poisonous gas being produced. Do not enter."
Talk about truly hideous.