There was this plot point I wanted to use for this story where one of my characters poisons an energy drink. And I'm thinking the drink could be something like RedBull in one of those tall-skinny cans. The drink itself basically has to be an energy drink of some kind because of the way the story plays out, but I suppose it could be a plastic bottle if there is some kind of energy drink that is made that way. And so, my question is... is there a good way for my villain to poison said can/bottle using a syringe or some other tool? The thing I worry about with a syringe is that once you poke a hole in a can, that might make the drinks flat or perhaps such a hole would be easy to see. Perhaps right under the lid or something to that effect.
Tricky,with a can. Unless the poison is on the rim of the can, or on the top (on most cans now there is no ring pull, it is a push tab and that goes into the drink). I guess the bottom of the can could be injected (who looks at the bottom of a can before opening it) and then the hole sealed up using a soldering iron. With a plastic bottle perhaps the label could be removed, the poison injected and then the hole sealed up (with a bit of spare plastic and a soldering, or even some tape) and then the label replaced.
I actually like hole in the bottom of the can + soldering iron trick. I think having the drink be in can form would be easier to explain plot-wise because people are used to Energy Drinks coming in cans. Would a syringe go through aluminum? The crazy thing about this all is though, is all of this though might turn into one sentence of explanation because this isn't too big of a deal story wise, but I need to be able to say something like "I saw one of the cans had a soldered up hole in the bottom, meaning something was injected inside." I could be vague and just say something had been injected into a can, but then someone might think "well, it's not that easy to do so, how did they do it?"
Hi, With wine bottles it was easy to use a syringe and then wax the cork after. Because when you pulled the syringe out the cork naturally re-expanded to fill most of the hole anyway. But with a tin can I'm not sure you'd be able to do it without the fizz escaping. Better to coat the top of the can with the poison so that when he drinks from it his lips come in direct contact with the can as well as the liquid. Cheers, Greg.
Yes, a syringe would go through aluminium. I think the problem would not be the fizz escaping, but the liquid (because it is pressurised). Not sure if cooling the can right down would help.
Yeah, coating the top of the can I suppose is an option as well. I was thinking soldering could work because it would give physical evidence that the can was poisoned that they could point to. It seems to me that even if you saw it on the bottom of the can, the average person might not make the connection "hey, this can has been seriously tampered with". And presumably the villain has like 30 minutes to an hour to sabatoge like 12 drinks (because he doesn't know which one the victim will take), so something like that could work. Thank you both, you've given me a few ideas to mess around with and I could go with either one depending on how I want the story to play out.
Okay, having some science experience in this field I would let you know that if you puncture the can even through the thickest part of the can you stand a very high chance of the can exploding do to rupturing the can and the pressure escaping. Youtube it, there's videos of it happening. Coating the top of the can would work however it would need to be a poison that doesn't evaporate or leave a liquid residue that is noticeable to the eye. However, Jolt Cola, and I believe there is a mountain dew product that are both energy drinks that don't come in cans. If you use a very small gauge needle on a plastic bottle the plastic itself reseals, though the pressure does slowly escape flattening the soda, giving you between 4-6 hours before it become flat. One of the best methods to use would make a pretend/sythnized chemical that when it interacts with the with the combination of energy drink that it becomes poisonous. That be easier because you just have to put a small amount on the depressed part of the can so when it touches the liquid it causes a microscopic chemical reaction. Thus creating your poison, and then you don't have to actually get the poison into the can itself before consumption. But that is only my suggestion. Hope it helps a bit.
If it's an aluminum can, no dice, the pressure will rush out. If it's plastic, simply use a hypodermic needle near the air bubble. The drip, if there is any, will be unnoticeable until it is too late.
A small puncture in an aluminum can would allow pressure to escape, but slowly. The can would not explode. The puncture could be sealed with a small bead of epoxy or silicone rubber cement. The puncture could be found by close examination, but might escape a casual perusal.
I would have said you want to coat the bottle in something. Far surer way. Contact poisons, two part combiners, part on the main body, part on the cap.
