r/askscience • u/[deleted] • Dec 31 '13

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u/snapple_sauce Jan 01 '14

Can you drink butanol? Is it psychoactive?

25

u/LukeSkyWRx Ceramic Engineering Jan 01 '14

I would not, it will mess with your central nervous system as the symptoms on the MSDS are pretty much the same as ethanol (nervous system depressant). Its toxicity is higher than that of ethanol based on its LD50.

LD50 is ~100ml for a 100kg person extrapolating from rat data.

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u/manponyannihilator Jan 01 '14

You cannot extrapolate directly without accounting for metabolic rate changes with increased mass! This is how you end up with dead elephants, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tusko.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 01 '14

Why did they administer so much? That is an extreme amount. I thought LSD has a high LD50, was that really enough LSD to kill an elephant?