Adéline chided me for going all the way to town to buy a “natural” mosquito spray that—while hardly effective—I continued to slather on my body every time we jogged the wooded paths of the Forêt Vatable in Martinique. She had gotten used to my declining to borrow her Pyramid brand “Repel 100,” a 100% deet formulation that she swore by, …
Tag Archives: Chemistry
Bleach
My friend Dr. Muñoz makes his own bleach. He uses salt, water, and electrodes to render sodium hypochlorite. To do this, he has colonized a small space in a garage-cum-storage unit nestled on the grounds of the Managua health center where he works. His bleach-making is ad-hoc and off the books. Dr. Muñoz doesn’t get extra money or time from …