Question: Where Do I Obtain Formaldehyde?

I need Formaldehyde for a project I'm doing. Urgently. And I have no fucking clue as to where to obtain some!

Anyone have any ideas?

You'd assume taxidermist's, but no luck (so far at least)!

Any ideas whatsoever would be very much appreciated.

And note, I kinda need to preserve something pronto like Tonto... So internet-leads, although appreciated, are not helpful.

The quicker the better.

Thanks in advance!

Are you preserving your murder victims?

I'll show you what I'm making once it's done.

Try this site. You have to call them to place an order, and they may only sell to mortuaries, but it's somewhere to look.

It's probably a controlled substance. The stuff is really nasty.

But it looks like elementary school teachers buy stuff here, so...

Site

"Does this rag smell like chloroform?"

I always liked

"There are too many bullets in this gun"

I need it by fucking tomorrow.

Goddamnit.

Hmmmm...

FUCK!

Looks like I'm stooping so low as to visit my little brother's high school to pester some science teachers.

Desperate times call for desperate measures...

You know what? Fuck it. I'll tell you what I'm doing...

Hopefully you can all provide alternatives. But it's urgent and I need it for tomorrow...

It's my buddy/pseudo-ex's birthday. She's a cute little industrial chick, who's as sweet as sugar and rainbows, but loves her morbid shit to death. So...

So I need a chemical that will preserve a human heart, and obviously the first thing that comes to mind is formaldehyde. Thank highschool for that knowledge.

But maybe simply bottled water?

I'm desperate.

I need to get this thing done tomorrow.

I don't want it to decompose. It needs to be clear so you can see my work on it. And I don't want it to destroy the heart.

Any ideas whatsoever will be greatly appreciated.

Some coworkers and friends have come up with:

"Pickling Vinegar"
There is a clear version, but common sense is telling me it would shrivel up and destroy the hear. No? It's too sketchy for my liking.

"Liquid Latex"
I got a POSSIBLE hook-up for this one from my boss's brother in law's roommate. Hard to depend on that many people. And even then, isn't latex usually murky at best?

"Shilack" (Spelling?)
You know, the clear sealant shit. I tried looking for some. Best I could find in large quantities was "Mod Podge" which was a puzzle-holder-together-er, and it was a thick white.

So yeah.

I'm in a bit of a bind here.

Help!

Anything at all! Any tips, advice or ideas, are urgently needed and GREATLY appreciated! I promise!

I will post pictures of whatever I end up doing.

Thanks in advance buddies!

that's intense.

Rubbing alcohol maybe? Why not ask your friend who's getting the heart for you, surely if he works with them he would have some idea of what could be used to preserve it.

And yeah, I think formaldehyde is a controlled substance.

jesus christ!!!

maybe freeze dry that fucker!?

Buddy up with a medical student.

And, ew.

Also: if the human heart doesn't work out, you can get other hearts that look similar without stealing them.... but I understand that's not as "punk."

I don't want to sound like a party pooper but that's someones heart. It's just not right. Use a pig's heart for fucks sake.

fucking eat that thing

Just a taste?

How often do you get to taste someone's ticker?

Hahaha!

He specifically said "We use formaldehyde, I can't score any for you, whatever you're gonna use to preserve this is all on you."

So he's not much help.

Rubbing alcohol, eh?

Hmmmmmmmm...

Probably.

And yeah.

But what good is that? Anyone has access to those. I want this gift to be one of a kind.

"Dude. That belongs to someone. Have a heart."

Teehee! Couldn't help myself!

How does one freeze dry anything?

Whatever you do, I wouldn't use water like you just said. The whole point of whatever you submerse it in is to prevent it from rotting by putting it in an enviroment so hostile none of the critters that usually decompose meat can survive.

Water is an excellent breeding ground for bacteria, you'd have meat soup in notime.

You could try something with a very high alcohol content like scotch but I have no idea if it would end up being corrosive to the flesh. Alternatively you could have it cast in plexiglass but that lacks the gothic horror appeal of a picklejar.

If you had more time I'd say get it cast in plexiglass and then build a cool victorian brass frame around it with bolts and stuff.


Edit: according to wikipedia the following are perfectly acceptable and often used alternatives to formaldehyde.

Highly concentrated alcohol, more specifically 70% proof ethanol, not drinking alcohol.
If you're on the cheap water thinned spiritus works too. (not sure what it's called in english but it's blue, smelly, we use it for paintstripping, hobo's drink it for cheap booze, you can make it colorless by adding active charcoal)

Ethanol evaporates, so unless you can seal the jar perfectly it'll need refills.

Needless to say ethanol and spiritus have nasty fumes and are highly flammable, so if your friends are smokers, make sure the jar is sealed very well, there are no heavy vapors hanging around and there's no left over ethanol on the outside of the bottle.

One final note, if you're going to freeze the thing before working on it or while storing it, I'd recommend putting it in a bucket of dry ice. Just putting it in your freezer will probably put ice crystals on it at best and give it frost damage at worst.

That's a very good idea dude.

Seriously.

I'm taking this alternative into great contemplation.

But until I come to that crossroads, I'm looking for something as a preserving alternative to formaldehyde.

I continue to surf wikipedia and do some homework...

Thanks for the good idea though.

Everclear.