In article ,
"Leo Lichtman" wrote:

"Steve Lusardi" wrote: I assumed that salt is a base and to neutralize it,
the application of an acid would be in order. As vinegar is a mild form of
acetic acid, I gave it a try. It has appeared to work.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Salt is not a base. Salts are the reaction products of acids and bases, and
are neutral. If vinegaqr worked, it ios probably becaquse it is a solvent
for the corrosion that was on the metal. (Table salt, NaCl, is the reaction
product of HCl and NaOH.)

Old Story, often told, but still fun for all that --

High school Chemistry class long ago and far away:

Our teacher assigned reading a chapter on acids, bases, and salts. The
next day he lectured on the subject and then held a Q&A session. He Q'd,
we A'd of course.

A few minutes into this part of class, he took a bottle of HCl and a jar
of Sodium Hydroxide out of the cabinet. He carefully weighed the NaOH
and measured the HCl and left the measured quantities sitting beside a
beaker on his desk.

After a few minutes, he poured the sodium hydroxide into the beaker,
added the acid and stirred vigorously. Then, screaming: "I CAN'T TAKE
THIS ANYMORE! DON'T ANY OF YOU TAKE ASSIGNMENTS SERIOUSLY? OH, WHAT'S
THE USE?," he drank the mixture.

It was easy to see who hadn't read the assignment.

On Wed, 02 Sep 2009 19:42:15 -0400, John Husvar wrote:

After a few minutes, he poured the sodium hydroxide into the beaker, added
the acid and stirred vigorously. Then, screaming: "I CAN'T TAKE THIS
ANYMORE! DON'T ANY OF YOU TAKE ASSIGNMENTS SERIOUSLY? OH, WHAT'S THE
USE?," he drank the mixture.

It was easy to see who hadn't read the assignment.

I once had a teacher who was demonstrating how phenolphthalien made a good
acid/base indicator. He had a beaker of some base, and of course the PT
turned purple - then he added some acid, a little at a time, until it
turned clear. He mentioned that he wasn't sure exactly what pH the
PT turned color, but remarked, "I could probably drink this."

That was before I learned that phenolphthalien was the active ingredient
in Ex-Lax. ;-)

Cheers!
Rich