On Sunday, May 25, 2003, at 04:06 AM, Adam Lydick wrote:
Clever. That rather reminds me of the use of Putrescine in Neal Stephenson's "Zodiac". A little google'ing seems to suggest that it is a real substance. I'd be curious how difficult it is to synthesize (although I'd hate to make my garage smell like that).
Yes, of course putrescine is real. In fact, it has come up in some Cypherpunks list discussions from the Jim Bell case, as I recall. My organic chem friends in the 1970s routinely dealt with it. In any case, widely discussed in various fora. I don't why this has now come up here, or in fact who some of the posters now posting are, but the use of it in street disturbances is also not new. Of course, my view is that any anti-capitalist protester who gases _me_ with putrescine needs to be killed. It's what guns are for. --Tim May