Sterno® Canned Heat™ is a chafing fuel made from denatured and jellied alcohol. It is designed to be burned directly from its can. Its primary use is in the food service industry for buffet heating. Other uses are for camp stoves and as an emergency heat source. Sterno source:me Duk 06:27, 28 Oct 2004 (UTC) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Denatured alcohol is ethanol with added adulterants that make it useless for consumption as an intoxicating beverage by rendering it toxic or extremely distasteful to drink, but still useful for industrial processes or as a household chemical. ... In general usage, alcohol (from Arabic al-kukhÅ«l الكحول = the spirit, the chemical.) refers almost always to ethanol, also known as grain alcohol, and often to any beverage that contains ethanol (see alcoholic beverage). ... A Chinese buffet restaurant in the U.S. A buffet is a meal-serving system where patrons serve themselves. ... A small portable stove and its container A portable stove is a stove specially designed to be portable and lightweight, such as for camping. ...

Invented around 1900, Sterno is made from ethyl alcohol, methyl alcohol, water and an amphoteric oxide gelling agent, plus a dye that gives it a characteristic pink color. The product is designed to be odorless. A seven ounce (198 g) can will burn for up to two hours. Ethyl alcohol, also known as ethanol or grain alcohol, is a flammable, colorless chemical compound, one of the alcohols that is most often found in alcoholic beverages. ... Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol or wood alcohol, is a chemical compound with chemical formula CH3OH. It is the simplest alcohol, and is a light, volatile, colourless, flammable, poisonous liquid that is used as an antifreeze, solvent, fuel, and as a denaturant for ethyl alcohol. ... In chemistry, an amphoteric substance is one that can react as either an acid or base (more generally, the word describes something made of, or acting like, two components). ... A gel (from the lat. ...

Sterno was also involved in a court case where the poor were buying sterno to drink for its alcohol content. The store owner where it was purchased was held liable for not preventing the ingestion of the product. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Feinburg

Sterno references in popular culture

• Sterno has long been mixed with water and other liquids to produce a drink called "canned heat", "squeeze" or "pink lady". The product is squeezed through a rag to extract the alcohol. These alcoholic beverages, primarily used in poorer communities, have been linked to numerous deaths, including 31 people in Philadelphia in 1963.
• In the 1971 film The Andromeda Strain, a character claims to regularly ingest squeeze (Sterno) along with aspirin to treat a stomach ulcer — a questionable use at best of the denatured, thus poisonous cooking fuel.
• In The Dark Tower (book 7 of the Dark Tower series, by Stephen King) Roland and Susannah use Sterno to get away from a monster below the Dogan.

Philadelphia is a village located in Jefferson County, New York. ... 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) is a common year starting on Friday (click for link to calendar). ... The Andromeda Strain DVD The Andromeda Strain is a science-fiction novel published in 1969 by Michael Crichton about a team of scientists who investigate a deadly disease of extraterrestrial origin which causes rapid, fatal clotting of the blood. ... Aspirin or acetylsalicylic acid is a drug in the family of salicylates, often used as an analgesic (against minor pains and aches), antipyretic (against fever), and anti-inflammatory. ... The stomach (Gaster) In anatomy, the stomach (in ancient Greek στόμαχος) is an organ in the gastrointestinal tract used to digest food. ... Endoscopic images of a duodenal ulcer. ... This article is about the dangerous substance. ... The Dark Tower is a fantasy fiction, science fantasy, and western themed series of novels by the American writer Stephen King. ...

See also

• Portable stove

A small portable stove and its container MSR WindPro with skillet, heat reflector, wind shield and isobutane/propane canister A portable stove is a stove specially designed to be portable and lightweight, such as for camping. ...

External links

• Company web site
• Material Safety Data Sheet
• U.S. Patent 5,641,890
• Justice Jones's Opinion in Commonwealth of PA v. Max Feinburg