78 posts
Latest Posts by slim-k-d - Page 2
I encountered a drug called "Dextromethorphan" when looking up things that react with grapefruits for a fic. I found out it's been banned in Sweden since the 90s, so I couldn't use it for this specific story, but if you've got any interesting history I'd be happy so know!
Are you ready for this? Like. Ask yourself. Are you really ready for this?
In 1954, a researcher with the US Public Health Service received $282,215 (1954 dollars) from the US Navy, ostensibly to find a non-addictive alternative to an opiate drug called codeine (used for pain and and as a cough suppressant).
So the researcher found a bunch of people who had substance abuse disorder and tested 800 substances on them, trying to find ones that couldn't cause physical or psychological dependence, even on people who were prone to that sort of thing.
(Now, you might be asking if this experiment was ethical. The USPHS was concurrently doing the infamous Tuskegee Syphilis Study, so while I couldn't find any concrete answer, imma guess no.)
Out of these 800 tested substances, we use 3 today: propoxyphene (used as a painkiller), diphenoxylate (used as a diarrhea medication), and dextromethophan (a cough suppressant (and, as of 2022, part of a fast-acting antidepressant)).
Importantly, it was later noted that all of these are addictive substances and today most of them require a prescription. Though depending on where you are in the world, you might just have to be over 21 and show an ID.
You might think this sounds like a pretty standard story.
You would be wrong.
Because while the US Navy was the one handing the money to the USPHS, the US Navy had come by it via the Central Intelligence Agency.
Yes. The good ol' CIA.
So what stake did the CIA have in a non-addictive codeine replacement? Nothing, it turns out. That's just what they'd told the US Navy. What they really wanted was an incapacitant- a drug that causes incapacitation like unconsciousness or continuous hallucinations- without killing. Incapacitants are also useful for discrediting prominent political figures by making them look like they have severe mental health concerns, which was another reason the CIA wanted them.
This was part of a project called MKPILOT.
And wouldn't you like to know which of the three listed above they liked the most? Dextromethorphan. Because at high doses it causes severe- and incapacitating- hallucinations (this is also why it is banned in Sweden).
The problem with it is that it requires really, really high doses (about 3 grams, which would have to be packaged in some other substrate)- this would make it difficult to slip into a drink or food.
(It should be noted that around the same time, the US Army was doing research into a much more usable incapacitant called 3-Quinuclidinyl Benzilate which required as little as 150mg of the substance to be useful- it was featured in a MacGyver episode and I did a nice little review of it here. While I have no sources that say the CIA was directly involved in funding this, based on their extensive funding of similar DoD projects at the time, they probably did.)
But you wanted to know about how grapefruit interacts with dextromethorphan:
A substance in grapefruit (along with seville oranges, limes, pomelos, and possibly pomegranates) blocks the pathway by which many drugs are metabolized in the liver. This causes the levels of drug in the body to be much higher than expected. In the case of dextromethorphan in particular, it can mean that the drug stays in the body a lot longer- up to 24 hours instead of the usual 3-4 hours. It can also make side effects and toxic effects significantly worse, leading to hallucinations and sedation, even at low doses normally used for coughing.
Posted on X, April 13 2025
Thank you Los Angeles for our biggest rally ever.
36,000 people came out today to say NO to Trumpism, NO to oligarchy, NO to authoritarianism, and NO to a rigged economy.
Have you ever looked closely at a car windshield?
The edge of the glass is painted where it is glued to the car but it has these small dots between the clear and painted glass.
These are there for a reason. When the sun hits the glass the painted areas and the clear areas will absorb heat at different rates. This causes the glass to expand and contract differently putting stress on the glass.
These dots help the glass to warm up more evenly over a larger area so the glass does not suffer stress that could cause it to spontaneously explode.
Fun fact: the Tesla cybertruck doesn’t have these.
Yes, the glass will spontaneously crack or explode in the sun.
The Mask Seller by Cesare Mariani
Among the latest discoveries in Pompeii:
A house with a private bathhouse , complete with hot, warm and cold rooms, and a plunge pool.
In a room were found the skeletons of a woman of about 40 years and a man of about 20 as well a pair of gold and natural pearl earrings.
The wonderful Pompeian red on the walls
Frescoes, various valuable objects, and gold coins.
Pompeii Parco Archeologico
@ancientcharm
Pius XII - the Pope who exploded!
The embalming of Pope Pius XII in October 1958 was so botched by his doctor that this much loved pope exploded while on public view in the Vatican
One of the most botched examples of embalming in history with catastrophic results was that of Pope Pius XII when he died in October 1958. Dead popes are put on display and processed before an elaborate burial. Therefore they need to look presentable. Unfortunately for Pius XII, his doctor was clueless when it came to embalming and made it up as he went along. The result of this? Pope Pius XII…
View On WordPress
JENNIFER COOLIDGE Wins Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for The White Lotus | 75th Primetime Emmy Awards
Closing rural post offices will do the same thing that closing rural schools has done: Empty out rural towns.
Why? To sell off farmland for rock bottom prices to the oligarchs. Water and mineral rights and CAFOs polluting with impunity.
It’s been the plan for decades.
It's an open notes test and some dense motherfuckers still can't figure out the answers.
Tens of thousands of protesters mustered in cities and towns across the country on Saturday to sound off against the Trump administration's cuts to the federal government and its polices.
Carrying homemade posters and chanting "Hands Off," the protesters came out to the more than 1,200 rallies nationwide despite rain in many cities, according to organizers.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), spoke at the Washington DC rally, "Their tariffs are not only imbecilic — they're illegal, they're unconstitutional, and we're going to turn this around."
Paul Osadebe, a lawyer for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, spoke during the rally in Washington, saying the oligarchs do not "value you, or your life, or your community. ...We're seeing that they don't care who they have to destroy or who they have to hurt to get what they want."
Multiple protests rallied in all 50 states — major themes included, 'Hands Off': our Bodily Autonomy, our Schools, our LGBTQ Rights, our Freedom of Speech, our Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare, our Wallets, our Jobs, our Civil Rights, our Clean Energy, our Democracy.
And, importantly, there were no reports of any major disturbances or arrests at any of the over 1,200 rallies.
This is the living embodiment of a government that is "of the People, by the People, and for the People."
Democracy is a beautiful thing.
I can write the saddest poem of all tonight. I loved her, and sometimes she loved me too.
Pablo Neruda / Tonight I Can Write
Dorothea Lasky, from Rome
Kate Chopin, from The Awakening
fatima aamer bilal, excerpt from moony moonless sky’s ‘i am an observer, but not by choice.’
[text id: my fist has always been clenched around the handle of an invisible suitcase. / i am always ready to leave. / there is not a single room in this world where i belong.]
The comedian went off on billionaires in a recent podcast episode, comparing them to rabid dogs who need to be put down.
Bill made the comments on his "Monday Morning Podcast" ... blaming billionaires for dividing the country, hoarding all the wealth and creating a situation where working people can't afford rent and need two jobs just to stay afloat.
BB says way too many people are stressing out about bills, and he says anyone who works a regular job should be able to afford their basic necessities.
bill fuckin burr the man that you are
how’s that house that raised you?
In a last ditch attempt to save your people, you offer your life to an ancient god of war and blood. Unfortunately, your translation of the ancient text was a bit off. You're married now.
im gay but $20 isn’t even $20 anymore