Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

If I paint myself silver, will I live to enjoy it?

Dear Matthew:

A friend says that if I paint myself with house paint, I would drown. Could this be true? I wanted to paint myself silver, but now I'm not so sure.

Sponsored
Sponsored

-- Cindy, San Diego

If you can avoid falling head first into the paint can, you're probably safe from drowning. But you will have other problems, though not so dramatic. One of your skin's major functions aside from keeping your insides in, the outside world out, and the cosmetics industry in business is body heat regulation. Clog up your pores with silver paint and you won't be able to sweat, so your circulatory system won't be able to radiate body heat. If your innards get unacceptably warm, you might suffer something akin to heatstroke. You'll probably begin to feel woozy from electrolyte imbalances in your bloodstream, and you might even poison yourself if toxins are absorbed through your skin. Real silver is quite poisonous; if you settle for Navajo White, you might survive a little longer. The whole idea sounds pretty senseless to me, but that's part of its charm, right?

Oy vey! Silver

Hi, Matt. "Real silver is quite poisonous..." A matter of relativity, this statement. Bacteria, mold, viruses are all quite allergic to silver. Please don't overlook pure silver's role in protecting the body from myriad attackers, providing burn relief and purifying water. For starters, Scientific Amercan: 1914: "I know of no microbe that is not killed in laboratory experiments in six minutes [with "colossol" silver]. And http://www.silverlon.com: "...[Trademarked] Silverlon an Acticoat are silver coated polymeric substrates that are applied directly to the wound surface. The fundamental similarity of the Silverlon and Acticoat is based upon the biological activity of silver."... Not to even get into the benefits of colloidal/ionic silver use. That phrase "Born with a silver spoon in one's mouth"? Had to do with pacifiers being made of silver at one time, to ensure baby's health. The Lone Ranger had it goin' on!

--jr, Oceanside.

This is in response to our discussion last week of the pros and cons of painting your entire body silver. We voted against it. But now we learn that when you die of paint-clogged pores, your body is entirely fungus free. Some benefit, I guess. We passed the letter on to our quibblemeister, thinking he might have a word or two about that "silver spoon" business. He shoved a note back under his door saying something to the effect that those born with silver spoons in their mouths are rich, not sterile. The dirt-poor used wooden spoons, those with more wherewithal used pewter, the rich used silver. They may have lived longer, but probably not because of cutlery.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Trophy truck crushes four at Baja 1000

"Two other racers on quads died too,"
Next Article

Raging Cider & Mead celebrates nine years

Company wants to bring America back to its apple-tree roots

Dear Matthew:

A friend says that if I paint myself with house paint, I would drown. Could this be true? I wanted to paint myself silver, but now I'm not so sure.

Sponsored
Sponsored

-- Cindy, San Diego

If you can avoid falling head first into the paint can, you're probably safe from drowning. But you will have other problems, though not so dramatic. One of your skin's major functions aside from keeping your insides in, the outside world out, and the cosmetics industry in business is body heat regulation. Clog up your pores with silver paint and you won't be able to sweat, so your circulatory system won't be able to radiate body heat. If your innards get unacceptably warm, you might suffer something akin to heatstroke. You'll probably begin to feel woozy from electrolyte imbalances in your bloodstream, and you might even poison yourself if toxins are absorbed through your skin. Real silver is quite poisonous; if you settle for Navajo White, you might survive a little longer. The whole idea sounds pretty senseless to me, but that's part of its charm, right?

Oy vey! Silver

Hi, Matt. "Real silver is quite poisonous..." A matter of relativity, this statement. Bacteria, mold, viruses are all quite allergic to silver. Please don't overlook pure silver's role in protecting the body from myriad attackers, providing burn relief and purifying water. For starters, Scientific Amercan: 1914: "I know of no microbe that is not killed in laboratory experiments in six minutes [with "colossol" silver]. And http://www.silverlon.com: "...[Trademarked] Silverlon an Acticoat are silver coated polymeric substrates that are applied directly to the wound surface. The fundamental similarity of the Silverlon and Acticoat is based upon the biological activity of silver."... Not to even get into the benefits of colloidal/ionic silver use. That phrase "Born with a silver spoon in one's mouth"? Had to do with pacifiers being made of silver at one time, to ensure baby's health. The Lone Ranger had it goin' on!

--jr, Oceanside.

This is in response to our discussion last week of the pros and cons of painting your entire body silver. We voted against it. But now we learn that when you die of paint-clogged pores, your body is entirely fungus free. Some benefit, I guess. We passed the letter on to our quibblemeister, thinking he might have a word or two about that "silver spoon" business. He shoved a note back under his door saying something to the effect that those born with silver spoons in their mouths are rich, not sterile. The dirt-poor used wooden spoons, those with more wherewithal used pewter, the rich used silver. They may have lived longer, but probably not because of cutlery.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Classical Classical at The San Diego Symphony Orchestra

A concert I didn't know I needed
Next Article

Now what can they do with Encinitas unstable cliffs?

Make the cliffs fall, put up more warnings, fine beachgoers?
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader