[Aaryan]

Jody was working near the acid vats one day when she noticed some aluminum on the floor that was quite corroded from some of the acid that had spilled on it. She then made his way to the top of the vat to inspect some equipment. There was a tour and the group just happened to be coming by the vats just then. The guide pointed to the warning signs on the vats that read "caution: corrosive" and went to move on, but as luck would have it Jody recognized someone in the group and leaning over the railing to wave, slipped and plunged into the vat.

The crowd gasped sure that the Jody would be instantly dissolved by the acid. Another worker rushed over and pulled her out. Jody yelled down "I'm ok".

The guide remarked that wasn't part of the tour and asked people to move on.

If Jody wasn't wearing any protective clothing or had any special protection form the acid, how did she survive.

I expect this to be solved almost immediately, guys.

[Guest]

The vat was empty.

Or maybe Jody is not human and her species is not harmed by acid.

[Aaryan]

no and no, but you did point out a flaw. The vat is full of the acid.

[Aaryan]

Anyone else? I see you guests there, just bursting with answers.

[Guest]

A very mild acid... or lemon juice??

[Guest]

Is it because the acid only reacts to aluminum?

[Aaryan]

@jadmc: you are getting warmer, however you must read the part about the aluminum

@Anaki: Yes, but that doesn’t explain it fully. By using a certain condition you do not solve the puzzle.

[Guest]

She is human and her species is not harmed by that acid, as it is not harmful for short exposure. ie something like citric acid or maybe just plain ole fruit juice or some acid with a ph near 7. Or it is low concentration enough to not be harmful

Edited May 12, 2011 by Nana7

[Guest]

The acid had already been neutralized by the aluminum.

[Aaryan]

Nope and nope.

@nana: You have to remember that it was corrosive enough to destroy aluminum.

@wyze: What acid would that possibly be??

[Guest]

The vat was filled with water

Edited May 13, 2011 by richardsrj64

[Aaryan]

To clear things up:

The vat was filled with the same thing that destroyed the aluminum.

[Guest]

The "many worlds hypothesis" relating to quantum mechanics states that anything which can happen, no matter how miraculous like surviving a vat of acid unharmed, does happen in some alternate reality. The "quantum immortality" hypothesis expands on this to say that nobody ever dies since their awareness only exists in the realities in which they go on living and that there will always be at least one miracle reality in which one goes on living per the many worlds hypothesis. Therefore it is not at all surprising that she believes she survived unharmed, as she is now in the miracle world where all the acid molecules just happened to avoid reacting with her by total chance. All other realities though witnessed her burning horribly.

[Guest]

Question:

Did it corrode because of the acid? If so, it could have been closer to pH 7

[Guest]

OK ... so we've ascertained that a) Jody is human, b) the vat is full of the same acid that destroyed the aluminum, and c) the vat is clearly marked "CORROSIVE".

Unless there's a hidden "word play" issue in the text (which I do not see), we need to determine if there is a base or an acid out there that is corrosive to soft metals, but not as much so to human skin. One that comes to mind is Muriatic acid (if she was pulled out quickly enough), but she probably would have come out blind and with severely burned esophageal, sinus and tracheal regions. Somehow this reminds me of the "dihydrogen monoxide scare" put out there several years ago, but we've already established that it's not water. I'm stumped.

[Guest]

Could it be possibly that she fall into a vat of coke?

Coke contains phosphoric acid which provides the tangy feeling.

I speak for myself, when coke taste quite good, if its safe enough to be drunk, should be safe enough to touch.

Reaction of phosphoric acid with AL

3Al3 + 6H3PO4 -> 9H2 + 2Al3(PO4)3

Acid will corrode anything over time ......

[Guest]

Jody was working near the acid vats, but he didn't state, that the vats have acid on it :-)

[Guest]

I think we are all thinking about this too hard.

One form of corrosive substance that we all seam to be forgetting is the simple oxidizer witch will not react with substances it is not made to react with (human flesh safe) but is still considered corrosive.

So a simple Al oxidizer would do the trick here.

[Guest]

Two different types of vats...it never said that she made her way to the top of the acid vat...just a vat, and that there exists a vat with acid in it (perhaps on the other side of the group).

[Molly Mae]

Q for Aaryan: How long did it take the acid to corrode/severely modify the aluminum?

If you want a yes/no question:

Did it take longer than 10 minutes?

An hour?

A day?

[k-man]

the vat was full of acid, but it was covered from the top, so nothing or nobody could fall into the acid. Jodi fell into the vat, but landed on the cover above the acid.

[Aaryan]

OK ... so we've ascertained that a) Jody is human, b) the vat is full of the same acid that destroyed the aluminum, and c) the vat is clearly marked "CORROSIVE".

Unless there's a hidden "word play" issue in the text (which I do not see), we need to determine if there is a base or an acid out there that is corrosive to soft metals, but not as much so to human skin. One that comes to mind is Muriatic acid (if she was pulled out quickly enough), but she probably would have come out blind and with severely burned esophageal, sinus and tracheal regions. Somehow this reminds me of the "dihydrogen monoxide scare" put out there several years ago, but we've already established that it's not water. I'm stumped.

You are absolutely right, now you just need the acid.

I think we are all thinking about this too hard.

One form of corrosive substance that we all seam to be forgetting is the simple oxidizer witch will not react with substances it is not made to react with (human flesh safe) but is still considered corrosive.

So a simple Al oxidizer would do the trick here.

The right idea, but not the original 'acid'.

Two different types of vats...it never said that she made her way to the top of the acid vat...just a vat, and that there exists a vat with acid in it (perhaps on the other side of the group).

No,she fell into the vat that held the acid that destroyed the the metal.

Q for Aaryan: How long did it take the acid to corrode/severely modify the aluminum?

If you want a yes/no question:

Did it take longer than 10 minutes?

An hour?

A day?

Irrelavent.

the vat was full of acid, but it was covered from the top, so nothing or nobody could fall into the acid. Jodi fell into the vat, but landed on the cover above the acid.

God idea, but no.

[Guest]

was the vat full of lemons that didnt hurt her because they were not pealed yet but were squeezed o the alluminum. Idontknow if that can affect the alluminum

[Aaryan]

1. Please work on spelling. There's nothing I hate more than a bad speller.

2. No, as I said it was full of the ACID, not anything else.

[fabpig]

1. Please work on spelling. There's nothing I hate more than a bad speller.

2. No, as I said it was full of the ACID, not anything else.

OK...we'll watch our spelling.....you watch your pronouns....."She then made his way to the top "

Edited May 14, 2011 by fabpig

[Aaryan]

*hides face in shame*