Possibly
You could cut sodium with a metal ruler, probably not a plastic one. And you could conceivably keep a bit out of the oil for half an hour or so if it oxidised neatly. Sodium oxide is quite inert. I still don't buy the bit about painlessly reacting with anyone's fingertips, though.

We used to have a huge tub of sodium that had sat on the shelf for yonks. It was massively unpredictable in the water bath. My theory is that cracks had propagated over time. When it reacted with water then the cracks filled with hydrogen and literally blew each chunk of sodium apart.

It was fucking useless for demonstrating reactivity because it went off with a bigger bang than the potassium.
( ousgg is not seeking approval, Sun 11 Sep 2011, 18:28, 1 reply)

It probably was..
Sodium then. Terrifying none-the-less.

As for the fingertips story, he seemed perfectly cheerful as half a dozen sparks popped on his finger tips. Could have claimed it didn't hurt as he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed.

Overall, it was a fucking stupid thing to do!
(Jon_LTD Treat the world like a head!, Sun 11 Sep 2011, 21:08, closed)