Talk:Sterno

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Why remove the mention of the very well-known phenomenon of sterno abuse? It is, after all, factual. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 16:40, 17 Dec 2004 (UTC)

[edit] chafing fuel?

What does "chafing fuel" mean? --Allen 23:52, 6 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Drinking Sterno? Really

Where are the citations for the Cocktail section? It's difficult to believe that anyone would try to extract the alcohol from Sterno, which must be more expensive than just buying alcohol outright. There are no citations at all in this section and it sounds like someone just made it up. 118.90.79.17 (talk) 05:05, 10 January 2008 (UTC)

I don't have a citation other than the word of my father (who's no longer with us). One of my favorite stories of his during WW2 (the Pacific theatre) concerns drinking strained sterno. If you have no alcohol, you'll probably use just about anything, in a "time of need".Bigrafa (talk) 20:24, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

Drinking Sterno, unfortunately, was very common for a time, especially during prohibition (in the U.S.) and for a while afterward (which answers the first question, above, about sterno vs. regular ethanol). It's widely enough known that probably no citation is necessary (google "drinking sterno" or "canned heat" and you'll see). It's not nearly as common anymore, but it still does happen. In his youth, Woody Guthrie actually sold it, along with "jake," under the table in one of his jobs as a soda jerk (see, Ramblin' Man: The Life and Times of Woody Guthrie, by Ed Cray). "Jake" was extract of Jamaican ginger, a patent medicine, occasionally fortified with denatured alcohol. However, jake also contained a sketchy little toxin, added by bootleggers -- too much of it and you get "jake-leg," and Guthrie will write a song about it:
Jamaica ginger in a cold root beer
Make your eyes see double and your ear sound queer.
It'll paralyze your dingdong, too.
I'm a jake-walk Daddy with the jake-walk blues!
Sugarbat (talk) 03:41, 9 May 2008 (UTC)