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85 points

I don’t know what “fossilized algae” refers to

Looked it up:

Nobel found that when nitroglycerin was incorporated in an absorbent inert substance like kieselguhr (diatomaceous earth) it became safer and more convenient to handle, and this mixture he patented in 1867 as “dynamite”.

Diatomaceous earth consists of the fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled microalgae.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Nobel#Nobel_Prize

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth

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24 points

Ooh. Diatomaceous earth is also the best safest healthiest most humane method of fending off bed bugs.

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28 points

I’m all for being humane but I would stab a bed bug with a pin and yell “die, fucker”. Same goes for mosquitos, ticks and fleas.

Isn’t diotemacious earth cancer causing if you breath it in?

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12 points

Fortunately, diacontagious (or however you spell it) earth is not very “humane”. It cuts their wax layer as they crawl through it, leaving just enough of a gap that they can’t contain moisture, and they dehydrate / mummify to death.

This fun fact brought me much comfort while I lied in bed, slapping every itch and wincing at every breeze.

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17 points

Most shit will cause lung cancer if you make it into a powder and inhale enough of it.

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3 points

Not when you mix it with nitroglycerin.

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