A Comm for Historymemes @lemmy.world Zagorath @aussie.zone 4d ago

Recycled copper

Transcription

Two Reddit comments, the second a reply to the first.

Copper is so recyclable that stuff that was mined pre BC is being used today.

So what you're telling me is that when the copper head in my old 78 Volvo cracked when it blew the head gasket it was actually Ea-nāṣir's fault again? That son of a bitch.

Then a picture of a man pleading, with the caption

He can't keep getting away with it!

19 comments

Metal is the best stuff to recycle. Glass takes a lot of energy to melt into new shapes, so if possible, it's better to reuse it as is. Paper products are OK. Anything plastic is somewhere between bad and no.
Pre BC? How far back is that? Once we get to millions I guess BC/AD is a rounding error. Fucking dinosaur mines.
Explanation: Ea-nāṣir is a copper trader mentioned in the "complaint tablet to Ea-nāṣir" (UET V 81), written around 1750 BCE. It is sometimes said to be "the oldest known customer complaint".
- Also Ea-nasir was probably keeping them around for legal reasons. Like saving a letter or text in case some uppity fuck takes you to court, also the guy who wrote the most famous tablet owed Ea-nasir money.
Pre BC? So like prehistoric copper???
- There are thousands of years that happened before Christ that are part of history, or in other words, writing was in use for thousands of years before Christ.
  
  Also, not sure what's so surprising about figuring out metallurgy before using writing.
  
  Yes, but that is BC. What then is 'pre BC'?
- Some think we are using copper that is so old it's from even before the pre-BC times.
  
  from even before the pre-BC times
  
  Uh, isn't all of time the pre-BC times? How could you be before that?
I mean, being an element, why wouldn't it be? Isn't exactly going to decompose or decay
- Unlike iron, which oxidizes and flakes off to dust, possibly never to be mined again if it washes out to sea and sinks to the ocean floor
  
  Unlike iron, which oxidizes and flakes off to dust
  
  Copper's patina is oxidation and can flake off. It's what makes the statue of Liberty green.
- Purity and difficulty/cost in getting out recycling impurities vs raw ore impurities.
- I think the mind bend is the idea that the copper you're holding might have been unearthed thousands of years ago and processed for different usage many times over.

19 comments