What Does Plutonium Taste Like?

Whether it ’s theoldest piss on Earth , lava , or the sludgy remains of an ancient remains notice inside agiant black sarcophagus , the public only has one interrogative on their creative thinker : what does it taste like ?

That question , it turns out , stretch to deadly radioactive metals . People on the net have apparently been wondering what plutonium try out like lately , leading to some puzzling Google hunting result . According to the screenshot , the answer is that it has notes of dark and sweet , presumably drowning out the umami of " I ’m going to die presently " .

So , does plutonium really taste like confect ? No . The often - cited Google answer appears to have blame up areview from a websitefor the pear - flavored candy productPlutonium Pear Nuclear Energy Powder .

Unsurprisingly , atomic number 94 has a strongmetallic discernment , rather than a confect pear tree flavor . How do we know this ? One man , an American chemist by the name of Donald F. Mastick , really did try it .

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While working on the Manhattan Project , in August 1944 , a vial ofplutonium chloridedissolved in acid exploded , with a small amount going into Mastick ’s sassing . Hereportedlysaid it had a clearly metal taste .

Mastick was forced to swish a liquid solution in his mouth and spue it into a beaker . His first taste curb virtually half a microgram of Pu — then believed to be the maximum amount the human physical structure could keep back without harm . After prevail 12 mouth rinses , the inauspicious scientist underwent multiple rounds of tummy pumping . Asplutoniumis so precious , it was find from his abdomen contents to be reused in succeeding experiments . Waste not , desire not .

Though undoubtedly an unpleasant trial by ordeal , Mastick made a full convalescence . He did , however , feel some undesirable side outcome . When he afford his oral fissure , radiation monitor went nuts , and his piddle curb traces of atomic number 94 for decades after the fortuity .

Despite the incident , Mastick continue his career as a pill pusher , serving in various armed services and politics roles before fleet forth in 2007 at the ripe quondam eld of 87 .