Oil, Oil, Toil and Trouble...

[Miles]

And then Miles will come in and destroy your house/garage...

I don't destroy houses or garages, only peoples' feelings. Get it right. ;)

What was that video you made of a small model structure being destroyed? My memory is failing. Serious question. Sort of. Still one of the funnier damn things I remember seeing here.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, this?

[CathyCA]

Tilly, you MUST take pictures!

[ArkieDukie]

My apologies, Miles.

Here's what I think I'm going to do. Use food coloring to color the cooking oil. Using a funnel, fill a small balloon with the colored cooking oil and tie it off. I could fill my sink full of water as it's porcelain, thus white, or I can take my biggest bowl, fill it with water and submerge the balloon. After about 5 mins, giving things time to settle, I'll reach in a poke the balloon with a pin.

Any other thoughts suggestion?

Yes, Miles, there will be a video. Should I find nerdy glasses to wear during the experiment? Oh wait, I have some.

Can't wait to see the video, Tilly! My only suggestion would be to make the water as cold as possible.

Should I put the bowl of water in the refrigerator overnight?

Nah, cold from the tap should be cold enough.

[captmojo]

Okay, I think I understand. Being a visual person, I like to see how things are done. Is there anyway I can recreate what is happening in the Gulf using common household items? Perhaps a balloon full of cooking oil in a bowl of water, then prick the balloon to watch the oil trickle/gush out.

Here's a little something to be in mind of.

Always drain the gas tank of your lawn mower at the end of mowing season. The temperature differences of the outside-the-tank surface and the inside-the-tank surface will cause water condesation to accumulate inside the tank and when you pull out the equipment to begin mowing duties next year..."Oops!", won't start. You have water at the bottom of the tank, blocking fuel flow to the engine. A bubble of it (water) will be visible at the bottom of the tank, provided the light source is in the right position.

Now there is a practical experiment.

[captmojo]

Lightning struck one of the tanks at the 'Tank Farm' gasoline storage facility in Greensboro, early this AM, setting one of the damn things on fire, sohot it melted the big sucker. I40 had to be shut down, in both directions of travel, and it still is , as of this writing, though the flames are presently extinguished.

How can you make this thing bigger?

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Lightning struck one of the tanks at the 'Tank Farm' gasoline storage facility in Greensboro, early this AM, setting one of the damn things on fire, so hot it melted the big sucker. I40 had to be shut down, in both directions of travel, and it still is , as of this writing, though the flames are presently extinguished.

How can you make this thing bigger?

I-40 has since been reopened, or so they said on TV.

[lawgrad91]

Apparently they were able to drain 3000 gallons of gasoline out of the tank at the tank farm in Greensboro, and the other 2000 burned, but they were able to confine the damage to the one tank. (At least that's what our local trooper said in church this morning.)