/sci/ - Science & Math

I don't pretend to have a lot of lab experience, but I'll contribute what I got:

>High School chemistry lab
> do experiment 1
> everyone finishes about the same time
> clean our test tubes
> time for experiment 2
> normally we'd let our test tubes dry overnight and use new ones for experiment 2, but all our other tubes got borrowed by another class
> we need dry tubes now
> teacher tells us to use the lab's air nozzles to dry our test tubes
> I'm a second semester junior at this point and have taken classes where I've been doing a lab almost once a week for the last 3 semesters and not once have I ever seen these air nozzles used.
> everyone starts using air nozzles about the same time.
> I turn mine on pretty fast.
> gurgling noise from my nozzle
> wut.jpg
> before I realize what's happening about 400 ml of what I guess was condensation mixed with rust and god knows what spews out of the nozzle like a fire hydrant. This liquid had the color and consistency of gritty coffee but it smelled less like something chemical and more like something rotting.
>I get sprayed with mystery stink goo, partner gets sprayed, the girls behind us get spayed, lab equipment gets sprayed, walls get sprayed, everybody's papers get sprayed.
>everyone stares, none of the other nozzles spray anything
>my partner and I clean up and help the unfortunate team behind us do the same
>bell rings, last class of the day so everybody goes home, do experiment 2 the next day.

I found out later that this happened at least once before to someone who was one of the first guys to use the air nozzle after they'd been inactive for a while.

Is this something that happens?