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NuGundam7 t1_j6j0yjq wrote

Reply to comment by Clickum245 in TIL In the 60s/60s NASA would use brooms to detect flames from Hydrogen leaks as they were odorless & colorless. by Wandering_Lights

Thats what I heard, but I erred on the side of caution because hyperbole is certainly a thing. But yes, I figured high pressure steam is no joke... just wasn't sure (first hand, at least) how little of a joke it is.

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Fake_William_Shatner t1_j6jof3b wrote

I can imagine that the "new guy" at any place is told some really stupid things and this sounds like one of them.

I'm also sure a few people have died trying to to look like fools. "Oh, you were SERIOUS about the broom thing?"

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NuGundam7 t1_j6jsw8v wrote

I was a contractor doing some controls work on an HVAC system that was onsite in a military base. They used a (relatively) high pressure steam system for the heating loop. The subject came up, and the guy I was with learned it as a machinist in a destroyer, from another old navyman, who might've actually been around long enough ago that it was an important skill to know!

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