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[–] 140 points 1 year ago* (28 children)
  • [–] [S] 42 points 1 year ago (22 children)

    Man, if homeopathy worked, those guys could have been billionaires!

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  • [+] -23 points 1 year ago (21 children)
  • [–] 49 points 1 year ago (17 children)

    That's cool, but it's not homeopathy. That's micro dosing.

    For it to be homeopathy, the peanut proteins would need to be so diluted in water, that hundreds of Olympic swimming pools full of the solution would be unlikely to contain a single molecule of peanut protein. All that's left is the water infused with 👋👋PeAnUt EnErGy👋👋.

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  • [+] -24 points 1 year ago* (16 children)

    Micro-dosing, so extreme homeopathy.

    Edit, it's actually less than microdosing:

    eat the protein equivalent of one 40th of a peanut every day for two weeks

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  • [–] 38 points 1 year ago (15 children)

    Micro-dosing, so extreme homeopathy.

    No, the other way around.

    In micrososing and with this peanut thing, there are actually molecules of the thing you're taking in the solution, just very small amounts.

    In homeopathy, there isn't any. At all. Zilch. None. Squat. Bupkiss. Nada. Elvis has left the building. Who? Dave? .... Dave's not here. This parrot is no more, it has ceased to be, it is bereft of life, it rests in peace. This is an ex-parrot.

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  • [+] -21 points 1 year ago (14 children)

    I don't know enough to argue about it, but I do know that there are some poisons that will kill you if you smell it.

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  • [–] 19 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (10 children)

    https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/another-damning-homeopathy-report/

    Conclusion

    Homeopathy is based on magical thinking. It does not have even the barest toe-hold in science or reality. In spite of this it has been extensively researched for its clinical effects. While most of this research is of poor quality, there is some reasonably high-quality research, which consistently shows that homeopathy does not work.

    The extremely low prior probability combined with the negative clinical evidence is devastating to homeopathy. There is simply no rational justification for further investment in this pre-scientific and disproved notion. We do not need further research. No government should fund homeopathy, pay for homeopathic treatments, fund research, or even approve homeopathy in any official capacity. This means that homeopaths should not be licensed, and homeopathic products should not be approved.

    And yet homeopathy still enjoys the support of most governments. This is largely based on a misunderstanding among the general public as to what homeopathy is, combined with lobbying by homeopaths and supporters of unscientific medicine.

    Science clearly needs a stronger lobby.

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  • [–] 11 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Science clearly needs a stronger lobby.

    Yeah, but that's so elitist to rely on things like facts, science and evidence.

    This is 'merica, son.

    There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."

    Isaac Asimov.

    ^ This is how we do things now, since a few million morons voted for the likes of Taco at least in part because "he's not a politician". These morons deserve to have their teeth drilled by "not a dentist", by the way...

    Asimov says it eloquently, JR "Bob" Dobbs is much more blunt:

    "Act like a dumbshit and they'll treat you like an equal."

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  • [+] -10 points 1 year ago (6 children)

    Actually, the act of science needs better people talking about the studies, less greedy people deciding how the studies are presented, less insurance companies, less shitting on interns, and more promoting actual health. I had a friend ask a doctor about their 5 month cough and the doctor answered, "Well, what do you want me to do about it?" Oh I don't know, maybe fuck off?

    Alternative medicine is cRaZY until healthcare finds a way to control it so they can make a shit ton of money off of it. Hippy magnets are found to actually change a persons thought patterns if you place them against your head in the right way, which makes me laugh my ass off. You now have hippy dippy light therapy being used by psychiatrists.

    I think it's hilarious how much you guys fight this. If you just accepted that there are charlatans in every profession and chilled a bit, everyone would be much better off. Besides, even if it's all bogus, why are you trying to take away the placebo effect from people? It's still helping some of them.

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  • [–] 10 points 1 year ago* (4 children)

    Hippy magnets are found to actually change a persons thought patterns if you place them against your head in the right way,

    Oh cool, can you provide a peer reviewed study supporting this claim?

    You know what they call "alternative medicine" that actually works?

    Medicine.

    (Can't claim that one, took it from Tim Minchin)

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  • [+] -7 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    Oh cool, can you provide a peer reviewed study supporting this claim?

    I could, but I won't, look it up. It's been in the past few months. It probably was in Science magazine since it's in my rotation, if that helps.

    You know what they call “alternative medicine” that actually works?

    Medicine.

    LMAO, I said that 10 years ago, so it's not the dis you think it is. I 100% agree. The greeds will shit on anything they can until they can take it over, make a shit ton of money off of it and call it something else.

    Last comment.

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  • [–] 7 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    If you can smell it then it isn’t homeopathy. L

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 1 year ago

    I was in some bath store, told my wife it was giving me a headache and I was going to leave.

    Clerk: "Oh! You need our unscented aromatherapy section!"

    I thought she was kidding... Nope. "Unscented aromatherapy."

    "I'm pretty sure someone doesn't know the meaning of at least one, possibly both of these words."

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  • [–] 16 points 1 year ago

    Definitely not homeopathy.

    Unless it's the peanut's memory that you're absorbing, and that the less peanut that's in the final result that you take is, the more powerful the results become.

    Because that's the stupidity of homeopathy.

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  • [–] 67 points 1 year ago (27 children)

    Doing a little napkin math here, that's about a half an ounce of heroin mixed into 385 gallons of water.

    That seems more like the 55 gallon drums had previously been filled with heroin, but were drained and refilled with water, and just a little residue was leftover.

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  • [–] 72 points 1 year ago (23 children)

    Or a false positive to begin with in the cops don't want to admit they made a mistake. False positives are way higher sometimes with Trace Amounts. Plus the drug testing Labs try to give the results the cops want.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (1 child)

    I doubt a false positive here. Clearly something weird about the cargo to begin with - what the hell else are a couple of dudes going across states in a uhaul doing with 55 gallon drums of water? The water wars aren’t set to start for another few decades, I think. Not really a commodity that needs to be shipped, and if it were I doubt it would be shipped by uhaul.

    I mean seriously, just look at the situation and analyze it with some common sense. ACAB, but not every single interaction with them is a conspiracy.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago

    I think it definitely warrants independent testing of the barrels. It seems pretty odd that the police would be tipped off about barrels with Trace Amounts of heroin in them. Given the authorities' penchent for not admitting when they made a mistake.

    It is quite odd otherwise.

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  • [–] 0 points 1 year ago (20 children)

    Plus the drug testing Labs try to give the results the cops want.

    Source? That's a strong claim...

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  • [–] 8 points 1 year ago (19 children)

    When State drug labs are run by the state police running tests for police you will get that. For instance any amount of THC in the blood can get an impaired driving charge. Unless it is a legalized state in which case it minuscule tiny amount that could have resulted from smoking 14 week days ago is still enough. With the smallest amounts, one nanogram per milliliter, false positives are as high as 40%, but when they go into court they don't say that. They make it sound like this is what it is science. We could speak of a dozen different types of junk science they have been involved in as well. Like hair analysis.

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  • [+] -7 points 1 year ago (16 children)

    So no source then, just making things up. Got it!

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  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago (11 children)

    If you need a source to explain the inherent conflicts of interest and having the Police lab run by the state police for the police, it would not make a difference anyway. Likewise since you are unaware, and keep scorn on the idea, it shows that you either do not follow the news very closely, or are dishonest about it. Either way think what you want.

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  • [–] 0 points 1 year ago (7 children)

    I agree with the principal idea, but if this is as much of a prevailing issue as you’re making it out to be, it shouldn’t be too hard to produce even a single solid source beyond your own convictions of, “Well that’s just how the world works!”

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (6 children)

    It's common knowledge, does somebody asked politely I might have gone to the trouble, or you could just search for Crime Lab people get caught cheating and find pages of results. Or you can search for any number of junk Sciences like hair test analysis. Or not I don't care what you think. Someone coming from a place of it is preposterous the police would do anything improper is not worth talking to, and as such good day.

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  • [–] -1 points 1 year ago (5 children)

    Your issue is you think it's all or nothing. I never said I didn't think police would do anything improper. Obviously many of them do. But I'm also not just going to take your assertion based solely on the idea that it's "common knowledge." Common knowledge is a term for assumptions people make with no other proof of than, "Yeah, that sounds right to me."

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago

    You can take my tangential comment that police crime Labs try to give police the results they are looking for or not I don't care. My point was there should be independent testing of the barrels given the odd circumstances.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (3 children)

    Demanding sources for something you disbelieve on points tangential to the point is something people that want to derail your argument do to put you on the defensive without cause.

    As if I care that you believe the cops are trustworthy or not. The barrels should be tested independently.

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  • [–] 0 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    The cops aren’t the ones who tested the barrels. But feel free to keep rearranging the goal posts about backing up a claim with anything of substance.

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  • [–] 0 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Contracting to a private company amounts to the same thing. If they do not have anything to hide they should have no problem retesting it independently.

    I do not doubt they privatize more and more law enforcement operations so they can pay more for less with worse service.

    Speaking of which, that gives them less credibility not more if it is contracted out. That is less to anybody that has followed events and understands them.

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  • If anyone the police pay to test things is automatically suspect, how are the police to test anything in a way that you’d trust?

    According to the article, the barrels were independently tested at the request of the defense, which is why we have this whole story in the first place. What would more independent testing accomplish at this point?

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  • [+] -6 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    Not sure why you felt the need to come back and double-down on having nothing of substance to back up your bold claim whatsoever, but thanks.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Because you are purposely being obtuse here because you have an ax to grind defending the police apparently.

    That State Police labs are biased in favor of the police is common knowledge and doesn't need a source.

    I don't know why I would waste time with someone that heaps scorn on the idea that the cops would be anything less than forthright.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    There was a pretty famous case of this in the Boston area recently(last decade or so) and there is a Netflix series about it.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    I'm gonna guess you don't know the details, do you?

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago* (1 child)

    Off the top of my head I’d be summarizing, let me see if I can find a link.

    The Netflix documentary is called “how to fix a drug scandal”

    Here’s an article about the documentary and the scandal: https://www.bostonherald.com/2020/03/30/netflix-spotlights-mass-lab-debacle-in-how-to-fix-a-drug-scandal/

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  • [–] -4 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    For instance any amount of THC in the blood can get an impaired driving charge. Unless it is a legalized state in which case it minuscule tiny amount that could have resulted from smoking 14 week days ago is still enough.

    Sure, that's just the law.

    With the smallest amounts, one nanogram per milliliter, false positives are as high as 40%, but when they go into court they don't say that.

    I don't think the lab techs attend the court cases to provide details about how testing works...

    If you know that, you don't think a decent defense lawyer knows that?

    What I asked for was a source for your bold claim that:

    drug testing Labs try to give the results the cops want.

    Interesting that you'd downvote me just for asking for a source for your strong claim though...

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  • [–] 16 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    How many lethal doses of water is that?

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  • [–] 22 points 1 year ago*

    with an LD50 exceeding 90,000 mg/kg (90 g/kg) body weight in rats; drinking six liters in three hours has caused the death of a human

    Doesn't say the size of the human but guestimating 3 gallons should be enough for most people, would make that 130 lethal doses or so from 385 gallons of water.

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  • [–] 62 points 1 year ago (5 children)

    dihydrogen monoxide is pretty lethal

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  • [+] 42 points 1 year ago (4 children)
  • [–] 50 points 1 year ago (21 children)

    Okay, I really want to know why these guys were transporting barrels of water with 0.001% heroin in them. Was it a con? A test run? Barrel re-use? A case of cops not having heroin on hand to frame them?

    I'm just baffled as to why you'd be hauling around eight barrels of water and how the trace amounts of heroin got in them.

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  • [–] 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (6 children)

    EDIT: I mathed wrong, see comments below.

    Just my 2¢ as a complete nobody who likes to think about stuff and Google some numbers, take it for what it's worth.

    Of course the numbers here are all very fuzzy, but if we take the inaccurate initial estimate of "millions" of lethal doses at face value (which you probably shouldn't, these estimates always seem to be massively inflated,) .001% of 2 million (the smallest number you can really call "millions") is still 2000 lethal doses. Probably several times that in actual doses since most addicts aren't looking to outright kill themselves.

    I don't know the physics/chemistry of how heroin dissolves into water, let alone how pure the heroin involved was or any of the other factors that would play into this, so these numbers are probably gonna be way off, but 8 55gal drums of water is 440 gallons. .001% of that is .44 gallons of heroin. And I believe that would theoretically be a solid block of heroin with that volume, not a loose power where some of that volume is air.

    That's an upper bound, because that's not how volume works when you dissolve stuff, s let's go ahead and assume the actual amount of heroin is ¼ of that (based on nothing but a wild guess, easy math and an assumption that I'm wildly overestimating) so .11 gallons, (1.76 cups, a 2.94 inch cube, 416.395 ml)

    With the amount of googling I was willing to do, I couldn't find the density of heroin, but anhydrous morphine is apparently 1.32 g/cm³, so let's roll with that. 1.32×416.395 = 549.6414g (a little over a pound for my fellow Americans)

    Let's go ahead and call that 500g or ½kg to make math easy and further account for me probably overestimating things earlier.

    A little googling tells me the value of heroin is between $10,000-$100,000/kg, so for half of that we're looking at $5,000-$50,000 of heroin in those drums (assuming that all of my many assumptions weren't too far off-base)

    So for that kind of money, assuming they have the means to recover the heroin at the other end (industrial freeze dryer maybe? Not sure what the best method would be,) I could definitely see it being worthwhile to have a couple mooks rent a u haul to smuggle heroin from point a to point b this way.

    Also gives you a little insurance against the driver stealing any of it en route. It's not easy to just walk off with a full barrel, and if they siphoned some off, they probably wouldn't have the means to recover it, and even if they did it wouldn't be much.

    One of the barrels tested negative, and I kind of suspect they didn't just put in a barrel of plain water for shits and giggles, so I have a hunch that the plan was to dilute the heroin down to below the detection threshold for whatever field test kit cops usually have, so if they got stopped they'd just say they have barrels of water, which would be weird but probably not illegal, but either they just had bad luck and the cops had a better batch of test strips than usual, or someone fucked up dividing the heroin between the barrels.

    Again, take that all for what it's worth.

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  • [–] 15 points 1 year ago (5 children)

    Someone else here said the total amount of heroin in those barrels was less than half an ounce. That sounds like they were reusing dirty barrels for some other purpose, not transporting heroin. I have no idea why someone would move barrels of water around in a truck, but I don't think it is illegal.

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (4 children)

    EDIT: I mathed wrong, see comments below.

    I also saw that comment, all they cited was "napkin math" for that number, which is really all I've done here, so both of our answers should be taken with a big grain of salt.

    They might know a lot more than I do and started with better numbers and used a better methodology, or they might be talking totally out of their ass and just picked a number that sounded about right to them, I can't say. If they want to look over my math, they're more than welcome to, that's why I wrote it out, so that people can fact-check me, I very well might be wrong. And if they they explain their napkin math, I'll look that over as well.

    And to just do my math another way to back up the idea of it being more than a half ounce, let's go by weight. A gallon weighs about 8lbs, x 55 × 8 = 3520lbs of water, or 1596.645kg. 1596.645 × .001 = 1.596645kg of heroin by weight. And let's go ahead and assume I'm being overly optimistic about those weights, the purity of heroin, and all of the other science involved, and go ahead and use that cut that by 75% again like I did the first time, which gets us to about .4kg of heroin, not too far off from the .5kg I estimated the first time, and in either case significantly more than a half ounce.

    EDIT: also, I just watched the video included in the article. A lot of the screenshots and such there seem to be talking about fentanyl while the article says heroin, so there seems to be some crossed wires here. Fentanyl is of course much more potent, so if the substance in the barrels was in fact fentanyl that would also be worth considering, ½oz of fentanyl would still plenty for a few dozen lethal doses, still a far cry from "millions" but it's something else that may be worth taking into consideration.

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  • [–] 7 points 1 year ago* (3 children)

    1596.645 × .001 = 1.596645kg of heroin by weight

    That's 0.1%, not 0.001%

    0.001% of 440 gallons is 0.5632 fl oz (or just over 16ml out of 1,666 liters)

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  • [–] 7 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    See, that's why I post my math so someone can double check me, I'm just some assholes one the internet doing math while I'm standing around staring at my washer waiting for it to finish

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    I'd really just calculated it the way decryptor did but the article also said only 7 of the barrels actually tested positive.

    I figured most things have a density not all that far from water. This isn't lead or tungsten or helium we're talking about. Also the their .001% value is probably also just ballpark.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago

    You know, I've gotten a lot of mileage out of that same rule of thumb, and it hasn't steered me wrong yet. It feels like it shouldn't work, when it comes up people are always skeptical of it, but the results are hard to argue with.

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  • [–] [S] 10 points 1 year ago (5 children)

    May have been a bad smuggling operation? Mix it with water, ship the water, then boil off the water leaving the heroin? Too bad doing that ruins the heroin.

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  • [–] 19 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    That's like 6,000 pounds of water for a few ounces of heroin. There equipment is either off by a factor of ten or more and it's contamination or probably more likely the cop sprinkled some in.

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  • [–] 38 points 1 year ago

    The only H in that heroin was for homeopathy

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  • [–] 24 points 1 year ago* (5 children)

    So how much of that would you have to drink to get high? Can you get high from drinking it?

    Also

    The case dates back to January 2024, when four men were arrested at a Motel 6 in Tigard after investigators said they were transporting a massive shipment of liquid heroin from Yakima, Washington, to the Portland area.

    Officials said at the time that the men were driving a rented U-Haul truck with eight 55-gallon barrels inside and that seven of the barrels tested positive for heroin. Six men were eventually charged in connection with the case.

    What the fuck were they doing driving around barrels of water?

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    [–] 15 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    When your dealer is into homeopathy

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago

    That's some weak-ass homeopathic heroin, only 5X / 2C (I have no idea if 2.5C would sound nonsensical to a homeopath). Gotta dilute that a lot more times, that's how you make it more potent. Effing 19th century pseudoscience.

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  • [–] 14 points 1 year ago

    They got the decoy shipment

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  • [–] 14 points 1 year ago

    Maybe the cops have a false positive on the tests. Maybe they don't want to admit it's a false positive so they don't have to admit they were wrong to arrest them in the first place.

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  • [–] 12 points 1 year ago

    Homeoperoin.

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  • [–] 9 points 1 year ago

    My goodness. Well, folks, we finally did it. We convinced the people in power that dihydrogen monoxide really is deadly.

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  • [–] 16 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Water! Ordinary water!

    Laced with nothing more than a few drops of heroin.

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