Sulfur and Mercury and Duct Tape - Oh My!

Ever wonder what to do if you break an old-fashioned mercury thermometer on the bathroom floor? The first thing to do is avoid that situation all together. Get rid of that old contraption now and buy yourself a digital thermometer for less than $10.00. Otherwise, you might have to do what my girlfriend and I did all day today. You might have to spend the day cleaning up minuscule beads of mercury on your hands and knees with duct tape and tweezers, before sprinkling sulfur on the floor to (hopefully) contain the mercury.Check out this website on how to clean up a small mercury spill.My advice would be to avoid the situation at all costs if you can. There is really no reason to hold on to that old mercury containing jalopy of a thermometer, especially when you consider all of the work it will take to clean up if it breaks.

Update January 18th 2007:
Here's an interesting article about a guy who spilled mercury in a subway station.