{"id":1474,"date":"2014-11-06T23:00:29","date_gmt":"2014-11-07T04:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/?p=1474"},"modified":"2014-11-06T23:00:29","modified_gmt":"2014-11-07T04:00:29","slug":"creating-frankenstein-lab-experiments-gone-wrong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/2014\/11\/06\/creating-frankenstein-lab-experiments-gone-wrong\/","title":{"rendered":"Creating Frankenstein: Lab Experiments gone wrong"},"content":{"rendered":"

By CHADWICK CARTER –\u00a0STAFF WRITER<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s the standard, general-education science experience\u2014the lab. Three long hours of careful manipulation of variables are all spent to try to produce the exact same results as the rest of the class. Occasionally, though, the monotony is broken by something more exciting\u2014and accident. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Mistakes in the laboratory have the potential to be even more memorable than the effectively completed experiments. Many lab accidents are dangerous, harmful, and scary\u2014generally not a laughing matter. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Some accidents, however, combine just the right amount of bad luck and poor foresight with non-harmful results to create truly entertaining stories. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Assistant Professor of Psychology Dr. Aaron Godlaski researched the relationship between alcohol and aggression in graduate school at the University of Kentucky. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This research was the subject of his thesis, dissertation, and several other studies in order to assess an individual\u2019s personality with various tests, administering alcohol, and observing the individual under circumstances that generate aggression. His research experiences additionally produced some comedic stories.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBasically what I did throughout graduate school was get people drunk and then shock them,\u201d Dr. Godlaski said. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

One 2006 study of his involved testing the concept that drinking different alcoholic beverages causes different effects, although the alcohol in them is chemically identical. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to see if there actually was a difference between brewed alcohol and distilled alcohol. It\u2019s a pretty common expectancy that when you drink hard liquor you\u2019re gonna get crazier, so we wanted to see if people actually did,\u201d Dr. Godlaski said.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The problem with previous studies on this subject was that participants knew which type of alcohol they were drinking, so the expectancy of different effects played a role in the results. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

To combat expectancy effects, Dr. Godlaski came up with a novel idea: fortifying non-alcoholic beer with distilled alcohol to the alcohol content of normal beer. This way, people would think they were drinking beer, but really they\u2019d be drinking distilled alcohol.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn seven years of working there, the non-alcoholic beer condition in that study was the only time I ever saw anybody get sick from being dosed, and they weren\u2019t even being dosed with alcohol. People got drunk, they said funny stuff, I got hit-on a couple times. But no one drinking alcohol ever threw up,\u201d Dr. Godlaski said. \u201cIn theory it was a great idea, and I would have been able to publish it. But sometimes a good idea on paper doesn\u2019t pragmatically pan out. Sometimes you\u2019re asking a college student to drink six beers in 35 minutes, and that\u2019s not necessarily a good idea. They might be totally into it, but it might not end well.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Professor of Chemistry Dr. Ed Montgomery\u2019s lab accident story took place during a tumultuous time in American history. It was 1970, shortly after the Kent State shootings, on the campus of the University of Kentucky. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cStudents were marching from one side of campus to another. The National Guard was shooting tear gas,\u201d Dr. Montgomery said. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

An organic chemistry graduate student in the Chemistry-Physics building, nicknamed \u201cIzzy,\u201d was using a steam generator to heat up organic materials. Because these materials are generally flammable, using an open flame is unsafe. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIzzy was a guy who, if something broke, he broke it. There were people who just did not let him in their lab,\u201d Dr. Montgomery said. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The steam generator had two safety valves, and Izzy removed and replaced one with a bolt. As for the other valve, Izzy \u201cscrewed [it] down as tight as could be.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSuddenly the steam generator blew up. Izzy was standing right next to it. It broke every piece of glassware in the lab,\u201d Dr. Montgomery said. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Izzy was, miraculously, unharmed from this generator explosion. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the funniest things that I\u2019ve ever seen in my life is Izzy standing in the middle of this demolished lab explaining to the fireman that they use steam instead of a flame to heat organic materials because the steam is safer\u2014and this fireman is just looking around at these absolute shambles,\u201d Dr. Montgomery said. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In the context of the violence and bomb threats of the time, the event made waves across the area.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

All the hospitals in Lexington were placed on emergency status to receive the casualties that were expected to arrive from the university after the steam generator accident.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAll because Izzy screwed down the safety valve on the steam generator,\u201d Dr. Montgomery said. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As for where Izzy is living these days, Dr. Montgomery can only guess.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI have no idea what\u2019s become of him,\u201d Dr. Montgomery said. \u201cFor all I know he\u2019s running a meth lab. He accepted the fact that disaster followed him.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

While the lab experiments can sometimes be dull, the occasional accident can always spice things up a little. Do not take the lab too seriously, because for all you know, a mistake here and a deviation from protocol there might make for a great story.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By CHADWICK CARTER –\u00a0STAFF WRITER It\u2019s the standard, general-education science experience\u2014the lab. Three long hours of careful manipulation of variables are all spent to try to produce the exact same results as the rest of the class. Occasionally, though, the monotony is broken by something more exciting\u2014and accident. Mistakes in the laboratory have the potential […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-features"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1474"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1474\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}