Nitrous Oxide: the FAQ
The information contained within this FAQ has been gleaned from various internet references with the majority from Erowid, along with personal experience and contributions from other bluelighters. It is designed to answer questions about nitrous oxide. It does not advocate the use of nitrous oxide, which may be illegal in your area of the globe. For example, in the State of California, the possession with INTENT to use nitrous oxide is a misdemeanor.
Nitrous oxide may appear innocuous to some, but like any drug abuse will have detrimental side effects, and used stupidly will kill you.
Description
N2O, or Nitrous Oxide, also known as laughing gas, is a weak anaesthetic gas that has been in use since the late 18th century. Common use includes both surgical and recreational purposes. Most people have experienced nitrous in the context of dentistry. Nitrous is also used in the dairy industry as a mixing and foaming agent as it is non-flammable, bacteriostatic (stops bacteria from growing) and leaves no taste or odour. Nitrous is also used in auto racing to speed engines. Nitrous is even used in diving to prepare divers for nitrous-like effects.
Nitrous oxide is the only inhalational anesthetic agent used that is a not a vapor, but a true gas by definition. For anesthetic purposes, it is supplied in blue cylinders, compressed to its liquid phase.
Physical Constants
Molecular Weight........................................................44
Boiling Point..................................-88.0 deg. C @ 760 mm Hg
Vapor Pressure.................................39,000 mm Hg @ 20 deg. C
Partition Coefficients
Blood:Gas......................................................................0.47
Brain:Blood....................................................................1.1
Oil:Gas..........................................................................1.4
Potency
MAC in 100% oxygen..............................................104% atm
Famous Nitrous Guzzlers
This original list was published in 'The book of lists' by Wallechinsky et al. And it gives also lists of famous people using cocaine, hash, morphine, LSD, mescaline, heroin and opium.
Thomas Wedgwood, 1771-1805, English Physicist
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1772-1834, English Poet
Robert Southey, 1774-1843, English Poet
Humphrey Davy, 1778-1829, English Chemist
Peter Mark Roget, 1779-1889, Author of 'Roget's Thesaurus'
Samuel Colt, 1814-1862, American Inventor of the Colt .45 revolver
William James, 1842-1910, American Philosopher
Theodore Dreiser, 1871-1945, American Writer and Journalist
Winston Churchill, 1874-1965, English Politician
Peter Ouspenski, 1878-1947, Russian desciple of Gudjieff
Allen Grinsberg, 1926-, American Poet
Gregori Corso, 1930-, American Poet
Ken Kesey, 1965-, American Writer
Common Terms
Nitrous, nangs, whippits, johnny gas, laughing gas, bulbs, N2O,
Dangers
Principal Adverse Effects
Respiratory
Respiratory depression, apnea, diffusion hypoxia
Cardiovascular
Hypotension, arrhythmias
CNS
Dizzyness, euphoria, increased CBF/ICP, neuropathy with chronic exposure
GI
Nausea, vomiting, ileus
Other
Bone marrow depression with chronic exposure, malignant hyperthermia
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The primary dangers of nitrous inhalation are:
Oxygen deprivation
"Occasionally, certain anesthetic agents become misused drugs. Nitrous oxide is an example. A gas of low anesthetic potency, it is incapable of inducing deep levels of anesthesia if an adequate oxygen concentration is maintained. Nitrous oxide induces a state of behavioral disinhibition, analgesia, and euphoria. One of the problems occasionally encountered when nitrous oxide is used for recreational purposes is that, unless the compound is administered with at least 20 percent oxygen, hypoxia (decreased oxygen content of the blood) can be induced. But in order to achieve high enough concentrations of nitrous oxide to get a good behavioral effect, concentrations of 50 percent or greater must be inhaled. If such concentrations are mixed with room air, inhaled oxygen concentrations drop to low levels and the hypoxia may result in irreversible brain damage."
"Second, because nitrous oxide does not support life, it should be mixed with oxygen if it is to be breathed for more than a few minutes. At private parties, oxygen tanks are rarely supplied, and people have died of asphyxiation by breathing straight nitrous oxide through face masks. One way to avoid these dangers is to fill balloons from tanks and breathe from the balloons."
Frost bite
Breathing it directly from pressurized tanks is dangerous for two reasons. First, gas flowing from such tanks is very cold -- cold enough to cause frostbite of noses, lips and (most serious) vocal cords. Being anesthetized, a user may be unaware of such injuries until too late.
Loss of motor control
'Further, nitrous oxide rapidly leads to complete loss of motor control, and anyone who breathes it while standing will soon reel about and fall down. Therefore, it is unwise to try the gas unless one is in a comfortable sitting or lying position. Serious injuries have resulted from people inhaling laughing gas while standing in front of open windows, when driving cars or when operating machinery. Others have been badly hurt by accidentally pulling heavy tanks of nitrous oxide over onto themselves while intoxicated.
Vitamin B12 interference
"Physicians and dentists have long considered nitrous oxide to be a safe pharmacological agent. Nevertheless, there is some evidence that excessive or prolonged use of it can damage the bone marrow and nervous system by interfering with the action of vitamin B-12."
"There have been reports of immunological and reproductive disturbances in professionals who are chronically exposed to nitrous oxide. The immunological disturbances are documented by Peric et al (1991) _Anaethesia_ 46: 531-7. Apparently anaesthetic personnel had been complaining about weakness and recurrent infections and decreased peripheral blood leukocyte counts has been found."
Folic acid interference
Nausea
'People who breathe nitrous oxide for more than a few minutes at a time may experience nausea, especially if they have just eaten. They may also feel hung over for some time after. Addiction to nitrous oxide is a real possibility. Addicts may suffer serious mood and personality changes in addition to the bone marrow and nervous system damage already mentioned."
FAQ’s:
WHY THE HELL IS IT USED AS WHIPPED CREAM PROPELLANT?
It dissolves in the liquid cream. When the cream escapes from the can, the gas expands and in doing so whips the cream into a foam. (This explanation is from the book "Food Science".) Now, the interesting part is that nitrous oxide is an inhalation anesthetic because it dissolves in synaptic lipid membranes. So it's not a coincidence that nitrous oxide is a whipped cream propellant and an inhalation anesthetic: nitrous oxide dissolves in fatty cream and it also dissolves in fatty cell membranes. Lots of things work as inhalation anesthetics; the better they dissolve in the lipid membranes, the lower the pressure required. This is why spot removers like ether and chloroform work as anesthetics in low concentration. At high enough pressure, even nitrogen will dissolve in membranes; this causes nitrogen narcosis in divers. Even an inert gas like argon will work as anaesthetic since it will dissolve in membranes under enough pressure. This is also why people sniff fat-soluble gases like propane and freon to get high.
DOES IT KILL BRAIN CELLS?
Yes, nitrous does 'kill brain cells' although that's a pretty general statement. Both life and alcohol also kill brain cells. If you're truly interested in the medical aspects of recreational drugs, written for laymen, get the following two books, both, as far as I know, still in print FROM CHOCOLATE TO MORPHINE: Andrew Weil & Winifred Rosen. Make sure you get the 1993 edition. It's the one with the horrible sub-title "Everything You Need To Know About Mind-Altering Drugs". The sub-title's wrong, but it's still a good reference. A PRIMER OF DRUG ACTION: Robert M. Julien.
Robert M. Julien:"Occasionally, certain anesthetic agents become misused drugs. Nitrous oxide is an example. A gas of low anesthetic potency, it is incapable of inducing deep levels of anesthesia if an adequate oxygen concentration is maintained. Nitrous oxide induces a state of behavioral disinhibition, analgesia, and euphoria. One of the problems occasionally encountered when nitrous oxide is used for recreational purposes is that, unless the compound is administered with at least 20 percent oxygen, hypoxia (decreased oxygen content of the blood) can be induced. But in order to achieve high enough concentrations of nitrous oxide to get a good behavioral effect, concentrations of 50 percent or greater must be inhaled. If such concentrations are mixed with room air, inhaled oxygen concentartions drop to low levels and the hypoxia may result inirreversible brain damage"
Weil & Rosen: "Addiction to nitrous oxide is a realpossibility. Addicts may suffer serious mood and personality changes in addition to the bone marrow and nervous system damage already mentioned.
A NITROUS HORROR STORY
How much nitrous taken in how much time will rot your nerves? To get an idea i will transcribe two case reports from a more recent nitrous horror story. At the same time it will give you an idea what "neuropathy" and "myeloneuropathy" looks like and what signs to watch out for when you are a nitrous regular. From: Stacey et.al (1992) " Methionine in the treatment of nitrous oxide induced neuropathy and myeloneuropathy" Journal of Neurology 239:401-403.Case 1 (quote) This 36-year old electrical engineer came to the emergency room complaining that he was unable to walk. Symptoms had begun 4 days earlier with "pins and needles" in both feet that gradually worsened and ascended to involve the knees and the fingertips. With worsening of the paresthesias (-no sense of touch or pain-) he noted difficulty in maintaining proper control of the movements of his arms and hands and trouble in walking. He also reported the sensation of electric shocks through his back and legs upon flexion of the neck. He denied bladder or bowel impairment but he had been unable tohave an erection for the past week. His past medical history was unremarkable except for occasional abuse of alcohol in the past. However he denied any drinking of alcohol for the past 8 months. For recreational purposes he had inhaled two to three boxes of nitrous oxide, each box containing 24 cartridges, practically every day for the past six months. When first seen his general physical examination was completely unremarkable. The neurological examination showed hyperesthesia and hyperalgesia in the lower extremities up to the knees. He had severe bilateral sensorydystaxia and could only stand with support. Intramuscular B12 injections were started and during the following days his hematological status improved, (-apart from neurological symptoms, the functional B12 deficiency caused by N2O also produces megaloblasticanemia,- ed.) although his neurological condition continued to deteriorate. The paresthesias ascended to the nipples and he developed fecal and urinary incontinence. Four weeks later he began to improve and four months after the onset of the symptoms, and his last use of nitrous oxide he could walk with some hesitation and had completely regained bowel and bladder control and sexual function
Case 2 This 32 year old woman was admitted to the neurology service for inability to walk and paresthesias in her limbs and trunk. Her symptoms began 3 weeks prior to admission with a "tingling" sensation in the soles of her feet, trunk and hands. Her gait became progressively less steady and the day prior to admission she had an episode of urinary incontinence. Her past medical history was significant for bulimia and occasional intranasal use of cocaine. for the previous 3 months she had inhaled nitrous oxide for recreational purposes, up to 200 cartridges a day, three to four times a week.
What this shows is that these people really did a lot of nitrous, say 300-400 cartridges a week, for a few months in a row to develop these really nasty symptoms. But it also shows that people who do such things do exist( can you believe it?)For the really health conscious among you (a contradiction in terms?) if you "must" do nitrous for a longer period be sure to take high doses of folic acid (is also depleted from your body as a result of functional B12 deficiency ) and vitamin B12. (No injury NOT guaranteed, but it might help)Also, but less well known, the state of B12 deficiency caused by regular use of nitrous oxide produces hyperhomocysteinemia, an accumulation in the blood of the amino acid homocysteine. Hyperhomocysteinemia is a risk factor for vascular disease of all sorts. Furthermore, hyperhomocysteinemia, B12 deficiency and folic acid deficiency early in pregnancy all increase the risk of getting a child with a neural tube defect (spina bifida and anencephaly, children with no brains or open spinal cord). If you are a woman, planning to get pregnant or just "at risk of getting pregnant", nitrous is a bad idea.
Further caution to these people: Pregnant women: since nitrous oxide is a known teratogen in rodents, acting by depleting folates and partially reversible by oral folinic acid, we can expect a similar syndrome in humans. Vegans who don't take B12 supplements: although documented cases of vegans with B12 decifiencies are scarce, theories on nutrition indicate that vegans are unlikely to get as much B12 as other groups of people. Individiduals with healing wounds, infections, or immunological disorders: I'm throwing this recommendation in based on a "better safe than sorry" policy. Short-term exposure to nitrous oxide is unlikely to be a problem, but why not play it safe?
Physiological Effects
When inhaled, nitrous produces a variety of physical effects including:
Disorientation
Fixated vision
Throbbing or pulsating auditory hallucinations
Similarly pulsating visual hallucinations
Increased pain threshold
Deeper mental connections
Physiological effects last approximately a minute for a lungful of nitrous and then mainly dissipate. Some residual effects may last up to several minutes later. Nitrous gas permeates the lipid membranes and produces an anaesthetic effect. Long term or heavy use can have unpleasant effects. While light use is not hazardous, here are some common sense errors to avoid.
Nitrous Use Warnings
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Remember
Your body depends on a steady flow of oxygen. Oxygen is your friend (unless you're a single celled animal, in which case oxygen is incredibly toxic) -- you want to continue breathing. Sit down, breathe, spin, laugh; its GOOD to be alive!
Some of the following items may seem dumb, but guess what? Someone was actually dumb enough to do them.
Don't EVER
Try to inhale N20 directly from whippits, or point escaping gas at anyone. The gas WILL give you frost burn. Balloon broke? Try a condom or a plastic bag!
Strap a gas mask to your face. If you pass out, you want your body to get oxygen. Yes, people have died doing this.
Lock yourself in a room, closet, car, or refrigerator with a tank of nitrous and open it. Yes, people have died doing this.
Stand up and do it. Stay away from open windows.
Use a large tank without a regulator or which isn't strapped down.
Use homemade nitrous. Unless you are a chemist, you're likely to get a load of rubbish like NO2, H2NO3, and other yummy toxic things.
Allow yourself to lose sight of moderation. No one likes a bong hoarder, and no one likes a Nitrous Whore.
Anecdotal Trip Reports
A Nitrous Experience
After several deep breaths of air, I inhale nearly a lungful of nitrous and pull some air down on top and then hold my breath. Within seconds, a light tingling can be felt which seems to increase in frequency. The sensation is much as if waves were traveling up your body or as if you were twisting or spinning. Disorientation increases rapidly and the pulsing sounds/feelings increase, wrapping over one another. It is now, with eyes shut, that I enter a dreamlike state, where I am thinking out something and the external world has essentially ceased to exist. The urge to breathe takes over at some point and partial or whole breaths taken. Open eyes reveal some sort of tunnel vision, with regions of disorientation about the outside. Slowly the throbbing subsides.
At other times I experience a sense of paranoia mixed with disorientation. I have a deep conviction while under the influence that all things are cycling together, that there is some deeper cyclical event occuring. It is as an experience of deja vu continually occuring. The feeling is profound.
A second Nitrous experience
Secondly, I'm the one that posted a while ago about finding the secret to the universe on nitrous, and I should have known that people would ask me what it was.
Its taken me a while to figure out how to actually write about my nitrous expreiences, just cause words are rather limiting when you talk about the wide expanse of what you can understand when you're on nitrous. But here goes. Before I start, a disclaimer: this is long and trippy-sounding. I'm embarrassed as hell about posting it, cause its not at all what usually appears on this newsgroup, and a lot of it is wild speculation that I find fascinating, even four months after discovering it on nitrous. Note that I've never read any philosophy, including psychedelic philosophy. I am not at all religious, in fact I'm anti-religion. I'm not sure what relevance that has to all of this, but I felt it was important to mention. I thought of this all on my own.
---------- First of all, I need to explain how I start thinking when I've had a lot of nitrous. A couple people have posted or sent me mail describing the effect as being like uncovering layers, or of things being recursive. Those are both good words. I read once that most major breakthroughs in thought have taken place not because of an incremental increase in knowledge, but because of a paradigm shift. The theory, as far as I could remember it, was that within a paradigm, incremental breakthroughs in understanding could only take you so far. But to really progress someone has to hold up then entire paradigm to the light and come up with a different paradigm; then the cycle can start over again. The problem is that those who end up tossing out the old paradigm are usually thought of as crackpots and villified by their peers for doing just that, and it may take years before people decide that the paradigm-shifter was actually right. The prime example of all this is Galileo and the sun-revolves-around the earth paradigm; science had gone only so far in explaining things under that paradigm, and they were unable to explain many other things (sorry I'm being so vague; I don't remember the details). When the paradigm shifted, and it was more commonly believed that the earth revolves around the sun, the problems made more sense. But it took someone to question that fundamental fact (as it was believed to be) for the change to take place. My point in mumbling about all this nonsense is that sometimes its hard to see the forest for the trees; sometimes its hard to back up far enough into the paradigm that you question the paradigm itself. Nitrous, for me, makes it easier. It makes it easy to question things you have never questioned before, to step back and see the bigger picture. But it doesn't stop there. Once you've examined one paradigm and found its problem, you've got another paradigm to fool with. And then the nitrous makes you examine *that* paradigm. Its like an infinite onion; you peel away one belief and there's another beneath it. And another beneath that. And on. And on. I've had many nitrous conversations with myself that dealt with wild religious conspiracy theories, whether animals think, how it is I can come up with ideas for short stories, and many other things I can't remember off hand. But my most mind-expanding nitrous trip of all was one where I started thinking about perception in general and just what reality means. I started out thinking of the phrase "I'll believe it when I see it with my own eyes." Or not necessarily that phrase in an of itself, but the idea that truth only exists if we can see it, or hear it, or taste it, or whatever, for ourselves. We rely on our perceptions to draw conclusions and accumulate knowledge. But our perceptions can't necessarily tell us the whole truth, cause there are things outside those perceptions that exist, but we can't perceive of them with the raw equipment we have. For example, 300 years ago there were no microscopes, and people could not see viruses or bacteria. It wasn't until we found a way to expand our vision into the very very small via microscopes that we were able to find out that microorganisms exist. There are thousands of examples of bits of knoweldge that we didn't know about because we did not have the ability to bring the data into the focus of our senses, to perceive it and learn about it. We had to keep pushing on the "too small to see" or "too quiet to hear", and so on, boundaries before these things came into focus. Therefore it follows that if there were things that were beyond the extremes of our senses then, there are STILL things out there that we still haven't been able to observe. At this point in my thinking, the onion peeled back. If there are things beyond the extremes of our perception that we have only just discovered, and there are still things out there beyond those extremes, then perhaps it follows that there are also forms of perception we have not yet discovered. Perhaps there are more than five senses, but we just don't understand what they are because they are not as observable to us as the original five. Perhaps there is reality out there that we'll never be able to understand because we don't have senses that will be able to find it, and we have no way to build machines that will open up those doors of perception to us. Layers, layers of perception and reality. I know it all sounds really stupid. I'm reading this over and thinking "ack, you're not going to POST this, are you? How embarrassing." But this is exactly the way that nitrous makes you think. After musing about all this for a bit, my mind began to fold back in to the present. In order to come up with this concept of inifnite knowledge contained in infinite perceptive forms, I had to be under the influence of a substance that makes my mind think in different ways -- that *changes my perception.* Perhaps, unlike according to common knowledge, drugs don't *distort* reality, or pervert perception. Perhaps they are gateways into different forms of perception that we don't yet understand. Perhaps its only drug users who are looking at the future, at the alternate paradigms, at the different ways of seeing things that "normal" people may not find for hundred of years or not ever at all. And if you follow that theory, isn't it sad that drug users are persecuted, teased, frowned at, and treated as criminals for not being "normal," for using drugs to "escape from reality." Maybe we're not escaping. Can you really escape from a reality if you don't understand what that reality is? Five hundred, a thousand, some number of years from now, maybe people will say "isn't it funny how the people of the millenium frowned on drug use" the same way that we say "isn't it funny how people in 1600 thought the earth was flat." Hmmmm. Thats as far as I got on this train of through, or as far as I got that I can remember. Things get pretty strange the further down in the onion you go while under nitrous. Perhaps others can take this reasoning and think about it while under the influence of nitrous or acid or whatever. Maybe you can come up with other layers that I can't found yet. By all means, let me know when you do. Or perhaps you can all sit there and laugh and poke holes in my theory. Thats OK, too.
-- ********************************************************* Laura Lemay [email protected] writer of trifles in shadows and blood *********************************************************
Subjective Effects of N2O
William James, no mere doctor but a major American philosopher and early experimenter with mind-altering substances at Harvard.
Subjective Effects of Nitrous Oxide
by William James
Originally appeared in "Mind", Vol. 7, 1882
Reprinted in _Laughing Gas_, 1973
Some observations of the effects of nitrous oxide gas-intoxication which I was prompted to make by reading the pamphlet called "The anaesthetic revelation and the gist of philosophy" (Blood, 1874), have made me understand better than ever before both the strength and the weakness of Hegel's philosophy. I strongly urge others to repeat the experiment, which with pure gas is short and harmless enough. The effects will of course vary with the individual, just as they vary in the same individual from time to time; but it is probable that in the former case, as in the latter, a generic resemblance will obtain. With me, as with every other person of whom I have heard, the keynote of the experience is the tremendously exiting sense of an intense metaphysical illumination. Truth lies open to the view in depth beneath depth of almost blinding evidence. The mind sees all logical relations of being with an apparant subtlety and instantaniety to which its normal consciousness offers no parallel; only as sobriety returns, the feeling of insight fades, and one is left staring vacantly at a few disjointed words and phrases, as one stares at a cadaverous-looking snowpeak from which sunset glow has just fled, or at a black cinder left by an extinguished brand.
The immense emotional sense of reconciliation which characterizes the "maudlin" stage of alcoholic drunkenness -- a stage which seems silly to lookers-on, but the subjective rapture of which probably constitutes a chief part of the temptation to the vice -- is well known. The centre and periphery of things seem to come together. The ego and its objects, the meum and tuum, are one. Now this, only a thousandfold enhanced, was the effect upon me of the gas: and its first result was to make peal through me with unutterable power the conviction that Hegelism was true after all, and that the deepest convictions of my intellect hitherto were wrong. Whatever the idea of representation occurred to the mind was seized by the same logical forceps, and served to illustrate the same truth; and that truth was that every opposition, among whatsoever things, vanishes in a higher unity in which it is based; that all contradictions, so-called, are of a common kind; that unbroken continuity is of the essence of being; and that we are literally in the midst of an infinite, to perceive the existence of which is the utmost we can attain. Without the same as a basis, how could strife occur? Strife presupposes something to be striven about; and in this common topic, the same for both parties, the differences merge. From the hardest contradiction to the tenderest diversity of verbiage differences evaporate; yes and no agree at least in being assertions; a denial of a statement is but another mode of stating the same, contradictions can only occur of the same thing -- all opinions are thus synonyms, are synonymous, are the same. But the same phrase by different emphasis is two; and here again diffence and no-difference merge in one.
It is impossible to convey an idea of the torrential character of the identification of opposites as it streams through the mind in this experience. I have sheet after sheet of phrases dictated or written during the intoxication, which to the sober reader seem meaningless drivel, but which at the moment of transcribing were fused in the fire of infinite rationality. God and devil, good and evil, life and death, I and thou, sober and drunk, matter and form, black and white, quality and quantity, shiver of ecstasy and shudder of horror, vomiting and swallowing, inspiration and expiration, fate and reason, great and small, extent and intent, joke and earnest, tragic and comic, and fifty other contrasts figure in these pages in the same monotonous way. The mind saw how each term belonged to its contrast through a knife-edge moment of transition which it effected, and which, perennial and eternal, was the nunc stans of life. The thought of mutual implication of the parts in the bare form of a judgement of opposition as "nothing -- but," "no more -- than," "Only -- if,", etc. produced a perfect delirium of theoretic rapture. And at last, when defininte ideas to work on came slowly, the mind went through the mere form of recognizing sameness in identity by contrasting the same word with itself, differently emphasized, or shorn of its initial letter. Let me transcribe a few sentences:
· What's mistake but a kind of take?
· What's nausea but a kind of -usea?
· Sober, drunk, -unk, astonishment.
· Everything can become the subject of criticism -- how criticise without something to criticise?
· Agreement -- disagreement!!
· Emotion -- motion!!!
· By God, how that hurts! By God, how it doesn't hurt! Reconciliation of two extremes.
· By George, nothing but othing!
· That sounds like nonsense, but it's pure onsense!
· Thought much deeper than speech...!
· Medical school; divinity school, school! SCHOOL! Oh my God, oh God; oh God!
The most coherent and articulate sentence which came was this:
There are no differences but differences of degree between different degrees of difference and no difference.
But now comes the reverse of the medal. What is the principle of unity in all this monotonous rain of instances? Although I did not see it at first, I soon found that it was in each case nothing but the abstract genus of which the conflicting terms were opposite species. In other words, although the flood of ontologic emotion was Hegelian through and through, the ground for it was nothing but the world-old principle that things are the same only so far and no farther than they are the same, or partake of a common nature -- the principle that Hegel most tramples under foot. At the same time the rapture of beholding a process that was infinite, changed (as the nature of the infinitude was realized by the mind) into the sense of a dreadful and ineluctable fate, with whose magnitude every finite effort is incommensurable and in the light of which whatever happens is indifferent. This instantaneous revulsion of mood from rapture to horror is, perhaps, the strongest emotion I have ever experienced. I got it repeatedly when the inhalation was continued long enough to produce incipient nausea; amd I cannot but regard it as the normal and inevitable outcome of the intoxication, if sufficiently prolonged. A pessimistic fatalism, depth within depth of impotence and indifference, reason and silliness united, not in a higher synthesia, but in the fact that whichever you choose it is all one -- this is the upshot of a revelation that began so rosy bright.
Even when the process stops short of this ultimatum, the reader will have noticed from the phrases quoted how often it ends by losing the clue. Something "fades", "escapes"; and the feeling of insight is changed into an intense one of bewilderment, puzzle, confusion, astonishment: I know no more singular sensation than this intense bewilderment, with nothing particular left to be bewildered at save the bewilderment itself. It seems, indeed, a causa sui, or "spirit become its own object."
My conclusion is that the togetherness of things in a common world, the law of sharing, of which I have said so much, may, when perceived, engender a very powerful emotion; that Hegel was so unusually succeptible to this emotion; throughout his life that its gratification became his supreme end, and made him tolerably unscrupulous as to the means he employed; that indifferentism is the true outcome of every view of the world which makes infinity and continuity to be its essence, and that pessimistic or optimistic attitudes pertain to the more accidental subjectivity of the moment; finally, that the identification of contradictories, so far from being the self-developing process which Hegel supposes, is really a self-consuming process, passed from the less to the more abstract, and terminating either in a laugh at the ultimate nothingness, or in a mood of vertiginous amazement at a meaningless infinity.
Bluelighter techniques
Vertigo’s cracker technique
here is a 10-step guide to cracker/balloon set up. use it at your own risk. please note that I cannot be held liable for any damage or fun that occurs if you use this technique
1) take a bulb and put it in the cracker so that the small end is facing the part of the cracker containing the pin and holes.
2) gently screw the two parts of the cracker together, taking care not to puncture the seal yet.
3) stretch the opening of a latex balloon evenly over the part of the cracker w/ the holes on it. if there is a "lip" on the cracker top, that's as far as you need to stretch it over.
4) in one hand, firmly hold the end of the cracker attached to the balloon w/ your fingers around the balloon opening for good measure.
NOTE: do not grip the body of the balloon - only the neck, otherwise your fingers could interfere w/ the inflation of the balloon.
5) w/ the other hand, grasp the other end of the cracker and gently twist as far as you can to cause the pin to puncture the bulb.
6) SLOWLY untwist the end of the cracker to permit the nitrous to flow into the balloon.
NOTE: the gas is very cold and can freeze your fingers and burst the balloon if it escapes too quickly or if the balloon is not properly situated on the cracker.
CAUTION: if a balloon does break, NEVER attempt to inhale the nitrous directly from the bulb into your mouth. serious damage can occur! also keep gas from spraying into eyes, nose, or from coming into contact w/ skin, pets, loved ones, or anything else in the area.
7) after all of the nitrous from the bulb has filled the balloon, allow time for the balloon neck to warm slightly. touch the neck of the balloon to make sure it is not frozen.
NOTE: removing the balloon if the neck is frozen may result in breakage.
8) use the index and middle fingers and thumb of one hand to grasp the end of the neck of the balloon near the edge of the cracker.
9) use the thumb of the other hand to gently roll the lip of the balloon off the cracker.
10) prepare to inhale contents of balloon.
can you tell I write instructions for a living
my preferred method of doing whippets is to lie on my back w/ some good music on and my eyes closed. here's one of my techniques: I breathe out all the air in my lungs and hold my nose while I inhale about half the nitrous in the balloon. I then hold this in and stop holding my nose, and then start to lose my mind in the cool visuals I see w/ my eyes closed for a little while, then start breathing very tiny shallow breaths in and out until I have enough room in my lungs again to finish off the rest of the balloon. sometimes I do the whole thing in one shot. sometimes I hyperventilate a little bit before inhaling. sometimes I shotgun balloons w/ my girlfriend. once you get the hang of it, the variations are endless
another tip: don't ever do nitrous standing up. you will invariably lose control of your muscles and motor skills and might fall over. not a good thing.
also, unless you really know what you're doing and have a good solid appreciation for your limits, don't do too many in one sitting - pace yourself. it's fun to do one right after another, but give yourself a few minutes in between subsequent sets so you don't just pass out. and although it can be fun to slip unconscious, you don't want to risk being in that state permanently, do you?
have a friend check on you to make sure you're still breathing. this sounds stupid, but you'd be surprised how easy it can be to "forget to breathe"
and finally, for a really funny moment, but a total waste of nitrous, talk or laugh out loud. you will sound unfreakingbelievably weird - sort of the opposite of helium voice
RuRu’s technique
As far as my prefered style....Well this is something you can really only do a couple times a nite becuase it really blows your mind, ....clear out your lungs and than take a good size of nitris out of the container (helps to have 2 cracked in the container to begin with) When you cant hold anymore and you let out the nitris, immediatley make youy next breadth more of the nitris.....this is really intense but gives you the most amazing buzz, and than afterwards it stays with you for awhile, again I forewarn everyone that this is probably not good to do all the time but for the occasional mind blowing trip with nitris its ok.
Just no your limits and listen to what your body tells you...
Another phat way to do this is with a partner, each of you lay on the floor, one on their back and the other on top of them stomach to stomach, bottom person takes wippit first, than top person, bottom person than proceeds to hug the top person around the upper back, keep doing this until you and up letting go......It is really intense and a great way to share an intense trip....
Pinger’s Bulberator Method
i understand that in the US, most nitrous (N2o) is dispensed by the cracker and balloon method. if you are a serious johnny gas head, like us aussies (and other whipptit master- doffs cap to RuRu) you will invest in the ISI charger. see: http://www.isinorthamerica.com/newcream.htm#iSi Stainless Steel Line http://www.isinorthamerica.com/creamwhipper.htm
for examples
You can buy the chargers at most homeware stores, or try an online homewares store if you don’t have one in your area. THe bulbs acan be bought at your "head" shops, or again purchased at kitchen-type stores.
The bulbs are placed in the charger cylinder, and screwed into the main assembly, where a pin punches the bulb entrance and decants the gas into the charger. WIth the larger charger you should be able to get up to 3-4 bulbs in the charger (recommended for pro’s only!)
Exhale your air from your lungs, squeeze very gently on the handle (ease it like a clutch) until the gas begins to flow. Inhale a comfortable amount and hold on to it (don’t just blow it out like ciggarette smoke!). Gently blow air out your nose (the heavier nitrous will stay down in your lungs) and wait for the buzz. Take more as required.
You will get a slight lightheaded feel. Music becomes much more tangible, like when on a pill. Tactile senses esp hearing increase. It is an aneasthetic and dissociative so you will feel floaty and detached. You may get some visuals and assorted sensations. Read up on Nitrous Oxide at Lycaeum or Erowid.
It is often good to set the room up before starting. ALways be sitting down (as nitrous can pass you out). Matresses, cushions etc are good. Music in background a necessity.
Taking nitrous from a whipped cream can is a waste of time and money. There is about ½ pint of nitrous in those cans, enough to give you a tingle but nothing else. Invest and enjoy.
As with anything, nitrous is a drug and has it’s pro’s and cons. Read up about it before trying. Never use a cylinder and mask approach, as people can pass out with the mask on and continue breathing active nitrous.
Links to good nitrous threads on bluelight
check these threads http://www.bluelight.ru/ubb/Forum6/HTML/000171.html http://www.bluelight.ru/ubb/Forum6/HTML/000858.html http://www.bluelight.ru/ubb/Forum6/HTML/001603.html
some links to previous threads that may prove useful: http://www.bluelight.ru/ubb/Forum6/HTML/000483.html http://www.bluelight.ru/ubb/Forum6/HTML/000616.html http://www.bluelight.ru/ubb/Forum10/HTML/000179.html http://www.bluelight.ru/ubb/Forum12/HTML/002393.html
Be good. Stay safe.
pinger
[This message has been edited by pinger (edited 13 August 2000).]
The information contained within this FAQ has been gleaned from various internet references with the majority from Erowid, along with personal experience and contributions from other bluelighters. It is designed to answer questions about nitrous oxide. It does not advocate the use of nitrous oxide, which may be illegal in your area of the globe. For example, in the State of California, the possession with INTENT to use nitrous oxide is a misdemeanor.
Nitrous oxide may appear innocuous to some, but like any drug abuse will have detrimental side effects, and used stupidly will kill you.
Description
N2O, or Nitrous Oxide, also known as laughing gas, is a weak anaesthetic gas that has been in use since the late 18th century. Common use includes both surgical and recreational purposes. Most people have experienced nitrous in the context of dentistry. Nitrous is also used in the dairy industry as a mixing and foaming agent as it is non-flammable, bacteriostatic (stops bacteria from growing) and leaves no taste or odour. Nitrous is also used in auto racing to speed engines. Nitrous is even used in diving to prepare divers for nitrous-like effects.
Nitrous oxide is the only inhalational anesthetic agent used that is a not a vapor, but a true gas by definition. For anesthetic purposes, it is supplied in blue cylinders, compressed to its liquid phase.
Physical Constants
Molecular Weight........................................................44
Boiling Point..................................-88.0 deg. C @ 760 mm Hg
Vapor Pressure.................................39,000 mm Hg @ 20 deg. C
Partition Coefficients
Blood:Gas......................................................................0.47
Brain:Blood....................................................................1.1
Oil:Gas..........................................................................1.4
Potency
MAC in 100% oxygen..............................................104% atm
Famous Nitrous Guzzlers
This original list was published in 'The book of lists' by Wallechinsky et al. And it gives also lists of famous people using cocaine, hash, morphine, LSD, mescaline, heroin and opium.
Thomas Wedgwood, 1771-1805, English Physicist
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1772-1834, English Poet
Robert Southey, 1774-1843, English Poet
Humphrey Davy, 1778-1829, English Chemist
Peter Mark Roget, 1779-1889, Author of 'Roget's Thesaurus'
Samuel Colt, 1814-1862, American Inventor of the Colt .45 revolver
William James, 1842-1910, American Philosopher
Theodore Dreiser, 1871-1945, American Writer and Journalist
Winston Churchill, 1874-1965, English Politician
Peter Ouspenski, 1878-1947, Russian desciple of Gudjieff
Allen Grinsberg, 1926-, American Poet
Gregori Corso, 1930-, American Poet
Ken Kesey, 1965-, American Writer
Common Terms
Nitrous, nangs, whippits, johnny gas, laughing gas, bulbs, N2O,
Dangers
Principal Adverse Effects
Respiratory
Respiratory depression, apnea, diffusion hypoxia
Cardiovascular
Hypotension, arrhythmias
CNS
Dizzyness, euphoria, increased CBF/ICP, neuropathy with chronic exposure
GI
Nausea, vomiting, ileus
Other
Bone marrow depression with chronic exposure, malignant hyperthermia
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The primary dangers of nitrous inhalation are:
Oxygen deprivation
"Occasionally, certain anesthetic agents become misused drugs. Nitrous oxide is an example. A gas of low anesthetic potency, it is incapable of inducing deep levels of anesthesia if an adequate oxygen concentration is maintained. Nitrous oxide induces a state of behavioral disinhibition, analgesia, and euphoria. One of the problems occasionally encountered when nitrous oxide is used for recreational purposes is that, unless the compound is administered with at least 20 percent oxygen, hypoxia (decreased oxygen content of the blood) can be induced. But in order to achieve high enough concentrations of nitrous oxide to get a good behavioral effect, concentrations of 50 percent or greater must be inhaled. If such concentrations are mixed with room air, inhaled oxygen concentrations drop to low levels and the hypoxia may result in irreversible brain damage."
"Second, because nitrous oxide does not support life, it should be mixed with oxygen if it is to be breathed for more than a few minutes. At private parties, oxygen tanks are rarely supplied, and people have died of asphyxiation by breathing straight nitrous oxide through face masks. One way to avoid these dangers is to fill balloons from tanks and breathe from the balloons."
Frost bite
Breathing it directly from pressurized tanks is dangerous for two reasons. First, gas flowing from such tanks is very cold -- cold enough to cause frostbite of noses, lips and (most serious) vocal cords. Being anesthetized, a user may be unaware of such injuries until too late.
Loss of motor control
'Further, nitrous oxide rapidly leads to complete loss of motor control, and anyone who breathes it while standing will soon reel about and fall down. Therefore, it is unwise to try the gas unless one is in a comfortable sitting or lying position. Serious injuries have resulted from people inhaling laughing gas while standing in front of open windows, when driving cars or when operating machinery. Others have been badly hurt by accidentally pulling heavy tanks of nitrous oxide over onto themselves while intoxicated.
Vitamin B12 interference
"Physicians and dentists have long considered nitrous oxide to be a safe pharmacological agent. Nevertheless, there is some evidence that excessive or prolonged use of it can damage the bone marrow and nervous system by interfering with the action of vitamin B-12."
"There have been reports of immunological and reproductive disturbances in professionals who are chronically exposed to nitrous oxide. The immunological disturbances are documented by Peric et al (1991) _Anaethesia_ 46: 531-7. Apparently anaesthetic personnel had been complaining about weakness and recurrent infections and decreased peripheral blood leukocyte counts has been found."
Folic acid interference
Nausea
'People who breathe nitrous oxide for more than a few minutes at a time may experience nausea, especially if they have just eaten. They may also feel hung over for some time after. Addiction to nitrous oxide is a real possibility. Addicts may suffer serious mood and personality changes in addition to the bone marrow and nervous system damage already mentioned."
FAQ’s:
WHY THE HELL IS IT USED AS WHIPPED CREAM PROPELLANT?
It dissolves in the liquid cream. When the cream escapes from the can, the gas expands and in doing so whips the cream into a foam. (This explanation is from the book "Food Science".) Now, the interesting part is that nitrous oxide is an inhalation anesthetic because it dissolves in synaptic lipid membranes. So it's not a coincidence that nitrous oxide is a whipped cream propellant and an inhalation anesthetic: nitrous oxide dissolves in fatty cream and it also dissolves in fatty cell membranes. Lots of things work as inhalation anesthetics; the better they dissolve in the lipid membranes, the lower the pressure required. This is why spot removers like ether and chloroform work as anesthetics in low concentration. At high enough pressure, even nitrogen will dissolve in membranes; this causes nitrogen narcosis in divers. Even an inert gas like argon will work as anaesthetic since it will dissolve in membranes under enough pressure. This is also why people sniff fat-soluble gases like propane and freon to get high.
DOES IT KILL BRAIN CELLS?
Yes, nitrous does 'kill brain cells' although that's a pretty general statement. Both life and alcohol also kill brain cells. If you're truly interested in the medical aspects of recreational drugs, written for laymen, get the following two books, both, as far as I know, still in print FROM CHOCOLATE TO MORPHINE: Andrew Weil & Winifred Rosen. Make sure you get the 1993 edition. It's the one with the horrible sub-title "Everything You Need To Know About Mind-Altering Drugs". The sub-title's wrong, but it's still a good reference. A PRIMER OF DRUG ACTION: Robert M. Julien.
Robert M. Julien:"Occasionally, certain anesthetic agents become misused drugs. Nitrous oxide is an example. A gas of low anesthetic potency, it is incapable of inducing deep levels of anesthesia if an adequate oxygen concentration is maintained. Nitrous oxide induces a state of behavioral disinhibition, analgesia, and euphoria. One of the problems occasionally encountered when nitrous oxide is used for recreational purposes is that, unless the compound is administered with at least 20 percent oxygen, hypoxia (decreased oxygen content of the blood) can be induced. But in order to achieve high enough concentrations of nitrous oxide to get a good behavioral effect, concentrations of 50 percent or greater must be inhaled. If such concentrations are mixed with room air, inhaled oxygen concentartions drop to low levels and the hypoxia may result inirreversible brain damage"
Weil & Rosen: "Addiction to nitrous oxide is a realpossibility. Addicts may suffer serious mood and personality changes in addition to the bone marrow and nervous system damage already mentioned.
A NITROUS HORROR STORY
How much nitrous taken in how much time will rot your nerves? To get an idea i will transcribe two case reports from a more recent nitrous horror story. At the same time it will give you an idea what "neuropathy" and "myeloneuropathy" looks like and what signs to watch out for when you are a nitrous regular. From: Stacey et.al (1992) " Methionine in the treatment of nitrous oxide induced neuropathy and myeloneuropathy" Journal of Neurology 239:401-403.Case 1 (quote) This 36-year old electrical engineer came to the emergency room complaining that he was unable to walk. Symptoms had begun 4 days earlier with "pins and needles" in both feet that gradually worsened and ascended to involve the knees and the fingertips. With worsening of the paresthesias (-no sense of touch or pain-) he noted difficulty in maintaining proper control of the movements of his arms and hands and trouble in walking. He also reported the sensation of electric shocks through his back and legs upon flexion of the neck. He denied bladder or bowel impairment but he had been unable tohave an erection for the past week. His past medical history was unremarkable except for occasional abuse of alcohol in the past. However he denied any drinking of alcohol for the past 8 months. For recreational purposes he had inhaled two to three boxes of nitrous oxide, each box containing 24 cartridges, practically every day for the past six months. When first seen his general physical examination was completely unremarkable. The neurological examination showed hyperesthesia and hyperalgesia in the lower extremities up to the knees. He had severe bilateral sensorydystaxia and could only stand with support. Intramuscular B12 injections were started and during the following days his hematological status improved, (-apart from neurological symptoms, the functional B12 deficiency caused by N2O also produces megaloblasticanemia,- ed.) although his neurological condition continued to deteriorate. The paresthesias ascended to the nipples and he developed fecal and urinary incontinence. Four weeks later he began to improve and four months after the onset of the symptoms, and his last use of nitrous oxide he could walk with some hesitation and had completely regained bowel and bladder control and sexual function
Case 2 This 32 year old woman was admitted to the neurology service for inability to walk and paresthesias in her limbs and trunk. Her symptoms began 3 weeks prior to admission with a "tingling" sensation in the soles of her feet, trunk and hands. Her gait became progressively less steady and the day prior to admission she had an episode of urinary incontinence. Her past medical history was significant for bulimia and occasional intranasal use of cocaine. for the previous 3 months she had inhaled nitrous oxide for recreational purposes, up to 200 cartridges a day, three to four times a week.
What this shows is that these people really did a lot of nitrous, say 300-400 cartridges a week, for a few months in a row to develop these really nasty symptoms. But it also shows that people who do such things do exist( can you believe it?)For the really health conscious among you (a contradiction in terms?) if you "must" do nitrous for a longer period be sure to take high doses of folic acid (is also depleted from your body as a result of functional B12 deficiency ) and vitamin B12. (No injury NOT guaranteed, but it might help)Also, but less well known, the state of B12 deficiency caused by regular use of nitrous oxide produces hyperhomocysteinemia, an accumulation in the blood of the amino acid homocysteine. Hyperhomocysteinemia is a risk factor for vascular disease of all sorts. Furthermore, hyperhomocysteinemia, B12 deficiency and folic acid deficiency early in pregnancy all increase the risk of getting a child with a neural tube defect (spina bifida and anencephaly, children with no brains or open spinal cord). If you are a woman, planning to get pregnant or just "at risk of getting pregnant", nitrous is a bad idea.
Further caution to these people: Pregnant women: since nitrous oxide is a known teratogen in rodents, acting by depleting folates and partially reversible by oral folinic acid, we can expect a similar syndrome in humans. Vegans who don't take B12 supplements: although documented cases of vegans with B12 decifiencies are scarce, theories on nutrition indicate that vegans are unlikely to get as much B12 as other groups of people. Individiduals with healing wounds, infections, or immunological disorders: I'm throwing this recommendation in based on a "better safe than sorry" policy. Short-term exposure to nitrous oxide is unlikely to be a problem, but why not play it safe?
Physiological Effects
When inhaled, nitrous produces a variety of physical effects including:
Disorientation
Fixated vision
Throbbing or pulsating auditory hallucinations
Similarly pulsating visual hallucinations
Increased pain threshold
Deeper mental connections
Physiological effects last approximately a minute for a lungful of nitrous and then mainly dissipate. Some residual effects may last up to several minutes later. Nitrous gas permeates the lipid membranes and produces an anaesthetic effect. Long term or heavy use can have unpleasant effects. While light use is not hazardous, here are some common sense errors to avoid.
Nitrous Use Warnings
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Remember
Your body depends on a steady flow of oxygen. Oxygen is your friend (unless you're a single celled animal, in which case oxygen is incredibly toxic) -- you want to continue breathing. Sit down, breathe, spin, laugh; its GOOD to be alive!
Some of the following items may seem dumb, but guess what? Someone was actually dumb enough to do them.
Don't EVER
Try to inhale N20 directly from whippits, or point escaping gas at anyone. The gas WILL give you frost burn. Balloon broke? Try a condom or a plastic bag!
Strap a gas mask to your face. If you pass out, you want your body to get oxygen. Yes, people have died doing this.
Lock yourself in a room, closet, car, or refrigerator with a tank of nitrous and open it. Yes, people have died doing this.
Stand up and do it. Stay away from open windows.
Use a large tank without a regulator or which isn't strapped down.
Use homemade nitrous. Unless you are a chemist, you're likely to get a load of rubbish like NO2, H2NO3, and other yummy toxic things.
Allow yourself to lose sight of moderation. No one likes a bong hoarder, and no one likes a Nitrous Whore.
Anecdotal Trip Reports
A Nitrous Experience
After several deep breaths of air, I inhale nearly a lungful of nitrous and pull some air down on top and then hold my breath. Within seconds, a light tingling can be felt which seems to increase in frequency. The sensation is much as if waves were traveling up your body or as if you were twisting or spinning. Disorientation increases rapidly and the pulsing sounds/feelings increase, wrapping over one another. It is now, with eyes shut, that I enter a dreamlike state, where I am thinking out something and the external world has essentially ceased to exist. The urge to breathe takes over at some point and partial or whole breaths taken. Open eyes reveal some sort of tunnel vision, with regions of disorientation about the outside. Slowly the throbbing subsides.
At other times I experience a sense of paranoia mixed with disorientation. I have a deep conviction while under the influence that all things are cycling together, that there is some deeper cyclical event occuring. It is as an experience of deja vu continually occuring. The feeling is profound.
A second Nitrous experience
Secondly, I'm the one that posted a while ago about finding the secret to the universe on nitrous, and I should have known that people would ask me what it was.
Subjective Effects of N2O
William James, no mere doctor but a major American philosopher and early experimenter with mind-altering substances at Harvard.
Subjective Effects of Nitrous Oxide
by William James
Originally appeared in "Mind", Vol. 7, 1882
Reprinted in _Laughing Gas_, 1973
Some observations of the effects of nitrous oxide gas-intoxication which I was prompted to make by reading the pamphlet called "The anaesthetic revelation and the gist of philosophy" (Blood, 1874), have made me understand better than ever before both the strength and the weakness of Hegel's philosophy. I strongly urge others to repeat the experiment, which with pure gas is short and harmless enough. The effects will of course vary with the individual, just as they vary in the same individual from time to time; but it is probable that in the former case, as in the latter, a generic resemblance will obtain. With me, as with every other person of whom I have heard, the keynote of the experience is the tremendously exiting sense of an intense metaphysical illumination. Truth lies open to the view in depth beneath depth of almost blinding evidence. The mind sees all logical relations of being with an apparant subtlety and instantaniety to which its normal consciousness offers no parallel; only as sobriety returns, the feeling of insight fades, and one is left staring vacantly at a few disjointed words and phrases, as one stares at a cadaverous-looking snowpeak from which sunset glow has just fled, or at a black cinder left by an extinguished brand.
The immense emotional sense of reconciliation which characterizes the "maudlin" stage of alcoholic drunkenness -- a stage which seems silly to lookers-on, but the subjective rapture of which probably constitutes a chief part of the temptation to the vice -- is well known. The centre and periphery of things seem to come together. The ego and its objects, the meum and tuum, are one. Now this, only a thousandfold enhanced, was the effect upon me of the gas: and its first result was to make peal through me with unutterable power the conviction that Hegelism was true after all, and that the deepest convictions of my intellect hitherto were wrong. Whatever the idea of representation occurred to the mind was seized by the same logical forceps, and served to illustrate the same truth; and that truth was that every opposition, among whatsoever things, vanishes in a higher unity in which it is based; that all contradictions, so-called, are of a common kind; that unbroken continuity is of the essence of being; and that we are literally in the midst of an infinite, to perceive the existence of which is the utmost we can attain. Without the same as a basis, how could strife occur? Strife presupposes something to be striven about; and in this common topic, the same for both parties, the differences merge. From the hardest contradiction to the tenderest diversity of verbiage differences evaporate; yes and no agree at least in being assertions; a denial of a statement is but another mode of stating the same, contradictions can only occur of the same thing -- all opinions are thus synonyms, are synonymous, are the same. But the same phrase by different emphasis is two; and here again diffence and no-difference merge in one.
It is impossible to convey an idea of the torrential character of the identification of opposites as it streams through the mind in this experience. I have sheet after sheet of phrases dictated or written during the intoxication, which to the sober reader seem meaningless drivel, but which at the moment of transcribing were fused in the fire of infinite rationality. God and devil, good and evil, life and death, I and thou, sober and drunk, matter and form, black and white, quality and quantity, shiver of ecstasy and shudder of horror, vomiting and swallowing, inspiration and expiration, fate and reason, great and small, extent and intent, joke and earnest, tragic and comic, and fifty other contrasts figure in these pages in the same monotonous way. The mind saw how each term belonged to its contrast through a knife-edge moment of transition which it effected, and which, perennial and eternal, was the nunc stans of life. The thought of mutual implication of the parts in the bare form of a judgement of opposition as "nothing -- but," "no more -- than," "Only -- if,", etc. produced a perfect delirium of theoretic rapture. And at last, when defininte ideas to work on came slowly, the mind went through the mere form of recognizing sameness in identity by contrasting the same word with itself, differently emphasized, or shorn of its initial letter. Let me transcribe a few sentences:
· What's mistake but a kind of take?
· What's nausea but a kind of -usea?
· Sober, drunk, -unk, astonishment.
· Everything can become the subject of criticism -- how criticise without something to criticise?
· Agreement -- disagreement!!
· Emotion -- motion!!!
· By God, how that hurts! By God, how it doesn't hurt! Reconciliation of two extremes.
· By George, nothing but othing!
· That sounds like nonsense, but it's pure onsense!
· Thought much deeper than speech...!
· Medical school; divinity school, school! SCHOOL! Oh my God, oh God; oh God!
The most coherent and articulate sentence which came was this:
There are no differences but differences of degree between different degrees of difference and no difference.
But now comes the reverse of the medal. What is the principle of unity in all this monotonous rain of instances? Although I did not see it at first, I soon found that it was in each case nothing but the abstract genus of which the conflicting terms were opposite species. In other words, although the flood of ontologic emotion was Hegelian through and through, the ground for it was nothing but the world-old principle that things are the same only so far and no farther than they are the same, or partake of a common nature -- the principle that Hegel most tramples under foot. At the same time the rapture of beholding a process that was infinite, changed (as the nature of the infinitude was realized by the mind) into the sense of a dreadful and ineluctable fate, with whose magnitude every finite effort is incommensurable and in the light of which whatever happens is indifferent. This instantaneous revulsion of mood from rapture to horror is, perhaps, the strongest emotion I have ever experienced. I got it repeatedly when the inhalation was continued long enough to produce incipient nausea; amd I cannot but regard it as the normal and inevitable outcome of the intoxication, if sufficiently prolonged. A pessimistic fatalism, depth within depth of impotence and indifference, reason and silliness united, not in a higher synthesia, but in the fact that whichever you choose it is all one -- this is the upshot of a revelation that began so rosy bright.
Even when the process stops short of this ultimatum, the reader will have noticed from the phrases quoted how often it ends by losing the clue. Something "fades", "escapes"; and the feeling of insight is changed into an intense one of bewilderment, puzzle, confusion, astonishment: I know no more singular sensation than this intense bewilderment, with nothing particular left to be bewildered at save the bewilderment itself. It seems, indeed, a causa sui, or "spirit become its own object."
My conclusion is that the togetherness of things in a common world, the law of sharing, of which I have said so much, may, when perceived, engender a very powerful emotion; that Hegel was so unusually succeptible to this emotion; throughout his life that its gratification became his supreme end, and made him tolerably unscrupulous as to the means he employed; that indifferentism is the true outcome of every view of the world which makes infinity and continuity to be its essence, and that pessimistic or optimistic attitudes pertain to the more accidental subjectivity of the moment; finally, that the identification of contradictories, so far from being the self-developing process which Hegel supposes, is really a self-consuming process, passed from the less to the more abstract, and terminating either in a laugh at the ultimate nothingness, or in a mood of vertiginous amazement at a meaningless infinity.
Bluelighter techniques
Vertigo’s cracker technique
here is a 10-step guide to cracker/balloon set up. use it at your own risk. please note that I cannot be held liable for any damage or fun that occurs if you use this technique
1) take a bulb and put it in the cracker so that the small end is facing the part of the cracker containing the pin and holes.
2) gently screw the two parts of the cracker together, taking care not to puncture the seal yet.
3) stretch the opening of a latex balloon evenly over the part of the cracker w/ the holes on it. if there is a "lip" on the cracker top, that's as far as you need to stretch it over.
4) in one hand, firmly hold the end of the cracker attached to the balloon w/ your fingers around the balloon opening for good measure.
NOTE: do not grip the body of the balloon - only the neck, otherwise your fingers could interfere w/ the inflation of the balloon.
5) w/ the other hand, grasp the other end of the cracker and gently twist as far as you can to cause the pin to puncture the bulb.
6) SLOWLY untwist the end of the cracker to permit the nitrous to flow into the balloon.
NOTE: the gas is very cold and can freeze your fingers and burst the balloon if it escapes too quickly or if the balloon is not properly situated on the cracker.
CAUTION: if a balloon does break, NEVER attempt to inhale the nitrous directly from the bulb into your mouth. serious damage can occur! also keep gas from spraying into eyes, nose, or from coming into contact w/ skin, pets, loved ones, or anything else in the area.
7) after all of the nitrous from the bulb has filled the balloon, allow time for the balloon neck to warm slightly. touch the neck of the balloon to make sure it is not frozen.
NOTE: removing the balloon if the neck is frozen may result in breakage.
8) use the index and middle fingers and thumb of one hand to grasp the end of the neck of the balloon near the edge of the cracker.
9) use the thumb of the other hand to gently roll the lip of the balloon off the cracker.
10) prepare to inhale contents of balloon.
can you tell I write instructions for a living
my preferred method of doing whippets is to lie on my back w/ some good music on and my eyes closed. here's one of my techniques: I breathe out all the air in my lungs and hold my nose while I inhale about half the nitrous in the balloon. I then hold this in and stop holding my nose, and then start to lose my mind in the cool visuals I see w/ my eyes closed for a little while, then start breathing very tiny shallow breaths in and out until I have enough room in my lungs again to finish off the rest of the balloon. sometimes I do the whole thing in one shot. sometimes I hyperventilate a little bit before inhaling. sometimes I shotgun balloons w/ my girlfriend. once you get the hang of it, the variations are endless
another tip: don't ever do nitrous standing up. you will invariably lose control of your muscles and motor skills and might fall over. not a good thing.
also, unless you really know what you're doing and have a good solid appreciation for your limits, don't do too many in one sitting - pace yourself. it's fun to do one right after another, but give yourself a few minutes in between subsequent sets so you don't just pass out. and although it can be fun to slip unconscious, you don't want to risk being in that state permanently, do you?
have a friend check on you to make sure you're still breathing. this sounds stupid, but you'd be surprised how easy it can be to "forget to breathe"
and finally, for a really funny moment, but a total waste of nitrous, talk or laugh out loud. you will sound unfreakingbelievably weird - sort of the opposite of helium voice
RuRu’s technique
As far as my prefered style....Well this is something you can really only do a couple times a nite becuase it really blows your mind, ....clear out your lungs and than take a good size of nitris out of the container (helps to have 2 cracked in the container to begin with) When you cant hold anymore and you let out the nitris, immediatley make youy next breadth more of the nitris.....this is really intense but gives you the most amazing buzz, and than afterwards it stays with you for awhile, again I forewarn everyone that this is probably not good to do all the time but for the occasional mind blowing trip with nitris its ok.
Just no your limits and listen to what your body tells you...
Another phat way to do this is with a partner, each of you lay on the floor, one on their back and the other on top of them stomach to stomach, bottom person takes wippit first, than top person, bottom person than proceeds to hug the top person around the upper back, keep doing this until you and up letting go......It is really intense and a great way to share an intense trip....
Pinger’s Bulberator Method
i understand that in the US, most nitrous (N2o) is dispensed by the cracker and balloon method. if you are a serious johnny gas head, like us aussies (and other whipptit master- doffs cap to RuRu) you will invest in the ISI charger. see: http://www.isinorthamerica.com/newcream.htm#iSi Stainless Steel Line http://www.isinorthamerica.com/creamwhipper.htm
for examples
You can buy the chargers at most homeware stores, or try an online homewares store if you don’t have one in your area. THe bulbs acan be bought at your "head" shops, or again purchased at kitchen-type stores.
The bulbs are placed in the charger cylinder, and screwed into the main assembly, where a pin punches the bulb entrance and decants the gas into the charger. WIth the larger charger you should be able to get up to 3-4 bulbs in the charger (recommended for pro’s only!)
Exhale your air from your lungs, squeeze very gently on the handle (ease it like a clutch) until the gas begins to flow. Inhale a comfortable amount and hold on to it (don’t just blow it out like ciggarette smoke!). Gently blow air out your nose (the heavier nitrous will stay down in your lungs) and wait for the buzz. Take more as required.
You will get a slight lightheaded feel. Music becomes much more tangible, like when on a pill. Tactile senses esp hearing increase. It is an aneasthetic and dissociative so you will feel floaty and detached. You may get some visuals and assorted sensations. Read up on Nitrous Oxide at Lycaeum or Erowid.
It is often good to set the room up before starting. ALways be sitting down (as nitrous can pass you out). Matresses, cushions etc are good. Music in background a necessity.
Taking nitrous from a whipped cream can is a waste of time and money. There is about ½ pint of nitrous in those cans, enough to give you a tingle but nothing else. Invest and enjoy.
As with anything, nitrous is a drug and has it’s pro’s and cons. Read up about it before trying. Never use a cylinder and mask approach, as people can pass out with the mask on and continue breathing active nitrous.
Links to good nitrous threads on bluelight
check these threads http://www.bluelight.ru/ubb/Forum6/HTML/000171.html http://www.bluelight.ru/ubb/Forum6/HTML/000858.html http://www.bluelight.ru/ubb/Forum6/HTML/001603.html
some links to previous threads that may prove useful: http://www.bluelight.ru/ubb/Forum6/HTML/000483.html http://www.bluelight.ru/ubb/Forum6/HTML/000616.html http://www.bluelight.ru/ubb/Forum10/HTML/000179.html http://www.bluelight.ru/ubb/Forum12/HTML/002393.html
Be good. Stay safe.
pinger
[This message has been edited by pinger (edited 13 August 2000).]
