r/UnnecessaryQuotes • u/New_Calligrapher_326 • 16d ago
Should I... Eat... It?
This came in a pack of filament for a 3D printer. I should throw it away though, it's not in quotes.
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u/MateOfTheNorth 15d ago
Well I’ve never personally heard of anyone getting sick or dying from eating one of these so that must mean it’s ok right?
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u/beardedsilverfox 15d ago
It just absorbs moisture. Enough can steal moisture from your body. One packet won’t do much.
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u/Frosk-meme 13d ago
And also sometimes the beads in the packets can pop when they are full of water so i guess that could hurt a bit
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u/Raging-Badger 15d ago
Fun fact, you can eat them
They aren’t toxic, just indigestible. You’ll pass the packet solid after a while
There’s a case study of a man who ate ton of them due to a depressive/anxious manic episode. His only symptoms were a severe case of stomach upset.
Children eat these all the time apparently according to the Poison Control website
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u/Rich_Sky_6872 16d ago
It’s such a sad testimony to the intelligence level of the human race that they have to put that on there. Like we’re thinking “hey, I’m gonna sprinkle that over my spaghetti!”
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u/Adorable-Response-75 15d ago
If you don’t know what it is, why wouldn’t you assume it’s like a salt packet or something? Sure it seems obvious to you now but if you’ve never seen one before it would look like a spice packet.
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u/Melloncollieocr 15d ago
Kinda agree here, silica if you’re not scientist could kinda sound like some flavoring or something. I think when like a plastic bag says “this is not a toy”, it’s much more sad for us
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u/CockroachPlus921 15d ago edited 15d ago
I ate one of these in a race against the clock to finish my thesis defense presentation. I was shoving beef jerky in my mouth while typing and at some point realized I'd been chewing far too long on something that was decidedly not beef jerky. I'd destroyed that packet.
One of my committee members told me to call poison control and the woman I spoke to said, "Usually we see this issue with dogs and small children." Certainly had me feeling very confident about my abilities going into the defense.
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u/No-Incident9179 13d ago
Often they are in food items that need to stay dry (nori seaweed for example), so people, in that case, could think that is some sort of condiment for the product they bought.
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u/thundafox 15d ago
the writing do not eat is only for the toxic components in the ink that was used to print the warning on them
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u/EmperorPenguin_RL 15d ago
It’s like the red button with a sign that says do not press. They’re just inviting people to do it.
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u/nashwaak 15d ago
Apparently “do not eat” is just a famous phrase or something, not to be taken literally
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u/Spinxy88 15d ago
It says not to eat throwaway desiccant. Nothing about not eating silica gel, which can be reactivated thermally and therefore isn't really a throwaway product.
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u/Theighel 15d ago
Go for it. It only says that because it's a choking hazard. Silica gel is made from sand
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u/Excel_Document 12d ago
do not throw it away! works better than rice for drying stuff.
when they ask: did you try rice? you can tell them i tried slica gel u fucking casual
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u/Ksorkrax 11d ago
Of course not!
However, it doesn't say "don't stuff into your urethra".
Just saying.
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u/TemporaryThink9300 15d ago
Lol. Stupid question, what is this silica gel used for?
Why pack it in and yet write, throw it away! lmao. These annoying little silica gel packets that come with zero instructions and are supposed to just be thrown away.
What's the point of them?
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u/egasz 15d ago
There are no stupid questions, only stupid people. If you ask something with the purpose of actually learning, then you shouldn't be afraid to ask, no matter how ridiculous you think the question is.
The silica gel is used to absorb moisture in the air, to prevent it from getting to the item you store it with. It can be used in food item (like beef jerky), medication (nowadays they store the package in the lid) and non-food items (like 3d printer filament). There are tons of other products that are shipped with silica packets, these were just the first examples that came to mind.
Fun fact: not all, but most packs can be reused. Once they get saturated with moisture, you can pop them in the microwave for a few seconds or heat them with a blow dryer to get rid of the moisture in them, and restart the process.
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u/fuck_peeps_not_sheep 15d ago
I dry my own herbs and I always put a silica packet in each jar just incase, would rather that than have them mould, I also put them in tea in storing long term.
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u/graham2k 15d ago
To keep moisture out.
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u/dhkendall 15d ago
I read that as “to keep monsters out” and thought of a child putting it under their bed to calm their mind to sleep well.
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u/nb6635 16d ago
I’m not going to let some badly worded packet tell me what to do!