Excuse me, but isn't Quicklime the stuff I've heard of on t.v. that individuals use to dispose of their murder victims by dissolving them?
@Janice Martin Yes, indeed! As a kid, all those Czechs around, I learned the term "Vapno Zher", which means, "Lime Eats". Quicklime, or Calcium Oxide, CaO, is water-free lime. It attacks viciously anything containing water, creating much heat, as it becomes Calcium Hydroxide, the "hyd" meaning water-containing. In reality, Quicklime will not dissolve away an entire human body, just those parts containing water, even though the body is somerthing like 90% water. Bones are difficult to dispose of. In John Ross' pioneering novel, "Unintended Consequences", those bodies requiring disposal were fed to Dale Price's hogs. Hogs can and will eat an entire human body, bones and all, with the exception of the skull, which they cannot get a good grasp around. Lime is a very highly basic, or alkaline material. Another example even more reactive is the oxide of Sodium, Sodium Hydroxide, commonly called Lye. Lye is one of the few common chemicals which will dissolve hair, which, guess what? Hair is the chief material blocking our drains when they refuse to work. Drano, the common trademarked drain cleaner, is composed of Sodium Hydroxide, Lye. A very important Nuclear Scientist's mother committed suicide, dying an agonizing death, after swallowing Lye. I cannot recall his name. Of more major interest, Lye is used in the making of soap, as well as hominy, which is corn treated with Lye. It's very poisonous qualities dissapear rapidly as it reacts with acidic materials. My Grandma used Lye to make homemade soap! Frank