Don't roast marshmallows at Hawaii volcano: US Geological Survey tells Twitter user
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"Is it safe to roast marshmallows over volcanic lava?" The US Geological Survey had a time-out from tweeting out updates on Hawaii’s Kilauea volcanic eruption when a user posted out asking if, "it is OK to roast marshmallows over volcanic lava".
A Twitter user by the name Jay Fur went on asking if "a long enough stick" would serve the purpose or, "would the resulting marshmallows be poisonous?".
USGS's piquant reply had social media cracked up, "Erm... we're going to have to say no, that's not safe. (Please don't try!)," USGS's tweet read.
The USGS explained in detail why roasting marshmallows is not good idea stating, "if the vent is emitting a lot of SO2 or H2S, they would taste BAD. And if you add sulfuric acid (in vog, for example) to sugar, you get a pretty spectacular reaction".
Erm...we're going to have to say no, that's not safe. (Please don't try!) If the vent is emitting a lot of SO2 or H2S, they would taste BAD. And if you add sulfuric acid (in vog, for example) to sugar, you get a pretty spectacular reaction.
— USGS Volcanoes? (@USGSVolcanoes) May 29, 2018
Kilauea rumbled back to life on May 3 as it began extruding lava and toxic gases through a series of cracks in the ground on its eastern flank, marking the latest phase of an eruption cycle that has continued nearly nonstop for 35 years.
The occurrence of new lava vents, or fissures, now numbering about two dozen, have been accompanied by flurries of earthquakes and intermittent eruptions from the summit crater, including a magnitude 5.3 tremor measured on Wednesday.
(With inputs from agencies)