[sidewndr46]

same was as in the US it is possible to get "ethanol", which is just alcohol that can't be legally consumed. One of my chemistry professors explained that their records keeping for "ethanol" was actually more much more strict than the actual hazardous substances they had in the lab.

[xkcd-sucks]

That must have been exaggeration to ward off clever ideas unless it's in like Utah or something -- At my grad school in a fairly puritanical state, USP grade ethanol was just on the shelf in the supply room with no more security or record keeping than on bags of pipet tips. And yes, some people did learn that undiluted pure EtOH dehydrates mucous membranes most painfully

[sidewndr46]

In Alabama you can only legally get alcohol from a state designated entity. This was at a state university, so they had a state license just like a store would. Along with that came all the regulations.

[lagolinguini]

I think the subtle difference is that alcohol not for human consumption must be denatured, and can be synthesised.

[sidewndr46]

No, that's the point. You can't use denatured alcohol in a lab. It has to be nearly pure ethanol, with some percentage of water.

[nanidin]

My chemistry professors told us that if someone tried to drink the ethanol in the lab their throat would seal off and they would start to choke because it will suck the moisture out of your tissue due to it being nearly anhydrous.