Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Hopelessly Human]

I feel like an idiot. I was watching Dexter and mindlessly eating the dried, rectangular, seaweed that's stacked in little plastic containers. Each container has a silica gel pack on the bottom to control moisture. I eat the seaweed by sticking my tongue on the top one and pulling it up into my mouth. At one point I noticed I had about 3 or 4 of them at once (sometimes they get stuck together), so I just ate them all. But when I got down to the last one in the container, I noticed there was no silica gel pack. What I thought were 4 must have been 1 or 2 plus the pack!

Oh Shit !

I got scared because, you know, it says, "DO NOT EAT," on silica gel packs. I never encountered this or even thought about it before so I didn't know what would happen. So I thought about going to the hospital just in case, but decided to look it up on the internet first. It appears the only reason they warn you not to eat them is because they are a choking hazard, plus to save their asses in case you do eat one and something happens.

However, the front of these packs is clear, and you can see the silica beads inside. About 5 of the beads are blue. That means they are laced with Cobalt (II) chloride, a moisture indicator. That is a toxic chemical, potentially carcinogenic. I think it's the dusty inhaled kind that causes cancer, but I have a feeling it is not a good idea to ingest it either. I've read that a small quantity won't hurt you, but what's considered a small quantity? I'm going with the idea that any food company would not put something in the package that would be fatally harmful if swallowed.

Some things I've read said you might feel sick and start vomiting, or get a very upset stomach. So far it's been about an hour and a half, maybe 2 hours, and I don't feel anything yet. Who knows, maybe that package of seaweed didn't have a silica pack in it, and I never did eat it. But I haven't seen one yet that did not have a packet in it. So I think I ate it. Maybe once my stomach acids eat away at the pack and expose the beads, especially the blue Cobalt chloride laced ones, is when I'll feel it. Or maybe the whole pack will just pass right through me.

Anyway, I know what's coming from you guys, so go ahead and let me have it, fire away: "Idiot of the year award!" "This is why we have these new visa policies, to keep idiots like you out of here" etc., go ahead I deserve it.

So If I don't show up for class tomorrow, or if I wake up dead, here's the reason.

Have any of you ever eaten one of these silica gel packs?

[Juregen]

It has to go through your entire digestive track. You might feel uncomfortable and pooping it out might not be a pleasure trip either.

But for all the rest, yeah they are just a chocking hazard thing.

[paquebot]

Can't say that I have eaten one, but it is something that I've always been curious about. However, I sincerely hope you don't experience any negative side-effects from having ingested a packet!!

They come in chapaghetti bags as well, which can be a pain when they look like they belong with the black sauce, vegetable, and vinegar packets if you're not paying attention.

[browneyedgirl]

It�s probably as dangerous as the ingredients in women�s makeup. Only, you don�t ingest makeup.
http://www.purezing.com/living/toxins/living_toxins_dangerousingredients.html

[KYC]

First off, I seriously hope you'll be ok

And...seriously, you didn't notice a difference in taste??? Seaweed...and silica...hmmmm

[CabbageTownRoyals]

[poet13]

The silica is going to suck all the water out of your body, and leave you a dried lifeless husk....just like if you worked in a hagwon for a few years.

[yingwenlaoshi]

You're screwed, man. Kiss your arse goodbye.

[endofthewor1d]

[VanIslander]

leave the fan on tonight

[OiGirl]

Is anyone else tempted to go get a packet and chew on it to see if you'd notice?

[Hopelessly Human]

Well, so far the only indications that I may have eaten one is that there is one missing, and at one point during that package it seemed like there were multiple pieces of seaweed in my mouth at once. I've had no pain or discomfort, and no foreign objects in my BM.

I know Cabbage said there isn't always one in the package, but I don't think I've ever seen one without a silica packet, and I've bought these things a lot lately.

I hear you all about the chewing and stuff too, and this may sound weird, but I don't think I really chewed them that time. I think I kind of let them soften in my mouth. And the silica could have been sandwiched by two or three of them, masking the taste.

But I probably overreacted and there wasn't one in the package to begin with. It's either that or I ate it, nothing else. Either way, I've made a fool of myself, so it might as well be that I ate it.

It just all came together at that moment to make me think I ate it:

1. One missing, when I'd never seen one missing before.

2. There were more in my mouth than usual in that package, plus the way I ate and swallowed them.

3. I was paying more attention to the screen than what I was eating (It's because of that new chick Dexter is hanging with, his sponsor).

I can see how I thought I'd swallowed one, at the time, but now I guess I just overreacted. But at least it made for an amusing thread for some.

[poet13]

I raised a glass to you tonight.
I didn't know you as well as I would have liked, but I bet you were one fine individual.

PS- I don't know if you went up or down, but if you went down, could you give me an idea of what SPF to pack? Thanks.

[Rae]

Hopelessly human, I hope you're feeling better. I found your post amusing but not far fetched. Some of those little packets are smaller and thinner than the rest and I can see how one might accidentally ingest it.

Call me crazy but I thought the whole thing was kind of cute.

[TheUrbanMyth]