01.07: Finishing Touches
It’s been just about two months since I started the HausLab channel and my little organization project. This is something I have been thinking about doing for YEARS. And in the simple act of “starting” to do “something”, as imperfect and elementary as I’ve been doing it, I have just posted my eighth video on YouTube. My chemical storage is more organized than it has ever been. I have a functional and accurate chemical inventory.
How did all of this happen?!
So here we are, working on the last details of the chemical storage problem. There is still a little work to be done, but that’s just everyday stuff. My next project is to update the inventory of all the glassware, consumables, instruments, and equipment. Don’t worry, there won’t be a series on that! I will do a proper “lab tour” once I get it all organized and pretty. I have no idea when that will be, but it’s coming.
I have to say, even though I should probably be talking about this video, the momentum I’ve picked up by starting these videos is crossing over into other aspects of life. Seeing how much progress I’ve made on a longstanding dream in such a short period of time has caused me to reevaluate all of the other things I “can’t” do. I’m working on a year-long plan for 2019 that is going to check off a bunch of other things that have been on my list for far too long. Let’s just say one gets inspired as one approaches a milestone birthday…
So, chemistry. A long time ago (as my stories tend to start), I got a kit from a company called “The Wild Goose Company”. I still love the name. I don’t think they’re still around. They were bought, merged, and renamed a couple times along the way. Anyway, as you might guess from the name, the company had a good sense of humor. The particular reaction I got was called “The Great Heat Mystery”. (As a bonafide pack rat, of course I still have the cardboard backer card!) They suggested the reaction be done in a ziploc bag. The tagline on the card:
“The only experiment that will get hot, change color, and give you gas whether or not you eat Mexican food first.”
The copyright was 1993, and somehow I doubt that sort of humor would be allowed today. But I’ll be honest, I still think it’s funny and not at all “racist”. In a larger kit by the same company, “Newton on Slime,” there was another experiment where a 14% aluminum sulfate solution and 10% sodium bicarbonate solution were mixed. Years later, I decided I was going to mix up a batch of the sodium bicarbonate solution with phenol red and do the swelling bag in my demonstration show. But I didn’t really like the demo!
I don’t even think I did it in one show, and I only practiced once to make sure everything “worked” as I usually do whenever I make a new solution. So for twelve years, the solution sat on my shelf. I was frankly tired of looking at it! I knew calcium chloride gave a reaction, and I knew aluminum sulfate gave a reaction. So I thought about other salts that might work, and used up that solution once and for all. I thought it was going to be a “creative waste” situation, but I was pleasantly surprised when I combined the four salts that worked the best.
This beautiful pattern of red-orange-yellow emerged in the foam because the change in pH was localized around the beaker. If I ever make this a part of my demonstration repertoire again (which I HIGHLY doubt!) I’ve at least got something worth showing.
As for the rest of the video, I wanted to tie up a few loose ends from the whole series. And this is it, folks! The chemical storage cleanup series is done. Periodically, I’ll “use up” some old chemicals creatively, but that’s about it. I can move on to the hardware and glassware, and on to the part of HausLab I’ve been looking forward to!
In the next video and post, I’ll announce my brilliant plan to continue the HausLab channel on a particular theme. It’s going to be great!
Stay tuned!
-Jason
