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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Dear Megan,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">A simple and safe method to distinguish ethanol and formalin filled specimens jars:
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">If you throw a tiny torn piece of paper in the jar, in ethanol it will sink right away.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Thrown in a jar with formalin (or any other water-based preservative) it will keep flowing for a very long time and it will be even hard to get it sunk to the
bottom of the jar. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Only by putting the paper first in ethanol, you can make it easily sink which is quite handy when wanting to add labels in formalin and/or glycerine.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Using tweezers to put/hold the paper in the fluid of the jar and watch its action (sinking or flowing) will keep you in control over the procedure without having
to fish for sunken pieces of paper.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Kind regards,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Dries<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Andries J. van Dam,
</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:#FF8000">conservator</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><br>
<br>
Museum of Anatomy<br>
Leiden University Medical Center <br>
Building 3 (V3-32)<br>
P.O.Box 9600 <br>
2300 RC Leiden <br>
The Netherlands <br>
tel: +31 (0)71 52 68356<br>
E-mail: </span><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:#0000FE"><a href="mailto:A.J.van_Dam@lumc.nl"><span style="color:blue">A.J.van_Dam@lumc.nl</span></a><br>
</span></u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Visiting address: Hippocratespad 21 </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">
</span><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:#FF8000">Scientific associate</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">
Natural History Museum London<br>
<a href="http://www.nhm.ac.uk/" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue">http://www.nhm.ac.uk</span></a></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:#FF8000">Directory Board member</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"> ICOM-CC<br>
<u><a href="http://www.icom-cc.org/" target="_blank" title="http://www.icom-cc.org/"><span style="color:blue">http://www.icom-cc.org</span></a>
<br>
<br>
</u></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:#FF8000">Director</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"> Alcomon Company<br>
<u><a href="http://www.alcomon.com/" target="_blank" title="http://www.alcomon.com/"><span style="color:blue">http://www.alcomon.com</span></a></u></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">
</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"">From:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif""> nhcoll-l-bounces@mailman.yale.edu [mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces@mailman.yale.edu]
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Best, Megan<br>
<b>Sent:</b> donderdag 6 maart 2014 15:03<br>
<b>To:</b> nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu<br>
<b>Subject:</b> [Nhcoll-l] Telling formalin from ethanol<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">Hello all,</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">I’ve been benefitting from the conversations on this listserv for some time now,</span><span lang="EN-CA">
</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">really fascinating and useful stuff.</span><span lang="EN-CA"> </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""> I manage a research collection, mostly of marine invertebrates,
and I have a question:</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">Is there an easy way to tell if</span><span lang="EN-CA">
</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">a fixative is formalin or ethanol? </span><span lang="EN-CA">
</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">Aside from the smell test!</span><span lang="EN-CA"> </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""> I’m looking to organise</span><span lang="EN-CA">
</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">hundreds of jars from various benthic surveys, and we want to switch out anything that’s in formalin to ethanol. The formalin is buffered so I don’t think a pH difference would be a strong
indicator. Any ideas/advice would be appreciated.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">-Megan</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:green">Megan Best</span></b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""><br>
<span style="color:green">Invertebrate Taxonomy</span><br>
</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:green">tel: 902.426.2791 email:
<a href="mailto:megan.best@dfo-mpo.gc.ca">megan.best@dfo-mpo.gc.ca</a></span><span lang="EN-CA"><br>
</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:green">Ocean and Ecosystem Sciences Division | Division des sciences de l'écosystème et de la mer</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""><br>
<span style="color:green">Department of Fisheries and Oceans | Ministère des Pêches et Oceans</span></span><span lang="EN-CA"><br>
</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:green">Government of Canada | Government du Canada</span><span lang="EN-CA"><br>
</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:green">Bedford Institute of Oceanography | Institut Océanographique de Bedford</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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