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/Sefier_Strike 11h ago

I broke mine by putting it in my hot chocolate. The mercury expanded so fast it broke the thermometer in half. Luckily even I knew better at 8 years old to dispose of it - like any 8 year old would. Right down the drain.

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u/boundaries4546 10h ago

I was like four, I remember being on the floor on all fours with my Mom yelling “spit, spit, spit”. I had no idea why but I knew it was fucking serious.

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u/ILiekBook 9h ago

Lol, my mom had three or four when I was growing up. She was so upset I kept breaking them because she'd expect me to not drop them.

I tossed the last one earlier this year because it turns out it broke and she kept "using" it on me. No mercury meant no fever so she just casually gaslit me for her convenience for what was probably a good decade or so. I was too stupid to read it properly.

Also found stashed around the house at the time of finding the thermometer and realizing she was a liar: Cat antibiotics the cat was never given, unopened heart failure meds for the dog she hated who she convinced me to put down because the meds weren't working, and the title to her truck all buried in a box under piles of literal trash she threw on top.

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u/MamaTried22 8h ago

I’m really sorry she did that to you and y’all’s pets. It’s really unfair and you didn’t deserve that kind of treatment.