Editing 1260: LD50

{{comic
| number    = 1260
| date      = September 4, 2013
| title     = LD50
| image     = ld50.png
| titletext = The dose is much lower when administered orally. We're still trying to get the paper into the needles for subcutaneous injection.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Median lethal dose|LD<sub>50</sub>}} is a term used in toxicology that identifies the median lethal dose of a toxin, or how much is required to kill 50% of a given population. LD<sub>50</sub>s are usually measured in g/kg, as the amount of toxin to kill something is usually linearly related to its mass. The lower the LD<sub>50</sub>, the more lethal the toxin. An LD<sub>50</sub> can be determined for almost any substance: for example, the LD<sub>50</sub> for sugar (in rats) is 29.7&nbsp;g/kg. However, {{w|Botulinum toxin}} (commercially known as Botox in the beauty industry), the most acutely toxic substance known, has a LD<sub>50</sub> of roughly 1&nbsp;ng/kg, or 0.000000001&nbsp;g/kg, a vanishingly small amount.

The comic is making the joke that the LD<sub>50</sub> of papers on toxicology is 2&nbsp;kg/kg, so it takes 2 kilograms of papers on toxicology to kill a person for each kilogram they weigh. The worldwide average weight of an adult is 62&nbsp;kg (137&nbsp;lb), so the lethal dose would be 124&nbsp;kg (273&nbsp;lb) of toxicology papers. Death is apparently caused by compression or smothering, rather than any form of toxicity.

The title text says it will take less paper to kill a person if the paper is shoved down their throat instead of dropped on them, either by suffocation or bursting the subject's stomach. A third method of delivering a toxin is by {{w|Subcutaneous injection|subcutaneous injections}} which are highly effective in administering vaccines and medications, but that number is omitted since they couldn't figure out how to do it. The amount of paper required to trigger a fatal blood vessel blockage would probably be fairly small if they could.

==Transcript==
:[A figure in a white coat lies on the floor, crushed beneath a giant pile of binders & paper. Megan and Cueball in white coats stand next to him, looking on. Megan is holding a clipboard.]
:The LD<sub>50</sub> of toxicity data is 2 kilograms per kilogram.

{{comic discussion}}
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[[Category:Chemistry]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]