Klarinet Archive - Posting 000580.txt from 1995/04

From: Bill Parker <bill@-----.AU>
Subj: Re: KLARINET Digest - 26 Apr 1995 to 27 Apr 1995
Date: Sat, 29 Apr 1995 11:27:35 -0400

>On April 25, Dan Leeson said:
>---
>It is one thing to suggest that bacteria in saliva might cause some change in
>the clarinet, and quite another to establish as fact that such a change
>defines the thing called blow out.

I missed Dan's comments, but I did see another mention of strepto carcal
bacteria a little later. Carcal? Who they?

I don't know what people imagine the organisms in saliva do to the
materials of clarinets, but since most of the bugs that reside in our
mouths are not too clever at surviving in the harsh outside world it is
unlikely that they will be able to do much structural damage. The
implication is that the the microbial flora we live with can make "leaps"
in their own metabolism that will cause changes to wood and other
materials. This is most unlikely since they are well adapted commensal
organisms, sometimes pathogens, and will have very limited survival
capacities once ejected from the mouth. No doubt the Staphs and Strepts do
survive in nooks and crannies that are not cleaned fastidiously, but to
contemplate an active metabolic role in some kind of wood modification is
far fetched.

(dr) Bill Parker
Can we afford to go on wasting solar energy?
:bill@-----.au *OR*
:bill@-----.au
(+ 619) 328 3804 phone /fax Box 175 North Perth Australia 6006