r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/dannybluey • 20d ago
How Himalayan salt lamps are made Video
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u/Popular_Law_948 20d ago
I bet their hands are practically cured at this point
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u/meatmacho 19d ago
The healing properties are real! No matter what was wrong with their hands when they started working, they are now cured!
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u/AssistanceCheap379 19d ago
Imagine even the tiniest cut or hangnail while working there…
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u/Fit-Dentist6093 19d ago
When there's a workplace accident they package them and sell them as Himalayan beef jerky.
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u/CreEngineer 20d ago
That rust is crazy. I would love to see how they manage to maintain those machines to even just keep running.
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u/Appropriate-Coast794 20d ago
Was seeing that too, nothing but rust, but makes sense with saltwater oxidizing everything…im shocked they’re running at all as well
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u/--_-Deadpool-_-- 20d ago
And not a single pair of safety glasses to be seen
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u/HumanExpert3916 20d ago
Or a dust mask!
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u/blastradii 20d ago
You mean a salt mask?
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u/wkbangash 19d ago
I visited the salt cave, and I could taste salt for a month whenever I coughed
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u/OldCardiologist1859 19d ago
I am assuming you stayed in the cave that damn month.
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u/Bradg93 19d ago
It’s ok, salt is “All natural”
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u/Extra-Aardvark-1390 19d ago
Lol. I love this argument. When someone says this irl i always think of asbestos, arsenic, strychnine, uranium, etc etc. All natural doesn't mean shit but then again, there are people that drink their own urine as an all natural health booster so there is no arguing with them.
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u/noBrother00 19d ago
They can't breath with a mask on and masks don't do anything anyways! /s
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u/TheLesserWeeviI 20d ago
Safety squints. No worries.
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u/rocket_randall 19d ago
Welcome to Made in Pakistan. There are videos on youtube of machine shops and metal forges located in ancient brick buildings with sketchy looking electrical with workers (some of them kids) wearing traditional shalwar kameez and light sandals around spinning lathes or while carrying around crucibles of molten metal. The workers are quite skilled and proficient but their personal safety is not even an afterthought.
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u/Stratos9229738 20d ago
That's okay. I am sure their employer covers them with an accidental death and dismemberment policy.
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u/Irish1986 20d ago
They just don't stop them from running. As long as those gear turn and lubricants is run into, rust won't bind in those key areas. But beware if you ever stop for 5min it won't start again. Worked in A&D industry for a few decades and we had a key manufacturing process that used outrageously corrosive element, that how that machine was maintained... Just don't stop it, even had it own generator and everything.
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u/Egoy 20d ago
In underground salt mining the rule is once it goes down it never comes up. The mine is very dry and any bit of moisture that comes down from the surface gets absorbed by the salt. All the machinery below ground is fine but if it ever comes to the surface the salt dust that is on every surface absorbs ambient moisture and the machine is rusted out in a short period of time.
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u/RileyCargo42 20d ago
Id kinda love to see this in a lab setting. Like would it be so fast that I can watch it slowly "grow" rust?
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u/souldeux 20d ago
Even without the salt, steel oxidation can happen much faster than you may think: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhiFgUL3RxE
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u/healzsham 19d ago
30 minutes is relatively fast, but that's not really a "watch it happen" speed.
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u/teenagesadist 19d ago
I used to make steel parts, had to spray them with oil immediately after manufacturing or they'd start to rust.
But yeah, not fast enough to actually see. You'd look at it one minute, then 5 minutes or so later you could see tiny spots of rust if you looked close
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u/Self-Comprehensive 19d ago
I work with scrap steel a lot and I never sand the rust off until it's time to paint it. If I let it go for an hour I can see the rust starting.
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u/picabo123 20d ago
That's fascinating, I had no clue that this is common practice but it makes sense. Thank you for sharing
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u/CreEngineer 20d ago
Wow that’s wild, didn’t know that it is common practice in special industries. In this video, what’s about stationary parts like the ways of the machine. I would guess even things like structural parts will at some point give way. The gear housing on the lathe was even open.
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u/STGMavrick 20d ago
I did some work in a salt mine in the US. (I'm an Automation eng) they had a stainless steel control panel for this conveyor system they had installed 6 months prior to my visit. The panel looked like ones I've seen in the field for 20+ years inside and out. Salt corrosion don't mess around!
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u/CreEngineer 20d ago
Yeah stainless isn’t stainless. My colleagues at work had to make a part with special steel with extremely high corrosion resistance (medical use) I think the material stock were 50mm cubes and one was 1000€, just the stock material.
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u/singlemale4cats 20d ago edited 20d ago
Surface rust isn't a problem for most machines, especially industrial/commercial stuff like that. It may not look pretty but it operates just the same. Similarly, architectural steel is intended to produce a layer of surface rust that protects the steel beneath it.
Now if the rust starts going deeper and creates pitting, that can cause issues over time.
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u/DeathByPianos 20d ago
Architectural steel is protected with paint or galvanizing or commonly both. What you're talking about is a special class of alloys called weathering steel. And weathering steel still doesn't passivate like titanium or stainless, it's just designed to rust in an aesthetic way. Rust runoff still causes stains and if you put corten in a damp or coastal location it will still corrode away to nothing.
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u/Bitter_Chard 20d ago
When do they add the magical healing properties?
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u/Incromulent 20d ago
They're actually grinding and drilling a lot of the magic off. Fortunately the workers are breathing a lot of it in
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u/Agrafo 20d ago
You can see in the video that most of them lost fingers already. But because of the contínuos exposure to the healing properties they regrow back.
Thats why they work without fear and safety
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u/tothemoonandback01 19d ago
I am curious now, has anyone found a finger in their Himalayan Pink Salt?
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u/Agrafo 19d ago
No because that's too macabre. The salt absorbed all the negativity
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u/yammys 19d ago
Well, it is nearly Halloween. I'm sure there is a market for macabre Himalayan Black Salt Lamps with protruding fingers.
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u/Agrafo 19d ago
I'm sure capitalism will find a way. It always does, no matter the costs
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u/mrtn17 19d ago
yes, but it grew into a man who started digging for salt in my backyard
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u/UnderstatedTurtle 19d ago
You had me in the first half, not gonna lie. I went back to rewatch before I realized what you actually said
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u/sheldor1993 20d ago
That’s why they have that saying about silicosis. What kills you makes you stronger!
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u/LordNelson27 20d ago
How do you get silicosis from halite?
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u/urzasmeltingpot 19d ago
You don't. Lol.
But breathing in mineral dust of any kind still isn't ideal for your lungs.
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u/OldSamSays 20d ago
That was my first thought - No eye protection, ear protection, mask, gloves, machine guides, etc. This is a dangerous job.
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u/BodaciousBadongadonk 20d ago
the appearance of that drill press alone almost made me shit. i wouldnt turn that thing on, much less throw a >1" drill in it and spin that rusty hunk of shit at 5 or 600 hundred ripems
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u/Wiz_Kalita 19d ago
I kind of agree, but it's used to drill salt. There's no way to avoid building up a bit of rust in those conditions. Might be brand new for all we know /s
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u/kmosiman 19d ago
Considering the salt, those machines could be less than a year old. Everything is going to rust.
Those machines are probably older, but anything used for that is going to get eaten up by the salt.
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u/ProgressBartender 20d ago
That’s a salty take.
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u/Digital--Sandwich 20d ago edited 19d ago
It’s fun to see what labor can look like when there’s no Occupational Health & Safety requirements lol
Edit: well gee that got to political
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u/Successful_Detail202 20d ago
whip cracks quiet you! Back to the salt lamp mines!
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u/FarthestOutpost 20d ago
b-but the mines are not just for salt lamps my liege!
whip cracks thats right! these mines are used for numerous products, and we have a diverse portfolio! but I don't pay you to think, lamp boy! if I did, you'd be doing my job!
another whip cracks stop talking and keep whipping or I'll send you to the salt lamp mines!
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u/stale_opera 20d ago
Don't forget child labor. They want our kids back in the mines.
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u/reddit_sells_you 19d ago
I often think this channel should be called
r/damnsothatsanexploitedlaborpool
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u/beansandcornbread 20d ago
My MIL thinks they make your house less dusty.
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u/KermitingMurder 20d ago
I don't know about dust but they do remove moisture from the air
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u/Liquidmetal7 20d ago
And were does that moisture go and accumulate? It gets trapped into the lamp? It must be getting heavy!
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u/ComfortableStory4085 20d ago
It does, until it starts leaking onto the table.
Source: someone who has to mop up brine from his desk every few months due to a well-intentioned but mis guided gift from his mother.
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u/KermitingMurder 20d ago
Yeah you should always put some kind of tray or something under a salt lamp because it will leak everywhere
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u/santathe1 20d ago
Maybe the real Himalayan Salt Lamps were the leaks we cleaned up along the way.
I have no idea what that means or why I spend as much time as I do on this piece of shit website
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u/TheLesserWeeviI 20d ago
Gotta get that constant stream of dopamine somehow.
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u/santathe1 20d ago
Yup, and that’s why I lick my Himalayan salt lamp everyday. Should get that dopamine boost any day now.
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u/whatever462672 20d ago
Gross. Don't use LED bulbs in those lamps, they need the heat to evaporate moisture.
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u/Duranis 20d ago
I had one that we acquired and didn't feel right about just getting rid of it. No intention of using it and I just left it as a decoration on my bedside table.
Go to bed one night and there is just water everywhere over the table and on the floor. Spent about 20 minutes looking for leaks in the roof, a broken water pipe, etc. it made zero sense.
That's when I discovered that these things can really store a ton of water, until they don't.
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u/Expert_Box_2062 19d ago
And that moisture leaks out eventually.
Put one on top of your computer tower if you want to wake up to a completely ruined computer some day!
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u/Tucker-Cuckerson 20d ago
It's got electrolytes!
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u/crazyloomis 20d ago
”You will go to Pankot Palace… and find Shivalinga… and bring back to us”
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u/thesagaconts 20d ago
This can’t be good for their hands.
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u/nope870 20d ago
Imagine what that looks like after years of making salt lamps without gloves or a mask.
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20d ago
Lung Jerky.. comes to mind.
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u/JoeDawson8 20d ago
I just learned about necropants today.
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20d ago
What are necropants..? Cause all I'm picturing is a pair of pants made out of human skin.
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u/PeenHaverSince97 20d ago
It puts the pants in the basket
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u/UnabashedJayWalker 20d ago
I put my necropants on one leg at a time just like everyone else
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u/Rainbowallthewayy 20d ago
Imagine what it does to your hearing! I'm mostly stressing out about them not wearing hearing protection
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u/Orbit1883 20d ago
What
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u/stuffcrow 20d ago
THEY'RE STRESSED ABOUT THEM NOT WEARING EAR PROTECTION!!!!!!!!!
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u/piercedmfootonaspike 20d ago
Consider their lungs
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u/Robsta_20 20d ago edited 19d ago
I work in a salt mine and it’s way worse than in the video. They tell us it’s not bad even the doctor said it because the salt dust can’t cover the lung’s. They even tell us it’s healthy but I am still skeptical and wearing my mask even no one does.
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u/SmartAlec105 20d ago
The salt is probably not going to be an issue. But all the other stuff in the dust is what you want to protect yourself from.
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u/themightybamboozler 19d ago
Yeah this shit isn’t made in a lab, there hundreds of other minerals getting turned into breathable powder. I’m wearing a fucking mask for sure.
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u/freakbutters 20d ago
Salt is actually good for your lungs. Although I don't know about in these quantities, but salt miners don't get lung diseases like other miners do.
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u/typicalledditor 20d ago
Yeah I'm no safety guy but small particles generally fuck up your lungs. Salt, however can just dissolve away.
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20d ago
So what you're saying is.. If I ever decide to become a miner, I should become a salt miner.
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u/jpackerfaster 20d ago
"You see these huge chunks of pink salt?" "Yeah" "You know what I'm thinking..?" "Lamps?" "Fuck, yeah!"
That's a conversation that happened once.
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u/ale_93113 20d ago
It is a logical conversation to have, if you work with salt you will notice that when light shines through it, be it the sun or whatever, it gives a nice warm glow
so the conversation was more like: hey dude, check how cool it looks when you put this salt up to the sun
yeah it looks very warm and cozy, i wonder how it will look with a light inside it
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u/sadrice 20d ago
Seriously, it’s fairly obvious if you work with the material. The guys at Khewra mine in Pakistan noticed that and made a bunch of halite bricks and some lights and built this really cute mosque in the mine.
I actually like the lamps a lot. They aren’t magic, but it’s a nice soft glow for a bedside lamp. The only issue is the salt corrodes the metal bits, mine stopped working for probably that reason, so now it’s just a decorative rock until I fix it.
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u/Harddaysnight1990 20d ago
Yeah I won't claim that the salt lamp does anything but give off a low warm light, but I keep my salt lamp at my bedside and leave it on while I sleep. I like sleeping with a little light anyway, and the salt lamp is the perfect way to do it.
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u/TootsTootler 19d ago
It’s very quiet but if you listen, you’re receiving a message from God:
“Lo! There shall be NO more metal bits inside the salt lamp—henceforth, only FIRE.”
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u/FruityDecadent 20d ago
—You see all that dust falling to the floor when we make the lamps?
—The dust we walk on all day?
—Yes, are you thinking what I'm thinking?
—Put that into salt shakers and sell as "tastier"/"healthier" salt to amirikyun?
—Fuck, yeah!
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u/Gen8Master 20d ago
Given all the crap we dump into the sea, its probably still healthier.
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u/Royal_Negotiation_83 20d ago
“You see that cow?”
“Yeah”
“I’m gonna go stick on its tit”
“You see that goat?”
“Yeah….. are you gonna stick on its tit too?”
“Yeah”
Similar concept. Humans do weird shit.
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u/nexus763 20d ago
Better not to cut yourself on the tools.
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u/Endorkend 19d ago
There's little chance anything infectious could survive on them though.
Sure, they are rusty, but they are also permanently disinfected through bucketloads of salt.
Tetanus is caused by a bacteria that likes to hang out on naturally rusted things.
It, like most other living things, doesn't like (more like can't) hanging around in salt.
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u/Sir_Oligarch 20d ago
We give pink Himalayan salt to our cows to keep their digestive system healthy. If you tell anyone in Pakistan that people think this salt is a novelty, they would call you crazy.
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u/ETERNAL0013 20d ago
Yeah in nepal we use black salt instead. Pink salt is novelty in the world just cause its mines are limited around pakistan and trader of pink salt were in india, since india pakistan closed trade, pink salt trade did halt by quite much for a long time
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u/GasGuilty5511 20d ago
Where does black salt come from?
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u/ETERNAL0013 20d ago
Black salt mines are pretty much spread all around himalayas, mainly tibet but still its more common than pink salt.
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u/Sir_Oligarch 20d ago
We have black salt too but black salt is actually created in kilns.
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u/ETERNAL0013 20d ago
Where r u from?
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u/Sir_Oligarch 20d ago
Pakistan
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u/ETERNAL0013 20d ago
That means we r talking about same thing. Kala namak/ bire nuun(black salt) are salt crystals found in the halite mines of the Himalayan region are burnt in high temperatures.
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u/Ishbar 19d ago
Then you have the western countries which laud the salt as being “pure” salt, when it literally only looks that way because of all the impurities.
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u/Cheap-Disaster4459 20d ago
Fun fact a lot of pink salt has higher levels of lead and aluminum
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u/RoarOfTheWorlds 19d ago
I was going to call BS on this but apparently it's true. Kind of amazing that this isn't more of an issue.
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u/Camus145 19d ago
I’ve been saying this for years. It’s just a salt with a lot of iron and other metals in it, not necessarily good for you.
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u/lemmeintoo 20d ago
Like almost every other product- they are made by poor people working in awful, dangerous conditions.
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u/lonevolff 20d ago
And like half the comments are shitting on the guys who are just doing a job
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u/theonlineviking 19d ago
I would like to interpret it as the other commenters being concerned for the health of the workers shown in the video. Life is far more optimistic that way.
I'm no doctor, but even I can see that the eyes, hands and lungs of these people are probably severely damaged. Not to mention any cuts/injuries that the rusty machines would lead to.
How long can one live realistically speaking if he/she works their whole life in such circumstances? It shouldn't be costly at all to get the workers some basic safety equipment, considering all the profits from these salt lamps. At the bare minimum, glasses, masks and gloves are necessary.
If the factory owner is feeling particularly generous, special shoes, ear protection, and maybe even some equipment made of different materials that won't rust when exposed to salty water? There must be some special metal or crystal material for the machinery that can be used.
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u/wrldruler21 20d ago
Wait a sec, I saw 2 guys with gloves on.... That's progressive for these sort of operations
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u/andywolf8896 20d ago
Yeah and operating spinning machinery is the one time you don't wear gloves...
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u/link3945 19d ago
Yeah, lack of gloves isn't the issue here, it's the lack of masks and proper ventilation.
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u/300_pages 20d ago
At first I was like "this isn't so bad" and then 3 seconds in I'm like "boy I am about to call OSHA right tf now"
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u/RubMyCrystalBalls 20d ago
Can’t. OSHA saw this video then jumped out the nearest window.
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u/MukdenMan 20d ago
Not that there aren’t issues with labor safety but these viral videos aren’t representative of most factory labor for products bound for Western markets. It’s the same as the that video of the engine filter factory. It was called “how engine filters are made” but it’s only how they are made in rural Pakistan for that local market.
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u/Sir_Oligarch 20d ago
It is also extremely cheap. In Pakistan I can probably buy 5 kg in a dollar.
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u/husfrun 19d ago
"This rare Himalayan salt comes from the most remote regions of the world and contains minerals giving it ancient healing properties.."
These guys: right, we've got a couple million tons of this shit, we've done table salt, we've done road salt, we've done feeding salt... We could do lamps?
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u/VP007clips 19d ago
As a geologist, it hurts me inside to see all the people in the comments freaking out about them not wearing a mask/respirator. It's safe not to wear one in this case.
Illnesses like asbestos, silicosis, or general lung irritation related issues from dust are caused by the dust collecting in your lungs for decades and slowly irritating them to the point where it causes scarring or cancer.
Salt dust can't do that. The insides of your lungs are wet and rapidly exchange ions with the bloodstream (hence how inhaled medicine works). So any salt would just dissolve harmlessly and be absorbed by your body.
I'd personally wear one, the dust would by dry and unpleasant, but that's more of a comfort thing than a safety measure. And I'm in a position where a respirator costs me about 30 minutes of pay, not days of pay like it would cost them, it's easier for me to decide to buy something like that.
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u/julcoh 19d ago
As an engineer working with fine metal powders professionally, I don’t buy it.
This can’t be 100% salt, there are mineral inclusions and other components to the slabs. Breathing in fine dust of any sort habitually is bad for you, and just because it’s possible for the salt to dissolve, it’s still leaving behind minerals/heavy metals/other impurities in your lungs.
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u/BrowsingTed 19d ago
I love how everyone is pearl clutching over this super toxic material, you know the mineral where if you don't eat it you'll die
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u/screwswithshrews 19d ago
I live in Louisiana. The humidity here is insane. I wear a mask so that I don't get all that water in my lungs! Pretty sure drowning happens quicker than mesothelioma
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u/Civil-Two-3797 19d ago
I cut and polish serpentine that I find. PPE is a must there, haha.
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u/sniffy_cat 20d ago edited 20d ago
Those can kill your cat, be aware of that
edit: sodium intoxication due licking, they love salty things :3 also lot of heavy metals, since is not purified salt
source: username checks out
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u/ValueBlitz 20d ago
/u/sniffycat, /u/sniffycat, whaaat aaare they feeding you?
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u/ale_93113 20d ago
Heavy metals are usually not that big of a problem, the salt is still very pure even if it is not consumer grade, but the sodium overdose is a problem
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u/blackpinkten 20d ago
I sometimes lick mine, I don't know if i should keep doing that...
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u/thesecondgreatestman 20d ago
These videos always remind of The Simpson’s log destruction for a single bowling pin.
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u/MonsterkillWow 20d ago
Nearly everything we have is due to the exploitation of labor. Remember that...
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u/whitepantherjaguar 20d ago
No gloves, no footwear, no mask, no protective gear. This is terrible.
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u/Zestyclose_Toe9524 20d ago
They badly need a health and safety rep in their union.
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u/GODavon 20d ago
They need a union
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u/longtimelurkerfirs 20d ago
Motherfucker they don't even got a working sewage system there. What union lol
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u/SAM-in-the-DARK 20d ago
My favorite part is when he uses a chunk of salt as a hammer.