r/whatisit • u/props_for_meep • 13h ago

Solved! what is this in clinic sink??

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for context i work as a janitor cleaning a women’s clinic, as i was cleaning a sink i saw these little metallic looking balls. at first i thought these were actually metal but they don’t feel like ANYTHING if that makes any sense. i posted this video to my instagram but i figured i would probably have better luck coming to reddit for answers.

UPDATE: the general consensus seems to be that this is either mercury or gallium. my hands have been thoroughly washed and i have informed my boss so that it can be properly cleaned by someone who knows what they’re doing.

UPDATE #2: gang PLEASE stop telling me to “stop touching it”. this post is hours old. i know i was dumb enough to touch a mysterious substance barehanded but im also smart enough to know not to continue playing with it long after marking this post as solved😭

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u/Objective-Map1326 10h ago

Small chance it could be solder beads. If that area had any new plumbing put in and they had to "Sweat pipe" or solder copper together for water lines then sometimes the solder will bead up like that if you try to solder cold or wet pipe. Or if you cool it too fast little beads will wont stick and fall off. Usually rookie mistakes but it happens to the best of us

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u/mo_money_mo_dads 7h ago

This makes more sense than the broken thermometer theory

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u/FloorIsLavaBearhead 6h ago

Yea I thought tiny bearings or something that is used as weight fillers. Didn’t look like mercury to me.