On a lighter (or hammered) note:

If, for whatever reason, you just sucked down a quart of DOT 3 brake fluid, windshield washer fluid or antifreeze, get your butt to the hospital right away. But if you can’t get to the hospital quickly, it may be time to break out the booze.

We’ve probably all heard about the dangers of antifreeze, the sweet-tasting, pretty green fluid we pour into our radiators and overflow reservoirs. While touching coolant or getting it in your eyes isn’t great, the primary danger of antifreeze is ingestion, as it can cause kidney failure, and lead to coma or even death.

Because I wrench all the time, and would prefer to live a long, healthy life, I decided to read through a bunch of material safety data sheets to learn about the automotive fluids I work with on a regular basis. These material safety data sheets, which you can find online, describe toxicity and treatments associated with various fluid exposures.

Normally I’m not a drinker. But since I do work on cars a lot, I will need to keep some hard liquor in case I end up accidentally consuming automotive fluid (I’ve had some close calls with fluids so the safer, the better) and consume it in case I can’t receive immediate medical attention.

I’m already cautious enough when it comes to jacking my vehicles up. Hydraulic jack, two jack stands, and two wheels underneath the frame rails in case the jack stands fail. I shake the car to make sure it’s stable before I go underneath the car and work on it. I’ve heard way too many horror stories of people getting critically injured or losing their lives when their jack or jackstand fails while working on the car. I don’t want that to happen to me.