Mercury Poisoning from the Bath Compass

"Well," you say, "where did all that mercury go?"

"It evaporated," she says. Then with a start she looks at you, a light growing in her eyes.

You both start talking at once.

"Mercury vapor -- "

"A tent sealed against the cold -- "

"Very confined space -- "

"Inhaled the vapor -- "

"The compass was next to the stove -- "

"Evaporating out of the bowl."

"I think that's it," you say. "I'm sure that's it. The mercury evaporated out of the Bath Compass. It collected inside the cramped tent. Day in and day out, people breathed it, and the mercury began to poison their brains."

"They went mad as hatters," Claudia agrees. "We twigged it, yes we have."

THE CORRECT ANSWER WAS:
"METAL POISONING FROM SOME OTHER SOURCE"
(MERCURY POISONING FROM THE BATH COMPASS)

"And that's why everyone was affected," you go on. "Everyone breathed the air inside the tent."

"Except for one person." Claudia waves the fax. "Lieutenant Harding."

An Access Excellence Science Mystery sponsored by Genentech, Inc.
Copyright © 1997 Genentech, Inc.; all rights reserved.