Jellyfish and vinegar versus coke

[boat sju]

And I thought you were supposed to use ammonia on jellyfish stings - hence me and my mother-in-law rifled through the rented condo until we came up with some Windex. I don't know if the Windex worked, or the sting just quit hurting by the time we found the stuff. Good think I was only stung on the arm, eh?

 

[MSilvia]

I don't know about the snopes article or what Mythbusters found, but I had an old tooth that was removed years ago (don't ask why, I don't know) and used it to test this story out after placing a bet with my wife. After we got back from a long weekend away, the tooth sitting in a mason jar full of Coke had turned an ugly shade of cola brown, but was still very much a solid and undissolved tooth. The enamel hadn't even been noticably affected aside from discoloration.

If your dentist was able to dissolve one, it was either really strong coca cola, or a really weak tooth.

 

[CompuDude]

I don't have first-hand knowledge of this, only what my dentist tells me. Of course, he has an agenda...to scare his patients from using Cola. I'll ask him next time I see him whether his story is real or a folklore crock he foisted on me.

I have measured the pH of Coke and it is quite low, so its effect as an inorganic acid is unquestioned. Whether it helps jellyfish stings, I have no clue.

As for Snopes, it is another Internet site which may or may not be reliable 100%; I watch Mythbusters and enjoy the show, but didn't see the tooth experiment.

I've seen the mythbusters episode in question. They dropped a bunch of teeth in cola, and left it in there for days. Turned an ugly shade of brown, but it did NOT dissolve into nothing.

Snopes is pretty dependable site. I'll believe their details aren't 100% correct in every single instance, but they are rarely 100% wrong... and they seem to have been proven correct in this case.

Dentists don't like cola because it can cause cavities... but claiming it will actually dissolve teeth is merely a scare tactic. (Ironic since less soda = less repeat business, but perhaps some take that Hippocratic oath thing seriously... and 100% honestly less so!)

 

[shakeybrainsurgeon]

The weight of evidence suggests I've been duped.:shakehead

 

[Prostar]

Mythbusters also dispute the idea of Coke disolving a tooth, and have shown it on TV. However, they did prove (on questionable terms) that vodka is as effective at killing a jellyfish sting as vinegar. Might be a bit pricier, but if you are at a resort, you probably walk right past the bar on the way back to your room after a day of diving.

That would look great, order up a double and throw it on your face.

I got my first sting last summer in Hood Canal. Lion's Mane jellyfish nailed me from cheek to cheek right across my upper lip. We used vinegar followed by aloe. No fresh water was allowed near it. Treatment helped but I was still breathing funny for a couple of days.

I saw martial arts instructor in your signature. I have noticed that the same type of person who can teach a person to fight or sort out the technicalities of a form is the same type that can teach SCUBA. Works for me.