re: #159 stpaulbear

I can remember when we had to start taking construction asbestos abatement VERY seriously, and some of the contractors were fighting it as too costly and unneccessary. I heard one of our architects telling the story of a contractor who wouldn’t accept that asbestos was dangerous and to prove his point he took a bite out of a chunk of asbestos pipe insulation. Jeez.

Not all asbestos is created equal. Chrysotile asbestos is probably less of a danger than amphibolite asbestos. Neither is particularly good for you, though.
I’ve tried spinning asbestos thread (outdoors, with a mask on) and I could never get a thread longer than a few inches before it broke.