[irrational]

When I was a kid, they still allowed us to play with Mercury with our bare hands in elementary school.

[blipvert]

My dad gave mercury toys (tilt mazes with mercury blobs in, etc) to my siblings and I. And he was a chemistry teacher!

[daymanstep]

Elemental mercury isn't that toxic. It's the vapors that are dangerous.

[blipvert]

Fair point, but I still wouldn’t give my idiot 10yr old self that stuff.

He never did really understand me.

[Unbefleckt]

I had the original Warhammer figurines as a kid that my older brother didn't want. I remember bending the metal (I was maybe 4 or 5) and putting it in my mouth for some reason like I did with lego when I couldn't snap a piece off. I ended up swallowing a piece and vomiting up a bit of eldar soon after. Still have pleasant associations with the smell of lead thanks to warhammer.

[krustyburger]

Well, that seems safe enough. It’s the smallest planet, after all.

[mc32]

For the titans maybe but not for regular mortals.

[Aaronstotle]

My grandma grew up in Soviet Kyiv, she told me kids they would break thermometers and play with the mercury

[IshKebab]

I mean playing with small amounts of elemental mercury is pretty safe. Yeah it's toxic but if you play with it in your hands once or twice in your life nothing is going to happen.

Maybe not great for the teacher.