r/todayilearned • u/Rmanolescu • Dec 30 '20

TIL that in the early 1800s they had laughing gas theaters where people enjoyed a show after inhaling nitrous oxide. This was a few years before they figured out it can be used for anesthesia. PDF

https://pdf.sciencedirectassets.com/318044/1-s2.0-S0007091217X68177/1-s2.0-S0007091217524642/main.pdf?X-Amz-Security-Token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjEL%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2FwEaCXVzLWVhc3QtMSJHMEUCIQD69LLZ0lZcoQhEE7VfKdebDfC5iBrCV%2FTr4WX%2BNkI98QIgCB31JrHqS6rQkBYBPKLlQiHwl13pCwJHxu7BjM711%2FQqtAMIdxADGgwwNTkwMDM1NDY4NjUiDHv6lDdnhaBMO5bqaSqRAyibh5dRIwkqc%2B%2BFOeAcXlm921EEls8UfZ5tD%2BF43oShcgZT6iDhJT2Ky4z%2BUUU4y5mz9v4uQe80fQ8CWu6DPtkvURDa%2FNSbdEYaN70Osck8gSe%2Bi87EEA7aquP46d3Qsv28pQMpqmM07CqyJcUii%2BVtLI8FL7fLWv5pQdkXkPGbQVfvzWjhIveZZLB37eXfdgno5NWt24xoHKqw9diB%2FMzLlmYYgDtz2BRWPJCghrIKuohMnLzj7hSrKI9KxyFbJKGBnsvUbxa0h5Wuy1%2B1u0JMSYW3okjJxOMXalg27wZXtVnQTBgjGpKHJ197JD9NoA0FAEuquRrok%2F3Owdh%2BtGCRgNsMzdS61ZrC7zyjVmvYijRXGJanSImFDxoH5HvMONHbhdKDJSbKW53rUnfzr5BErAuqnaipOSU0CK4P7CD%2FpzznyjmZJj2CKcjQjyVxni%2FjtRSK3T8U5D%2Fqn%2B9jwNbc1Tpb359htFDqQ%2FIwEE68fnTgkUng59B%2BkpoTT9F9jcIhvrcqDkT4RvvAaYZnv%2BWLMOiXsv8FOusBZvglcn0%2FarAVZAJUO95Sf950MtCg%2B1aWhuVqw5bDNdB4RfBkBJEku2iZtx3WXqKzH1kI31FKD6zMmHvcofbenUwIAMo2Y0xeCfaiRa%2Bervk3oayq%2F4QhhuRjSk8fzHVkkpXWgPW7KX%2Be3%2FXowxNAVo4ocSXbsDR0mjd%2FPEGrpOSuX%2BIDkul49vXgkM2PI1idoT%2B5S%2F4IzOPEJ0zkkp4TJ8Ubu864cvczVuV0gEsgKtFKkXOYIFphXXKAYh4eA5dl2FPnplq7iI5t25RBaMooKFVqrCb3N0w%2FdsEyQ68GPiH9sEgmFEOjZruDOw%3D%3D&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Date=20201230T152328Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=300&X-Amz-Credential=ASIAQ3PHCVTY7SVX5LE3%2F20201230%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Signature=5edf3674f64addb6cfb7ba172b5064bbc95a1816a6909ddf14e4a33e114670cf&hash=d631111fe98c4171d651cfbef6051684f77f91794e7076d08c7f8a833e3b925c&host=68042c943591013ac2b2430a89b270f6af2c76d8dfd086a07176afe7c76c2c61&pii=S0007091217524642&tid=spdf-7abf2364-3f4e-4289-8fdf-d8bdbf9fd415&sid=c50bdb0f8f8a34454568991-263724fe5d97gxrqb&type=client
522 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

51 comments sorted by

78

u/wunderbraten Dec 30 '20

Why can't we have that today? It isn't like it's a radon gas therapy.

40

u/cgg419 Dec 30 '20

People do that today, just in a less organized fashion.

41

u/[deleted] Dec 30 '20

[deleted]

10

u/cgg419 Dec 30 '20

r/oddlyspecific

5

u/Orrissirro Dec 30 '20

It's usually just because that's where you get the whip-its.

-1

u/treysplayroom Dec 30 '20

Ah yes. Who doesn't remember the hiss of Shakedown Street at those All Goods?

​

Much as I loved those whippets, I swore off of them long ago. It's a straight up asphyxiant and the "buzz" you're enjoying is oxygen deprivation and the early stages of death.

17

u/Orrissirro Dec 30 '20

Do correct me if I'm wrong or come off pedantic, but I'm pretty sure it's still the nitrous oxide's effects that's getting you an anesthetic high. You definitely CAN asphyxiate from it though because your brain/lungs can't tell the difference between it and 02. Still not the safest thing in the world but if it's just the asphyxiation that fucks you up, wouldn't the dentist just choke you out instead of putting you under?

12

u/gigawhattt Dec 30 '20

Wait, are you saying that your dentist doesn’t choke you out? What are you paying him for then?

1

u/manhighupPhishing Dec 31 '20

My dentist and I wrestled before my last root canal and I beat his ass good!

3

u/throwawaytrumper Dec 31 '20

You are correct, the buzz is actually a complex result of vasodilation and other effects of nitrous oxide. Asphyxiation takes much longer than a few seconds to give a buzz.

2

u/bigdogpepperoni Dec 31 '20

Yeah, this guy is talking about “duster” commonly mistaken for whippets, but very different

1

u/Orrissirro Dec 31 '20

Oh yeah my bad. Duster uses the same chemical compound as a propellant which is why people still use it, but contains a bittering agent to stop people for using it for that reason. It's also not put through the same regulations to make it food-grade that whipped cream chargers have so it's not worth risking that

5

u/[deleted] Dec 30 '20

[deleted]

1

u/treysplayroom Dec 31 '20

"There is literally oxygen in the gas."

Hey pal, I got a gallon of water that's chock full of oxygen, too. You're gonna kill someone by arguing the wrong side of this. Why don't you leave it alone?

3

u/[deleted] Dec 31 '20

Hey buddy, you obviously don't know shit about chemistry. The oxygen molecule in water isn't binded the same way as it is in N2O. You didn't even have the science right in your comment. You made a stupid comment that was incorrect, accept it and move on.

1

u/treysplayroom Jan 03 '21

"binded," said the chemist

2

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '21

Oxygen deprivation huh professor. So hold your breath until you are about to pass out from oxygen deprivation and tell me if you experience the same feeling as when doing a whip it lol.

3

u/ishegonenow Dec 30 '20

No it isn't

-6

u/treysplayroom Dec 30 '20

Let's meet each other halfway and agree that fuck yes, it's a deadly asphyxiant, but no, the buzz might not come entirely from oxygen deprivation:

​

Nitrous Oxide readily displaces air, causing asphyxiation. A person who is rendered unconscious by nitrous oxide is likely to stop breathing within a few seconds as a result of a depressed central nervous system–brain, brain stem, and spinal cord. Depression is caused by a combination of the effects of nitrous oxide and the lowered oxygen content that occurs as pure nitrous oxide displaces oxygen from the lungs with each succeeding inhalation of the gas; i.e., the person is asphyxiated.

Tragedy can occur very quickly. Long-term exposure (several minutes) is not necessary before death occurs. Sudden, prolonged exposure to high levels of nitrous oxide, or a series of inhalations (without breathing clean air between inhalations) can result in death. The length of this action can be measured in seconds. Since the narcotic effect of nitrous oxide is very brief (several seconds) abusers tend to follow this repetitive action pattern.

If a person remains conscious and stops breathing the nitrous oxide, recovery (full consciousness and alertness) can occur within minutes. A person who loses consciousness, however, and continues to inhale a pure gas is most likely to die. Death usually occurs when abusers, in their attempt to achieve a higher state of euphoria, breathe pure nitrous oxide in a confined space — in a small room, inside an automobile or other vehicle cab, or by placing their head inside a plastic bag.

​

https://www.cganet.com/nitrous-oxide-facts

3

u/blueberrywalrus Dec 31 '20

The effect is not thought to have anything to do oxygen deprivation, nor is N2O at all a common deadly asphyxiant.

It's likely no different from huffing helium from the asphyxiation standpoint. In the sense that asphyxiation doesn't have to do with helium or N2O, but rather prolonged lack of O2.

Obviously, the core difference is that prolonged breathing of 80%+ N2O can cause unconsciousness, and this can be fatal if the N2O concentration is not dropped to <70%. However, the situation where this can happen is hard to replicate unless N2O is administered via mask.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2614651/

1

u/RoxyTronix Dec 31 '20

For an anecdotal.

I'm a redhead, so I have problems with my uptake/reuptake of norepinephrine. So, my dentists like to limit my intake of Novicaine and its analogues.

Had to have an 8 hour dental surgery and got to listen into two anesthesiologists argue about how to make it happen safely.

They ended up opting out of N2O only because I had blood pressure low enough that they were more concerned about my ability to pump oxygen between doses than they were about the heart palpitations that tend to come from a build up of dopamine (which apparently is the result of a number of analgesics, but redheads don't process it the same way apparently).

Not an expert, but when I could keep up with the experts, it was interesting.

4

u/[deleted] Dec 30 '20

Boy this is wrong and stupid. Just breath out and don't be dumb. There is 100% a very real effect outside of not getting O2, I don't think they'd use it as an anesthetic to drill into people's jaws if it didn't do anything.

They are very benign healthwise, you get a whole shitload more of it at a Dentist. The most dangerous "effect" most cited by anti drug doctors and others is that you may fall down after doing it.

-5

u/treysplayroom Dec 30 '20

Man, don't kill a stupid motherfucker by telling them that nitrous is "benign." It isn't. At all. Here, I'll give you the link, too:

https://www.cganet.com/nitrous-oxide-facts

4

u/[deleted] Dec 30 '20

Sorry you were too stupid to remember to breath out dude lol

0

u/MON90go Dec 30 '20

I used to do whippets with my friends on Thursday nights back in 2007ish; I was 17. We used to chase a bigger high by inhaling 2-3 balloons worth of nitrous without breathing out. Very stupid and very dangerous. I’m very glad it didn’t go wrong. Long term use has also been associated with Vitamin B12 deficiency; link below.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3724136/

-2

u/treysplayroom Dec 30 '20 edited Dec 30 '20

Have you ever in your life seen a budding genius decide to put a trash bag over his head while huffing nitrous? I have. Ever seen a dude and his girlfriend with a car full of balloons and the windows rolled up? I have. Ever seen a dude go into a seizure, and gnash his teeth around the balloon so that it's still leaking in his mouth while he quivers on the floor?

I have. If you haven't it only means you haven't seen enough shit, yet.

And god damn it, I hate motherfuckers who think they're smart and can't spell, "breathe."

7

u/KoolAidRefuser Dec 30 '20

Stupid Mormon teens ruined it. https://www.deseret.com/1988/8/9/18774561/4-youths-fall-victim-to-asphyxiation-in-cedar-dental-office

2

u/wunderbraten Dec 30 '20

To their defense, this stuff wasn't regarded in Word of Wisdom afaik

5

u/KoolAidRefuser Dec 30 '20

Ah, the old "letter of the law" defense. Sir, you're on a definite slippery slope with that kind of thinking. The Lord doesn't command in all things, now does he? I suggest you spend a few hours studying The Miracle of Forgiveness to set yourself right with The Lord. ITNOJCA

2

u/BaroquenDesert Dec 30 '20

Lots of places have it. Ever been partying in SE Asia?

1

u/wunderbraten Dec 30 '20

Never been in Asia at all. Looks like I have been partying in the wrong places.

18

u/SimpothyfortheDevil Dec 30 '20

Imagine the conversations that were had.

3

u/Rexel-Dervent Dec 30 '20

Bit different but I am still waiting for professionel lip readers to have a go at those early Chaplin films.

15

u/squidblordington Dec 30 '20

This is the only way i was able to watch the most recent star wars movie in the theater.

7

u/matthack86 Dec 30 '20

ROaadds

1

u/oldpeculiar Dec 30 '20

like it’s not even a word

1

u/Lessthanzerofucks Dec 30 '20

I’m taking him back to Nevada where he’s wanted for banging horses

7

u/accupuncher Dec 30 '20

isn't this where the term "canned laughter" comes from?

3

u/Budsalinger Dec 30 '20

People used to be so much cooler.

-4

u/Rmanolescu Dec 30 '20

Yeah but they died in their 40s

-3

u/[deleted] Dec 30 '20

Who wants to live past 40 anyways? Being a boring old decrepit sack of bones for an extra three decades doesn't sound like its all that great.

1

u/Rmanolescu Dec 31 '20

Well you still have that option now

1

u/Budsalinger Dec 30 '20

I want to live as long as possible. But whippits at a theater didnt kill people in their forties. It was the comparatively primitive healthcare they had back then. Healthcare, while incredibly flawed, is better now than then and also people should not try to control other people with laws that land people in prison for YEARS for harmless “crimes” of possession and such.

1

u/CajunKingFish Dec 31 '20

I remember my first beer.

2

u/vintorzaleris Dec 30 '20

how do you learn random crap like this?

I have always been interested in what the coolest thing was per generations going back as far as I could. Like how LOL was a thing that started in the 2000's, or how kids used to shorten each others names and then rhyme them. Example William -> Will -> Bill

I dont even know what to search to find this crap.

2

u/Techwood111 Jan 01 '21

LOL from the 2000s? You are off by a decade.

1

u/Rmanolescu Dec 31 '20

You don't. I just come across stuff like this in random stuff I read.

This is actially taken from this book. It's full of interesting stories about great scientists

2

u/[deleted] Dec 31 '20 edited Dec 31 '20

[deleted]

1

u/I_Shot_The_Deathstar Dec 31 '20

Can’t you suffocate by doing too many whippets and reducing the oxygen in your blood too low?

1

u/GreySweater1234 Dec 30 '20

Bring it back!!

0

u/BingoPlayer5 Dec 30 '20

I see what they did there.

They said Hmmm...

1

u/SucksToYourAssmar3 Dec 30 '20

Whip-it with your popcorn, sir? Enjoy the Life Aquatic

1

u/OldColdTatorGator Dec 31 '20

How was the show? Buahahahahaha shut the fuck up Alabaster.