Wafting 101
It was the ninth grade, Mr. Dinges class, in which I remember the first use of this word, waft. Chemistry was a subject that required precision, and some adventure. This also was the introduction to the scientific calculator, something that didn’t get me that excited.
What I did gravitate to, was the fun lab experiments where Dinges let us work together and mix various chemicals. Heating beakers with the bunsen burner, and working with all the acids and bases, seem to push and excite us. The mix of fear and empowerment to work with items that could maybe explode, or even burn us was instrumental as a young boy, to the interest of the subject.
Mr. Dinges laid out the safety instructions, as well as the precautions and rules to follow. During the demonstrations, as he followed through the examples, he made it clear that you should never inhale the chemicals directly. You should take your hand and waft it in your direction.
I won’t forget that day, and anytime I smell a really foul odor, sometimes… it makes me think of that very moment. Today just happens to be one of them.
The past two days I’ve been in kind of a cleaning frenzy. I spent most of the night after work cleaning up around the house and cleaning my car. It is amazing how much one can appreciate when things are clean and tidy. There is much more ahead, and to that point, I was thinking about cleaning out the refrigerator.
The thought was a good one, but it was met face first, when I attempted to claim an Edy’s Fruit popsicle from the freezer. I am still baffled at how it is possible, but this unearthly odor came out nearly before I was able to get open the door. It almost knocked me out. Mr. Dinges probably would have handed me a box of baking soda and say go at it, but dear lord!
I am very curious how something can rot at that temperature? As a child I may have been somewhat excited about working with varying chemicals, but now grown up, I am struggling to not avoid what has defiled my freezer. No waft, or mask, will make this search any easier.
What I did gravitate to, was the fun lab experiments where Dinges let us work together and mix various chemicals. Heating beakers with the bunsen burner, and working with all the acids and bases, seem to push and excite us. The mix of fear and empowerment to work with items that could maybe explode, or even burn us was instrumental as a young boy, to the interest of the subject.
Mr. Dinges laid out the safety instructions, as well as the precautions and rules to follow. During the demonstrations, as he followed through the examples, he made it clear that you should never inhale the chemicals directly. You should take your hand and waft it in your direction.
I won’t forget that day, and anytime I smell a really foul odor, sometimes… it makes me think of that very moment. Today just happens to be one of them.
The past two days I’ve been in kind of a cleaning frenzy. I spent most of the night after work cleaning up around the house and cleaning my car. It is amazing how much one can appreciate when things are clean and tidy. There is much more ahead, and to that point, I was thinking about cleaning out the refrigerator.
The thought was a good one, but it was met face first, when I attempted to claim an Edy’s Fruit popsicle from the freezer. I am still baffled at how it is possible, but this unearthly odor came out nearly before I was able to get open the door. It almost knocked me out. Mr. Dinges probably would have handed me a box of baking soda and say go at it, but dear lord!
I am very curious how something can rot at that temperature? As a child I may have been somewhat excited about working with varying chemicals, but now grown up, I am struggling to not avoid what has defiled my freezer. No waft, or mask, will make this search any easier.
posted by Jonathan at 9:30:00 PM
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