Capote: a jigger of nitrogen
Marius Hancu
In
"a jigger of nitrogen"
could "jigger" be
---
Jigger
a measure used in mixing drinks and holding usually one and one half
ounces
M-W U
---
?
----
[Horseback in Central Park]
Very gently the horses began to trot, waves of wind splashed us,
spanked our faces, we plunged in and out of sun and shadow pools, and
joy, a glad-to-be-alive exhilaration, jolted through me like a jigger
of nitrogen.
Truman Capote, Breakfast at Tiffany's
----
--
Thanks.
Marius Hancu
annily
I would think that's the "jigger" he's referring to, but I wouldn't like
to try it with liquid Nitrogen :)
--
Long-time resident of Adelaide, South Australia,
which probably influences my opinions.
the Omrud
> Marius Hancu wrote:
>> Hello:
>>
>> In
>> "a jigger of nitrogen"
>> could "jigger" be
>> ---
>> Jigger
>> a measure used in mixing drinks and holding usually one and one half
>> ounces
>> M-W U
>> ---
>> ?
>>
>> ----
>> [Horseback in Central Park]
>>
>> Very gently the horses began to trot, waves of wind splashed us,
>> spanked our faces, we plunged in and out of sun and shadow pools, and
>> joy, a glad-to-be-alive exhilaration, jolted through me like a jigger
>> of nitrogen.
>>
>> Truman Capote, Breakfast at Tiffany's
>
> I would think that's the "jigger" he's referring to, but I wouldn't like
> to try it with liquid Nitrogen :)
Is he referring to nitrous oxide?
--
David
tony cooper
<marius...@gmail.com> wrote:
>Hello:
>
>In
>"a jigger of nitrogen"
>could "jigger" be
>---
>Jigger
>a measure used in mixing drinks and holding usually one and one half
>ounces
>M-W U
>---
Yes, a "jigger" is a measure; commonly referred to as a "shot". A
"shot glass" is a small measure that many of us keep in the area where
we prepare alcoholic drinks.
So, the analogy is a shot of exhilaration similar to what some people
feel from a shot of booze.
>
>----
>[Horseback in Central Park]
>
>Very gently the horses began to trot, waves of wind splashed us,
>spanked our faces, we plunged in and out of sun and shadow pools, and
>joy, a glad-to-be-alive exhilaration, jolted through me like a jigger
>of nitrogen.
>
>Truman Capote, Breakfast at Tiffany's
>----
--
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida
Marius Hancu
> >In
> >"a jigger of nitrogen"
> >could "jigger" be
> >---
> >Jigger
> >a measure used in mixing drinks and holding usually one and one half
> >ounces
> >M-W U
> >---
>
> Yes, a "jigger" is a measure; commonly referred to as a "shot". A
> "shot glass" is a small measure that many of us keep in the area where
> we prepare alcoholic drinks.
>
> So, the analogy is a shot of exhilaration similar to what some people
> feel from a shot of booze.
Thanks.
>
> >----
> >[Horseback in Central Park]
>
> >Very gently the horses began to trot, waves of wind splashed us,
> >spanked our faces, we plunged in and out of sun and shadow pools, and
> >joy, a glad-to-be-alive exhilaration, jolted through me like a jigger
> >of nitrogen.
>
> >Truman Capote, Breakfast at Tiffany's
Marius Hancu
Evan Kirshenbaum
> My first thought was that this was a reference to nitrous oxide -
> used widely in the UK for its anaesthetic property (especially in
> active labour).
I've never heard of it being used for labor here, but it used to be
commonly used in dentistry. The dentists here in California don't
seem to use it, though. (Or maybe it's just the ones I've gone to.)
I used to enjoy it.
Perhaps one of the reasons that it isn't used is that it doesn't
always produce euphoria. In some patients (my brother being one
such), it's quite the opposite. Interestingly, this uncommon side
effect is what actually led to its being used as an anesthetic, as in
one of the early demonstrations of its effect on people, one of the
subjects freaked out and managed to severely injure his leg without
noticing.
" At length Sam Cooley took the gas and proved to be an
interesting subject. He careened about the stage in an
extraordinary manner when suddenly he espied in the audience an
imaginary enemy and sprung over the ropes and after him. The
innocent spectator, frightened out of his seven wits, summarily
abandoned his seat and fled, running like a deer around the hall
with Cooley in hot pursuit, the audience on its feet applauding in
delight. The terrified victim finally dodged, vaulted over a
settee and rushed down an aisle, Cooley a close second. Half way
to the front the pursuer came to himself, looked about foolishly,
and amid shouts of laughter and applause slid into his seat near
to Dr. [Horace] Wells. Presently he was seen to roll up his
trousers and gaze in a puzzled sort of way at an excoriated and
bloody leg..."
http://www.general-anaesthesia.com/images/horace-wells.html
Horace Wells, a dentist, was in the audience, and realized that this
was obviously a powerful anesthetic, and offered himself up as a
guinea pig to have one of his wisdom teeth pulled. When that was
successful, he started using it in his practice and recommending it.
The first (and, I believe, only) time my brother was given nitrous
oxide, he tried to bite the dentist. The dentist recognized the side
effect and (after the effects wore off) switched to another method for
him.
> Not long after this property was discovered, N2O was used
> recreationally because of the side effect of euphoria (hence its
> other name, laughing gas).
Back when I was in college in the '80s, for recreational use, it was
known as "whippits" after the brand name of the cannisters used in
whipped cream dispensers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whippit
--
Evan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------
HP Laboratories |Pious Jews have a category of
1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |questions that can harmlessly be
Palo Alto, CA 94304 |allowed to go without an answer
|until the Messiah comes. I suspect
kirsh...@hpl.hp.com |that this is one of them.
(650)857-7572 | Joseph C. Fineman
Robin Bignall
wrote:
I would have thought so. Air is roughly 80% nitrogen, so an extra
jigger isn't going to be very stimulating.
--
Robin Bignall
(BrE)
Herts, England
Mark Brader
>> joy, a glad-to-be-alive exhilaration, jolted through me like a jigger
>> of nitrogen.
>>
>> Truman Capote, Breakfast at Tiffany's
Murray Arnow writes:
> The responses to your question mostly make sense, but I couldn't make
> sense of "a jigger of nitrogen."
I agree. The English usage is clear enough, but the chemistry seems to
be severly muddled. My guess is that he simply meant to say oxygen.
--
Mark Brader | "Now I feel stupid. Well, I guess it's not bad
Toronto | if that happens once a decade or so."
m...@vex.net | --Al Fargnoli
Pat Durkin
"the Omrud" <usenet...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:BFEXn.50675$hS4....@newsfe26.ams2...
I think so. There were parties, I understand, in which ether was used
to induce gales of laughter and drunken behavior, back in the 19th C,
and I understand that some people had laughing gas parties. Maybe
Capote was a player with some of those riskier elements.
I mean, nowadays young kids are playing "the choking game", or huffing
aerosol gases and I can recall as children we would spin like tops
until we staggered drunklike. What fun it was to act stupidly.
Skitt
>> Marius Hancu quotes:
>>>> joy, a glad-to-be-alive exhilaration, jolted through me like a jigger
>>>> of nitrogen.
>>>>
>>>> Truman Capote, Breakfast at Tiffany's
>>
>> Murray Arnow writes:
>>> The responses to your question mostly make sense, but I couldn't make
>>> sense of "a jigger of nitrogen."
>>
>> I agree. The English usage is clear enough, but the chemistry seems to
>> be severly muddled. My guess is that he simply meant to say oxygen.
>
> I think I have an explanation. A jigger of a gas is a meaningless
> measure; however, a jigger of a liquid is meaningful. Let's assume
> Capote isn't ignorant, but a typo slipped through. The metaphor that
> fits far better here is "jigger of nitroglycerine." It is understandable
> how "nitrogen" could have gotten by the editors.
Careful with that nitro!
--
Skitt (SF Bay Area)
http://come.to/skitt
Joe Fineman
> In
> "a jigger of nitrogen"
> could "jigger" be
> ---
> Jigger
> a measure used in mixing drinks and holding usually one and one half
> ounces
> M-W U
> ---
> ?
>
> ----
> [Horseback in Central Park]
>
> Very gently the horses began to trot, waves of wind splashed us,
> spanked our faces, we plunged in and out of sun and shadow pools,
> and joy, a glad-to-be-alive exhilaration, jolted through me like a
> jigger of nitrogen.
I am coming to this thread very late. With "jigger" there, I
naturally imagined the nitrogen to be liquid. A jigger of that (77 K,
-196°C, at atmospheric pressure) would certainly give one a jolt, but
not a joyful one.
--
--- Joe Fineman jo...@verizon.net
||: A millihelen is the amount of facial beauty required to :||
||: launch one ship; a microhelen, to arouse one sailor. :||
Nick
> My first thought was that this was a reference to nitrous oxide - used
> widely in the UK for its anaesthetic property (especially in active
> labour). Not long after this property was discovered, N2O was used
> recreationally because of the side effect of euphoria (hence its other
> name, laughing gas).
I've had it for the removal of fluid from a joint. Very strange; you
could still feel the pain, but it didn't hurt, if that makes any sense.
It's almost enough to make you believe in qualia.
Otherwise it made me feel as if really quite drunk, before it wore off
very quickly leaving me feeling absolutely sober again with no
hang-over.
I gather it's very popular at music festivals these days.
--
Online waterways route planner | http://canalplan.eu
Plan trips, see photos, check facilities | http://canalplan.org.uk
Athel Cornish-Bowden
Me too. Truman Capote isn't usually noted for his detailed knowledge of
chemistry (unlike, say, Primo Levi), and I wouldn't be surprised if he
thought nitrogen and nitrous oxide were the same thing.
However, until reading David's suggestion I was thinking he meant
liquid nitrogen, and just meant something cold. Anyway, all sorts of
nasty things would happen if you swallowed a jigger of it. (Mice can
survive being immersed (briefly!) in liquid nitrogen, but humans can't.)
--
athel