One Kilogram Of This New Polymer Material Can Turn A Swimming Pool To Jelly

[struggle4progress]

So... how can we weaponize this?
By Clay Dillow Posted 01.24.2013 at 9:01 am

Dutch researchers have developed a gel-forming polymer so effective that a kilogram of the stuff sprinkled across an Olympic sized swimming pool would turn the entire thing to jelly ...

... though the researchers have not yet experimented with a real Olympic swimming pool, the ability to rapidly turn large bodies of water into gelatin is sure to have major impacts in the disciplines of both cocktail party tricks and teenage petty vandalism ...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=post&forum=1018

[Angry Dragon]

1. what happens if it gets into the ground water??

the oceans??
the great lakes??

[struggle4progress]

2. O brave new world that has such people in't!

Mankind's ancient dream of polymerizing the Pacific Ocean is finally within reach!

[Chan790]

3. Ever read Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut?

I suggest it, it's my favorite KV novel. I next suggest that this polymer "recipe" be intentionally-lost before we ice-9 ourselves.

[PoliticAverse]

4. I was thinking Cat's Cradle also... n/t

[La Lioness Priyanka]

5. I too was thinking of this

[siligut]

7. Ice nine was my second thought, my first was a friend's desire to do it in a tub of Jello

Wasn't ice nine also contagious or self replicating?

[dixiegrrrrl]

13. Back in my party days, I seriously tried to figure out

how many boxes of jello it would take to create the same effect in a friend's heated swimming pool.
I remember she and I had a long long night of discussing this over a lot of our respective Black Russians and gin and tonics.
I suspect if we had had this polymer we might have done the deed. It seemed so ....logical at the time.

[sadbear]

11. I wonder if Vonnegut is popular among conservatives?

My guess would be no.

Yep, Ice 9 was the first thing I thought of, too. (And Cat's Cradle is my favorite KV work, too.)

[CBGLuthier]

15. Only the ones too dumb to understand him. About 80% or so I would say.

[Enrique]

6. then I hope you like jelly

[Angry Dragon]

9. on my chunky peanut butter

[bluedigger]

8. Is this just an attempt to gin up business for The Lounge?

[struggle4progress]

14. You know you really really want a kilogram of this!

[Earth_First]

10. "Go on..."

[LeftofObama]

17. OK, that actually made me LOL!

[OriginalGeek]

12. "...teenage petty vandalism..."

or would that be potty vandalism...

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

16. Ice-9?

[jmowreader]

18. Weaponizing this would be easy

The M825 projectile is used for delivering smoke, white phosphorus, CS gas, napalm or any other chemical. Fill the shell with polymer and you've got the most devastating desert warfare weapon imaginable.

[Bucky]

19. How long before this becomes a murder weapon on CSI?

Either that, or Vladimir Putin's hit squads will start using it on dissident journalists.