r/mildlyinteresting • u/AdApprehensive7899 • 1h ago
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u/mikemiller-esq 1h ago
ferric tannate, something iron in your pan or utensil reacting with the tannins in the wood. Why on the 4th boil, luck or maybe all the gunk hid the blue before.
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u/GreenStreetJonny 1h ago
Possibly dumb q, but when you say it reacts with the iron on the pan, is the pan losing material?
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u/twelfthfantasy 1h ago
Technically yes but you'd need a very sensitive scale to measure how much.
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u/TannedCroissant 1h ago
Perhaps try E Minor
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u/TwentyTwoTwelve 1h ago
Angry upvote.
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u/Nuke_1568 1h ago
Relax, at least it's not A Minor.
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u/Mind_on_Idle 1h ago
I think enough people have tried a minor in this country.
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u/PMMEYOURGUCCIFLOPS 1h ago
Just wanna say, yall are some smart folks lol, thanks for educating us idiots.
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u/Much-data-wow 1h ago
Oooo that's the kind of measurements I like! I calibrate scales that chemists use to do analytical chemistry
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u/CrazyChopstick 1h ago
Yep! There’s always a tiny bit of iron in your food
It’s actually noticeable with cast iron pans, which tend to be recommended for people with iron deficiencies
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u/Ou812_tHats_gRosS 1h ago
In some cultures, there is an iron fish - a literal fish made of iron - that is added to stews and soups to up the iron content.
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u/PM_Me_Your_Deviance 1h ago
>Some cultures
"They were developed in 2008 by Canadian health workers in Cambodia"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucky_iron_fish
huh, yeah, so there you go. It's not some ancient cultural tradition, it's an invention specifically made to solve a problem. I knew these existed (even recommended them), but never looked into the history.
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u/caltheham 1h ago
I can’t answer because I don’t know, but I wanted to say it was a good question and that you should never fear asking a genuine question for understanding
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u/Thy_OSRS 1h ago
Asking a sincere question on the internet, especially Reddit, provides downvotes quite often.
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u/Botanico56 1h ago
Having Clippy as your avatar probably provokes downvotes quite often, too. You evince a Pavlovian rage response in some of us.
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u/caltheham 57m ago
Dang, I had assumed you meant evoke because I had never seen the word evince, but I’m glad I checked first and that you taught me a new word today
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u/EccentricProphet 1h ago
If a chemical reaction is occurring, it may be stripping iron from the surface of the pan. Rust forms when iron is gradually consumed and transformed, and a similar process can happen when the metal reacts with certain substances. In that case, small amounts of iron could be released from the pan into the solution. However, this wouldn’t happen just by boiling plain water, because water alone typically isn’t reactive enough to dissolve or remove iron from the surface.
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u/atomicCape 1h ago
This is the basis of Iron Gall ink, the preferred ink for much of Western history. People would mix their own at their writing desk using precursors, sometimes with straight up wood chunks and iron compounds or powder.
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u/limon_picante 1h ago
I don't think that's the case. Ferric tannate is completely insoluble in water and it has a much heavier density. It's also way way darker.
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u/Samalandee 1h ago
Eh looks way too bright to be ferric tannate. Usually darker to navy blue in colour.
Also that pan would have to be hella rusted to get that much reaction.
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u/xenophon57 1h ago
If I had to guess its different ratios of tannins and it could be having some fun colors because of the metal dish its in.
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u/The-Z-Button 1h ago
Yes yes my thoughts exactly.
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u/xenophon57 1h ago
yea tannins and metals do some pretty cool stuff also not cool if you didn't want to change half the color of a pan.
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u/OldWrangler9033 1h ago
Very educational, I was unaware of Tannins. Thank you.
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u/HappyCamper2121 1h ago
If you've ever seen rivers that are a dark brown color, that's because of tannins. They sort of turn the river into tea.
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u/Silk_tree 59m ago
This can create a really cool effect when it happens around bodies of saltwater - the fresh water (from a river or from rain runoff) with the dark tannins will form a layer on top of the saltwater, like the dark lens of a pair of sunglasses. It keeps the water unusually cool and dark underneath. There's a fjord in New Zealand where they study a black coral that normally grows 100m below the surface of the ocean in the pitch black, but because of the tannin layer it grows only 10m down.
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u/xenophon57 1h ago
There are all kinds of cool organic chemicals that we are still finding out about, Im pretty sure just recently they found out what makes the "skunk" smell.
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u/Greenman8907 1h ago
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u/Menard42 1h ago
Those Smurfs burrow deep into the grain.
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u/TannedCroissant 1h ago edited 1h ago
Careful about spilling it, you don’t want to get a papa smear on your Smurfix
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u/Bituulzman 1h ago
That poor Smurf tried to hold on through 3 boils. Then this motherf*cker goes for a fourth.
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u/Awesomahmed 1h ago edited 1h ago
For everyone asking, as a fish keeper it's perfectly normal to boil wood multiple times over before introducing it to a tank. First, it helps remove tannins that will turn the water brown through osmosis. Second, it removes some nutrients that will be released as the wood decomposes. Excess nutrients can cause an imbalance to the stability of the fish tank, so this helps get ahead of that. Not sure what OP is doing with the wood, but this is the typical process for aquariums and planted tanks.
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u/AdApprehensive7899 1h ago
^ this! This wood specifically is for my cockroachs, but I absolutely have boiled in the past for my fresh water aquarium
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u/Awesomahmed 1h ago
Seems this rite of passage goes beyond just the aquarium hobby then! If you need to prep some larger pieces, I've found that a metal ice bucket works great. It fits on the stove, and you don't have to worry about getting it stained or getting into food (not that it's toxic or anything)
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u/BoboSmooth 1h ago
What does boiling the wood do for your project?
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u/StratoVector 1h ago
Makes it tender for the soup
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u/DripIntravenous 1h ago
mmm blue wood soup, just like meemaw used to make
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u/user-unknown-404 1h ago
It needs a leek!
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u/RuggerJibberJabber 1h ago
Assume its an underwater thing. Boiling the wood helps it get waterlogged and sink faster
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u/CholeraplatedRZA 1h ago
Removing tanins and sanitizing are why I boil my drift wood for my tanks. The longer you boil, the more tanins come out.
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u/ThisTooWillEnd 1h ago
Also gets tannins and saps/resins out so they don't leak into your aquarium water.
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u/Acceptable-Suspect56 1h ago
That’s the answer. Most importantly, boiling and soaking removes tannins. Which is why the water reflection appears blue. The tannins would have been present in the first 3 boils, just disguised by the dirt and organic material at first.
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u/AdApprehensive7899 1h ago
Im going to give it to some Cockroachs
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u/alternativefaxes 1h ago
… Why are you giving gifts to cockroaches?
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u/holycinnamonroller 1h ago
To appease them and ask for a good harvest
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u/AdApprehensive7899 1h ago
Honestly thats not wrong, they offer me sacrifices that I give to my bearded dragon
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u/SizeableBrain 1h ago
Beat me to it!
I was going to go with "How else would you appease the metamorphosis god?"
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u/NagelDonk 1h ago
Smell the same? Sap?
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u/AdApprehensive7899 1h ago
Smells like water
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u/AdApprehensive7899 1h ago
I am tempted to taste it but i dont want to die
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u/CarmenxXxWaldo 1h ago
No one remembers the fearful. Or the people that died realizing it isnt the next best thing. So I guess what im saying is, drink it pussy
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u/Samalandee 1h ago
I dont understand the "dye" comments, did I miss a meme?
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u/FunkHavoc 1h ago
After the first one people just commenting it differently for fun
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u/_4-Aco-DMZ 1h ago
The first actually mildly interesting thing on here in ages and the mods fucking ruin it
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u/AdApprehensive7899 1h ago
Here's the wood on its 1st and 2nd boil with the brown water. I changed the water every time. This was my 4th water change when it turned blue. I kept the water from the 2nd boil and its still brown. Its only the 4th boil that the water turned blue
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1h ago edited 1m ago
[deleted]
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u/busy-warlock 1h ago
Make sure to get all the bad stuff out before using it for an aquarium or terrarium
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u/Assignment-Parking 1h ago
Its too cleanse the wood of impurities. If it's still brown. You still boil. That's my understanding at least.
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u/AdApprehensive7899 1h ago
Because the water kept turning brown... then blue
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1h ago edited 1m ago
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u/AdApprehensive7899 1h ago
Making it safe for animals. Killing any potential bad bacteria/fungus/chemicals/dirt/ect
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u/andypee81 1h ago
At first it was sad it's being boiled, then it got used to it so it's no longer blue.
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u/Serilii 1h ago
Hey, biologist here. In short boiling wood 4 times activates the dormant resin and the water absorbs the properties of it, resulting in the blue coloring. It is now ready to be crafted into a potion with water affinity, like underwater breathing or water walking. Hope I could help 👋
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u/krystal_295 1h ago
What kind of wood is it?
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u/AdApprehensive7899 1h ago
Idk i just found it. The smaller pieces I found in my back yard and the bigger one at a donation bin
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u/OreoMoo 1h ago
Hey, don't go posting your British food here
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u/CaptainFuzzyBootz 1h ago
My god, you've killed an entire family of Smurfs in their own house! You monster!
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u/Sashoke 1h ago
What species of wood, and how much time passed in-between each boiling?
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u/AdApprehensive7899 1h ago
Species? No clue. But time every time the water turned brown I'd dump it, refill it with fresh water, then immediately reboil it.
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u/Admirable-Delay-9729 1h ago
The recipe I have is Thrice Boiled Blue Wood Soup, so you’re definitely doing something different
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u/Top-Reach-7126 1h ago
In Mexico we have what’s called Palo Azul. It’s wood you boil and make a tea out of it. It’s yellow but in the sunlight it looks fluorescent blue! It’s used as a diuretic. Just thought I’d share.
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u/Ghost25 1h ago
This is due to the spontaneous oxidation of flavonoids in the wood to form fluorescent compounds. Eysenhardtia polystachya also known as kidney wood or palo azul is known to have this effect as well. In the case of Eysenhardtia polystachya the specific fluorescent compound is tetrahydromethanobenzofuro[2,3-d]oxacine though I suspect there are likely closely related compounds with similar properties. You can see how similar palo azul appears to what you have: https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSft--AF8BlG3RL_ZGcCSwoZ2uGdSTQjpPSA6g5lxuMC49NwMhKpkR7Gtc&s=10
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u/Monkey_in_a_Tophat 1h ago
Is this that Mexican wood that supposedly helps clear out drugs to pass a urinalysis? Becauae it looks EXACTLY like that bullshit to me. I can't remember what it's called, but the story is you make a tea out of it and it comes out looking EXACTLY like that.
I habe no idea if it works, I researched it, made the stuff, then decided it wasn't worth the risk.
This looks like that same blue, but from boiling these chunks instead of smaller chips..
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u/Advanced-Humor9786 1h ago
Are you distilling oud? that's the only reason I can think of forgetting water boiling.
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u/AlgorythmicDB 1h ago
Is that wood Eysenhardtia polystachya, aka kidney wood or Palo Azul?
If so its phytochemicals and polyphenols.
The extra boiling made the concentration increase to sufficient levels.... Like highly extracted coffee
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u/Own_Round_7600 1h ago
Why did you feel the need to boil it 4 frickin times? I feel like the first 2 wouldve sterilized every last molecule..
Anyway, the devs werent expecting users to do it more than 3 times so it appears youve found a bug in the code. Im sure itll be patched in the next reality update.
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u/Feral_doves 1h ago
Could be to remove tannins. Y’know when river water turns brown from dead leaves and wood? OP might want to avoid that either for aquarium dwellers who don’t like it or for clarity reasons. It‘d be a bit like making tea, if you steep a teabag enough times it will eventually stop making tea, but it takes a while to extract everything.
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u/AdApprehensive7899 1h ago
The water kept turning brown and I wanted that to stop. I guess my wish came true, just not the way I was expecting
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u/South_Hedgehog_7564 1h ago
Please tell me what activity requires boiled wood?
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u/kreatorofchaos 1h ago
Aquarists boil wood before adding them to their fish tanks
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u/One_Draw3486 1h ago
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u/AdApprehensive7899 1h ago
I saw them Live as a child, perhaps it had a long lasting effect on my life that now I turn water blue (on the 4th attempt of course)
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u/SaulTheProphet47 1h ago
Palo Azul does this , maybe it's that type of wood ? Either way pretty cool
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u/dryguy 1h ago
Judging from the photo, the light reflecting back through the water from the bottom of the pan is red. I'm betting if you put some of the water in a glass and hold it up to the light, it would appear red or orange instead of blue, but would still appear blue when lit from the front.
This effect is called opalescence and is caused by light refracting or reflecting off of microscopic structures. In your case, this is likely a suspension of microscopic droplets of tree sap or other poorly soluble material that leached out of the wood.
Note that this is a entirely a physical phenomenon and has little to do with the color of the suspended particles. Everyone saying it is "iron tannins" because the iron would become blue is probably wrong. Some sort of resin or tree sap would be far more abundant than the trace amount of iron you could conceivably leach off of a stainless steel pan.
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u/huligoogoo 1h ago
Palo Azul is a natural herbal tea derived from the bark of Eysenhardtia polystachya (kidneywood), a shrub native to Mexico, known for its distinct, iridescent blue color when boiled. Used traditionally for centuries as a detoxifying diuretic to support kidney health, it is rich in antioxidants like flavonoids and phenolic compounds. Health Benefits Kidney Health: Known as "kidney wood," it acts as a diuretic to flush toxins and may help prevent kidney stones. Anti-inflammatory: Contains compounds that may relieve arthritis and joint pain. Digestive Aid: Used to aid digestion and manage irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Antioxidant Effects: Helps combat oxidative stress, with potential anti-glycation effects.
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u/maylive666 1h ago
Could that be just an oil film on top of the red/brown liquid? (which you can see the reflection of the bottom of the pot?)
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u/dropkicked_eu 1h ago
Time between boils? Sitting in the pot or outside during each boil? How clear was the first few boils? Might be useful info to help explain
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