Why Is Antifreeze So Delicious?

Why Is Antifreeze So Delicious?
http://slate.msn.com/id/2103821/?GT1=4244

A New Jersey woman has pleaded not guilty to murdering her brother-in-law with an antifreeze-spiked drink. According to prosecutors, Maryann Neabor's weapon of choice was a blended concoction of pineapple juice, maraschino cherries, and several ounces of the deadly automotive additive. As in similar past cases, the victim was oblivious to his drink's lethality, since antifreeze actually tastes pretty good. Why is something so deadly so delicious?

Ethylene glycol is the ingredient that makes antifreeze tasty. Though colorless and odorless, the syrupy alcohol derivative—which is excellent at lowering the freezing points of vital engine fluids—has a sweet taste that jibes well with soda, juice, and other sugary beverages. As many concerned pet owners and parents are well aware, dogs, cats, and kids are prone to lap up puddles of antifreeze left on garage floors. Every year, 90,000 animals and 4,000 children ingest the toxic liquid; if not treated immediately, the consequences of the poisoning can include renal or cardiovascular failure, brain damage, and death.

For obvious reasons, there's been quite a bit of agitation for safer, less scrumptious antifreeze. One solution has been the development of antifreezes, including one called SIERRA, that replace ethylene glycol with propylene glycol, a liquid that's nontoxic enough to be used as a sweetener in children's cough syrup. But propylene glycol costs significantly more than ethylene glycol.

http://img.slate.msn.com/media/1/123125/123073/2093532/2103284/040714_AntiFreeze.jpg



:rofl: True story. Antifreeze is tasty. :o

my dad used to put it in sausers outside to kill stray cats, hehe

my dad used to put it in sausers outside to kill stray cats, hehe
Brilliant! :eek3:

mine smells like dead fish. i think i need an antifreeze change

learn something everyday. wonder what other lethal liquids taste good.

learn something everyday. wonder what other lethal liquids taste good.
be sure to tell us when you find out :lol:

learn something everyday. wonder what other lethal liquids taste good.
Do you remember the green soda Surge? Like that. Sweet and citrusy.

Do you remember the green soda Surge? Like that. Sweet and citrusy.

dont care for pop :icon16: . yes, i did try that drink because they were giving it away free at my middleschool when it came out.

Damn! Why is everything that tastes good bad for you...

Damn! Why is everything that tastes good bad for you...

I hear a female genitalia remark cuming.........

hmmm, I Think that article may exagerate a bit. I realize that antifreeze is very bad for you, but I don't think it takes so little to be lethal. A sorority in my college town used to make pledges drink antifreeze. they did it for years before they had an "incident" and a girl wound up in the hospital.

I hear a female genitalia remark cuming.........
LOL :rofl:

Antifreeze and OJ thanks :cheers:
:D Love the article.

hey, my science teacher once put some in his mouth in class because somebody asked him what it tasted like.

needless to say he spit it out immediately and flushed his mouth :grinno:

Windshield washer fluid has less flavour, but if you drink it you'll go blind. Mmmmmm, methyl alcohol.

I gotta see what antifreeze tastes like now...I'm very curious.

I gotta see what antifreeze tastes like now...I'm very curious.
I've tasted antifreeze before: sweet and citrusy. It has a slight weird buzz/aftertaste like alcohol.

Are you serious? :eek7:

From the article:
Oregon and California both require that antifreeze manufacturers add a bittering agent to their products, in order to make them unpalatable to pets and children (and, one would presume, potential murder victims).
Awww crap...that means I have to have my antifreeze imported from another state to taste it. So much for that!

Are you serious? :eek7:
Yes--at school to boot! :icon16:

mine smells like dead fish. i think i need an antifreeze change

Definatly if it smells, you should change it.....