From: awatson@pecan.cns.udel.edu (angela watson)
Subject: Finally... the promised corrections
Organization: University of Delaware
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1992 03:48:44 GMT

	Ok, I've been telling some people that I was working on editing
the methods file to better serve the US readers.  It's going to take me
longer than I anticipated (a lot longer) to get the whole thing done...
so I'm going to post a few of *my* versions of the entries as a sample.
If there are any errors, _please_ let me and the group know ASAP.  Questions
and comments are welcome...

	The version of the methods file I'm trying to write is supposed
to be read _after_ reading the current global Methods file.  Please tell
me what you think about my changes... if enough people don't like it, I'll
just make my own files that bear no relation to the current Methods file.
I'm not taking over the mantainance of the regular Methods file... this
is an addition, not a replacement.

	
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==BEFORE YOU GO...

    Before you actually begin committing suicide, there are a variety of
    decisions/options you can ponder (or you can ignore them).
    * What kind of death do you want? 
        Pick your method wisely... you only get to die once.
    * Do you want the chance of being rescued?
        Probably not (if so, maybe you better think about why you really 
        doing it)... Friday is a good time to do it.  Tell anyone who   
        might happen by that you'll be out that weekend (or you're going
        on a long vacation), then lock the doors and windows at a time
        when your actions won't seem suspisious (in case you have noisy
        neighbors).  You could even *go* on vacation and stay somewhere
        far away from medical help.
    * Who (and when) do you want to 'discover' you?
        This is a one-shot deal... if you use a method that might leave 
        something where a small child could get to it first, don't do it
        where a child will find you (no need to hurt a kid accidentally).
        If you seclude yourself too much, you might not be found until
        your a decaying mess... *ick*  Also, loud noises or strange sights
        (like gas pouring out of your house) will attract people.
    * What will you do if it fails?
        There is *always* a possiblity that it will fail (even with heavy
        poisons)... esp. if it will take a long time to die.  Are you
        prepared to spend a few weeks in the hospital (racking up huge
        medical bills) before you die? Many of these methods will cause
        permanent physical damage if they do not kill you... be prepared
        to possibly wake up and not be able to preform another attempt because
        of phsycial limitations.
    * Do you care what happens to those you leave behind?
        Some of us just don't like to leave our affairs to others.  Don't
        count on wills being followed (esp. if written right before you go).
        Do you care if someone else is stuck with your finacial burdens?
        Do you care if those you leave are painfully hurt by your passing?
        If so, you might want to do what you feel is nessesary to ease the
        situation before you go... don't count on coming back and answer 
        questions after you're dead.
    * Will anyone else be harmed by your actions?
        You might decide to end your own life, but you have no right to
        end anyone elses.  Whoever finds you might freak out and pick up
        and/or use something that was fatal for you.  Be very careful with
        poisons... children, pets and hysterical people might do something
        to accidentally kill themselves with your means of death.  

==Cyanide (HCN, KCN) *gaseous form
    Dosage:     50mg Hydrogen Cyanide gas
    Time:       seconds
    Available:  very difficult
    Certainty:  very certain
    Notes:      A concentration of 1 part in 500 of HC gas is fatal (allowable
        US concentration is 20 ppm).  HC gas can be formed by adding 500mg
        or so of Cyanide salts to strong acid.  Just inhale the fumes and die
        within 15-20 seconds.


==Cyanide (KCN) *liquid solution
    Dosage:     200-300mg Cyanide Salts
    Time:       minutes to 4 hours (depending on how empty your stomach is)
    Available:  very difficult
    Certainty:  very certain
    Notes:      The salts work quickest with an empty stomach (the salts act 
        with the stomach acids to form hydrocyanic acid).  A full stomach
        can delay death up to 4 hours.  Add 1-1.5 grams of KCN to a small
        glass of cold tap water and let dissolve for 5 minutes.  The liquid
        should be used within several hours of mixing.  Unconsciousness will
        follow drinking in about 1 minute... death in 15-45 minutes.


==Cyanide (Hydrocyanic Acid)
    Dosage:     variable (depends on plant)
    Time:       Don't know (depends on source and concentration)
    Available:  fairly 
    Certainty:  certain with correct dosage
    Notes:      Several species of plants in the US, both wild and cultivated,
        are capable of producing hydrocyanic acid.  Grazing livestock 
        occasionally suffer cyanide poisoning when they unwittingly munch
        on some of these plants.  Since very few people over the age of
        5 even try to eat these plants, I don't have an exact fatal dosage for 
        adults.  Pets may also be harmed by eating cyanogenetic plants, so keep 
        them away from consuming these plants.  Some cyanogenetic plants are:

        Prunus serotina      -- Wild black cherry 
        Prunus viriginiana   -- Choke-cherry
        Prunus pennsylvanica -- Pin Cherry 
        Prunus demissa       -- Western choke-cherry
        Prunus caroliniana   -- Cherry laurel 
       
        The above plants produce hydrocyanic acid in their leaves and buds.
        The higher concentrations are found in new, vigorous, succulent growth 
        and in just wilting leaves (still containing 75% original weight).
        The HCN levels decrease as the leaves are dried.  The HCN level
        also varies with growing conditions.  See the "poisonous plants"
        entry for more info.

==Gasoline (in lungs/ingested)
      Dosage:    20-100ml
      Time:      Seconds/minutes
      Available: Common
      Certainty: certain if dosage correct
      Notes:     Includes gasoline, lighter fluid, propane/butane.  Prolonged 
        skin contact results in severe chemical burns and possibly renal
        failure (death).  Gasoline is most poisonous when ingested and/or
        through skin contact... just sniffing the fumes won't kill you.
        Some people get their (rather inexpensive) 'highs' from sniffing
        the fumes or even ingesting small amounts.  If gasoline is consistantly
        used in small quantities, the fatal dosage climbs steadily higher
        (one male was downing a liter of gas a week for his kicks...).  Take
        all the gasoline at once (or soak yourself in a bathtub full of it)
        or risk just frying your brain and kidneys.


==Malathion (insecticide)
      Dosage:    A bottle (10-18 oz?)
      Time:      2 to 3 hours
      Available: difficult (it was pulled from the US market a while ago)
      Certainty: probable, given correct dosage
      Notes:     Drink undiluted, shake bottle first since it settles. It
        causes diarrhea after about half an hour. It may also absorb through
        the skin, so don't leave any on anything your discoverer might
        touch. (Absorption through the skin will usually just make you sick.)


==Nicotine (distilled from tobacco -- raw or processed)
      Dosage:    extract from 100g tobacco   (possibly 150mg pure)
      Time:      seconds
      Available: Easily available
      Certainty: very certain if pure nicotine used
      Notes:     The easiest way to get nicotine is to unwrap a few 
        cigarrettes (or a handful of butts) and soak them in water.  After
        several hours just gulp the whole mess down... this works best
        with an empty stomach.  So long as you don't vomit for the first
        few minutes, your a goner (this takes longer to die from).
            The best way (at home) to distill nicotine from tobacco is to
        use snuff or chewing tobacco.  Put the chewing tobacco in a glass and
        add water until its just covered.  Wait 24 hours and then strain it
        by pouring it into another glass lined with a hankerchief. Gather the
        ends of the cloth and twist it until the tobacco forms a ball in the
        cloth.  Just keep twisting until all the liquid is wrung out.
        Put the liquid in a small sauce pan on a low fire. Heat until there 
        is about a teaspoon of liquid left in the saucepan.  This can be
        diluted with a few drops of water if it needs to be used in a medicine
        dropper or needle.  Since this is a more conc. source of nicotine,
        death from ingestion or injection will happen in seconds (you can
        always make bigger batchs just to make sure...)

==Nicotine Sulfate (in insecticides -- Black Leaf 40)
    Dosage:    a few drops
    Time:      a few minutes
    Available: Not sure 
    Certainty: Seems very certain
    Notes:     This can be found in several insecticides (check the labels).
        Black Leaf 40 is supposedly a common insect poison (in your local
        garden store) and is 40% nicotine sulfate. =)  This concentration
        can be increased by letting it evaporate until it is a thin syrup
        that can still be used in a medicine dropper.  It is absorbed
        through the skin and the conc. can kill with just a few drops in
        minutes.  You can be creative and put it in your nasal sprayer
        or put it in your drink and accidentally spill it on yourself.
        The only problem is that others might come in contact with it once
        your dead if you leave it out in the open (a spill or a nasal sprayer
        that still has it's old label).


==Poison Ivy (boiling it)
    Dosage:    A medium potful of fresh plants
    Time:      Days/weeks
    Available: If it grows in your region, very available
    Certainty: Certain without medical help
    Notes:     By boiling the plants, the toxin that causes those nasty
        rashs becomes airborne.  Inhaling the vapors will lead to getting
        those blisters on the inside of your lungs.  It's very painful to
        breath and without medical help you will eventually asphyxiate.
        It's best to do this in a small, enclosed, air-tight room.  Not
        a nice way to go...

    
==Poisonous Plants
    Dosage:    widely variable
    Time:      widely variable
    Available: Nurseries, Garden centers and in uncultivated areas
    Certainty: widely variable
    Notes:     "Poisonous" doesn't nessecarily mean "deadly".  Many poisonous
        plants have to be consumed in relatively large quantities to obtain
        a fatal adult dose of the toxin(s) in the plant.  Poisonous plants
        usually taste awful, making it hard to quickly eat a fatal dose. 
        Certainty is decreased by the frequency of vomiting that toxic
        plants induce.  Many of the toxins in poisonous plants produce 
        nasty, lingering symptoms like: vomiting, diarrhea, internal bleeding,
        intense abdominal pain, convulsions, etc.  The amount of the toxin
        present in the plants used may vary based on the age, sex, and growing
        conditions of the plant.  There is a large potential for failure
        when using poisonous plants... there is also the risk that a small
        child could find you and accidentally consume any remaining plants
        (children die from much smaller doses).

==#? PAINTING YOURSELF TO DEATH
    Time:      up to 8 hours
    Available: Common (one can of paint should do)
    Certainty: Certain if done right and not 'rescued'
    Notes:     The idea is to block every pore in your body.  Your receive
        around 10% of your oxygen through your skin.  If your skin can't
        breath, you will die.  You have to paint your _entire_ body... the
        bottoms of your feet, your face, the _whole_ thing.  You can be
        creative and use different colors - just make sure your skin can't
        'breathe' through the paint.
        (I heard this one a long time ago... time to make it an official entry) 

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	That's it for now...

						Psycho kitten

Newsgroups: alt.suicide.holiday