Logo

Why is squid ink safe to eat, while skunk spray is not? What makes the two liquids different from each other?

09.06.2025 09:31

Why is squid ink safe to eat, while skunk spray is not? What makes the two liquids different from each other?

Squid ink is composed mainly of melanin and mucus, but with smaller amounts of dopamine, L-DOPA, and a few amino acids—nothing toxic. These are also natural parts of the human tissues.

Squid ink is meant only to conceal the animal so it can escape; it doesn’t need to be toxic to do that. Skunk thiols are meant to smell repugnant and irritate the eyes and mucous membranes, deterring enemies from approaching them.

The skunk's anal gland secretions contain seven major volatile components: three major thiols, three major thioacetates, and a methylquinoline. These are divided into thiols and acetate derivatives of the thiols. Two of these thiols, (E)-2-butene-1-thiol and 3-methyl-1-butanethiol, are responsible for the repellent odor. These two thiols constitute 51% to 70% of the anal gland secretions.

Hello, I have a question about astral projection. I started to get interested in this a little while after my mum passed in april. I thought I may be able to see her and speak with her if I managed to achieve astral projection. Since this interest, every time i sleep on my back I go into sleep paralysis. However, I cant progress into astral projection because it is very scary for me as I feel like I'm suffocating when this happens. I panic and force myself to wake up. This only ever happened about once a year before this. It sometimes lasts a long time. This has happened about 3 times per week since my mum died, as mentioned on a previous post. I no longer try to go into it anymore(due to the suffocating feeling), but it still happens. I read that sleep paralysis is the pathway to astral projection. Why has this started to happen so frequently since simply taking an interest in it? Is this connected to the afterlife? I am concerned about it as I now cannot seem to stop this happening. Could it be my mum trying to communicate? Im asking due to more knowledge around this in this group.

They smell terrible and they’re very flammable, like methane gas. Many thiols are part of normal human physiology, but some of them are toxic.

That article goes on to describe the toxic effects of skunk thiols, mainly on dogs and cats.

The major thiol of skunk spray is (E)-2-butene-1-thiol, shown below. At high concentrations, it is toxic to humans, and has even been used as a biological weapon (if extracted from skunks) or chemical weapon (if laboratory synthesized).

I just cannot wake up early, even if I sleep on time. What should I do?

Skunk spray is a mixture of thiols (mercaptans), which are small organic molecules with a sulhydryl group (–SH). Here is one of the simplest, methyl mercaptan.