Thermometer

The pharmacist down the street said Ed Blanton can put his latest piece of campaign literature where the sun doesn't shine.Hoping to jump-start his bid to oust Attorney General Joseph Curran on Nov. 6, Republican candidate Blanton mailed out press releases that had a 4-inch-long thermometer taped across one corner."

It was one of Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit's most famous inventions, in 1714. But after nearly 300 years on the market, the still-common mercury thermometer now appears headed for extinction. While many Maryland residents probably still have them in their medicine cabinets, or on their walls, the retail sale of mercury thermometers has been banned in Maryland since 2002 because of mercury's hazards as a powerful neurotoxin. There are similar bans or restrictions in at least 17 other states, with more such legislation pending elsewhere, according to the Interstate Mercury Education and Reduction Clearinghouse.

Question: : The other day, I had a fever and was taking my temperature. When I was shaking my thermometer, the bottom broke off, and it spilled down the sink drain. I was too sick to do anything about it that day. Today, I am feeling better, and when I searched the Web for ideas about disposal, I got freaked out. What should I do about the mercury that went down the drain? Answer: : This is a serious situation, because liquid mercury from a thermometer can release mercury vapors that are toxic.

Making Thanksgiving dinner is a lot of work, but it is worth it. That - "It is worth it!" - is the mantra cooks should chant to get themselves mentally ready for the big day. There are also some steps the cook and kitchen helpers can take in these final hours to make the meal go smoothly. Here are some pre-meal maneuvers you can undertake today that will help prevent panic tomorrow. Sharpen your knives. : Carving the bird requires a sharp blade. Moreover, there is a lot of vegetable chopping that goes into the meal preparations.

If you're searching for a respite from the heat and humidity, don't look in Maryland.From the steamy heart of Baltimore to the Atlantic beaches and even in the usually cooler western mountains, the story's the same -- temperatures in the upper 80s to mid-90s and wilting humidity.The thermometer could hit 100 degrees in the city later today, the National Weather Service predicts.Meteorologist Ken Shaver, speaking from his air-conditioned office at Baltimore-Washington International Airport, attempted to lend perspective.

Hugh Silcox of Baltimore installed a wireless thermometer in the concrete back "yard" of his rowhouse. Last Saturday it read 110 degrees. "Clearly the thermometer was basking in a direct beam of sunlight," he said. "Should I place the thermometer under an upturned flowerpot? Seems too cool to me." Keep looking, Hugh. Your yard's a solar furnace. Shade the sensor from direct sun and mount it away from brick or concrete, which absorbs and re-emits solar heat. It also needs air circulation.

The thermometer is back on in Baltimore.After five months without official weather data for the city, meteorologists at the National Weather Service have replaced the damaged, 50-year-old measurement equipment on the roof of the Custom House at South Gay and Lombard streets.The new thermometer, which has a significantly smaller margin of error than the old one, went on-line at 5 p.m. Monday, according to Jose Marrero, a weather service forecaster. At 1:30 p.m. yesterday, that thermometer hit 92 degrees, he said.

A roundup of new products and servicesA cool thermometerIt's hard to say whether a baby's having a temperature is worse for the baby or for the parents who have to monitor it. Now Questech has introduced a thermometer that will make the experience less traumatic for both. The Wee Care Digital Pacifier Thermometer looks like a baby's pacifier but has a temperature-sensing device inside the rubber nipple and an LCD display window on the front. A gentle beep at preset intervals lets parents know it's working, and a series of beeps sounds when the reading is complete.

To kill the salmonella organism, the temperature of an egg or egg dish must reach a temperature of 160 degrees (or be held at 140 degrees for 3 1/2 minutes). A quick-read thermometer provides a quick, easy way to measure the internal temperature of egg dishes. -- Cole's Cooking A to Z

Whether you have a fancy gas grill or a humble charcoal kettle, nothing is more key to the success of your grilled meat than its temperature when you take it off the fire. Remove your beautiful steaks, dogs or chicken too soon, and you've got an unappealing raw center that's not safe to eat; let your food go too long, and dinner is dry and tough. An accurate thermometer can be your best friend. With that in mind, we fired up the backyard Weber and tried out three thermometers, each with different attributes.

On Sunday, we listed a high temperature of 80 for Saturday in downtown Baltimore. That puzzled reader Fred Weiss. "My thermometer barely made it to 70 ... Where and what time was that 80-degree reading?" Darned if I know. Our data vendor claims it came from The Baltimore Sun's station at Calvert and Centre, but we never got that warm, either. All future "downtown" readings will come from the Maryland Science Center.

Question: : The other day, I had a fever and was taking my temperature. When I was shaking my thermometer, the bottom broke off, and it spilled down the sink drain. I was too sick to do anything about it that day. Today, I am feeling better, and when I searched the Web for ideas about disposal, I got freaked out. What should I do about the mercury that went down the drain? Answer: : This is a serious situation, because liquid mercury from a thermometer can release mercury vapors that are toxic.

During the next month, thousands of high school and college football teams will get ready for fall by practicing in torrid conditions where heatstroke is a constant danger. That has some trainers and doctors worried about some thermometers that, in their view, sacrifice accuracy for convenience. The devices use infrared light to scan heat radiation in the ear or on the forehead. The infrared thermometers have produced lower readings in athletic settings -- or in lab tests meant to simulate them -- than rectal thermometers or other devices.

Whether you have a fancy gas grill or a humble charcoal kettle, nothing is more key to the success of your grilled meat than its temperature when you take it off the fire. Remove your beautiful steaks, dogs or chicken too soon, and you've got an unappealing raw center that's not safe to eat; let your food go too long, and dinner is dry and tough. An accurate thermometer can be your best friend. With that in mind, we fired up the backyard Weber and tried out three thermometers, each with different attributes.

My husband and I want to start a family, so I take my temperature every day before I get out of bed. The record I keep lets us know when I have ovulated. The problem is the thermometer. It is an old-fashioned mercury thermometer we "borrowed" from his parents. He's very sweet about shaking it down and bringing it to me, but I am afraid he might break it. I worry that being exposed to mercury just before I get pregnant would be dangerous for the baby. He says other thermometers aren't as accurate.