[tlhIngan Hol] Klingon Word of the Day: tarngeb

[Steven Boozer]

Thanks for the references, Lieven.  Perhaps {tarngeb} is a reference to radiation poisoning?

"Ingestion of high concentrations of uranium, however, can cause severe health effects, such as cancer of the bone or liver. Inhaling large concentrations of uranium can cause lung cancer from the exposure to alpha particles. Uranium is also a toxic chemical, meaning that ingestion of uranium can cause kidney damage from its chemical properties much sooner than its radioactive properties would cause cancers of the bone or liver."
    < https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/radiation/emergencies/isotopes/uranium.htm >

Under Stalin, the Kolyma mines of the Magadan region of Eastern Siberia were infamous. In addition to the usual dangers of the GuLAG, the Soviets began mining uranium in large amounts there for the Soviet atom bomb project.  Prisoners working inside the mines with *very* primitive equipment (and breathing the dust without protective clothing) soon started dying of radiation poisoning.  This wasn't a problem for the government as there were always new prisoners to replace the dead ones.  (For an overview, see Zhores A. Medvedev's article "Stalin and the Atomic Gulag" at https://www.spokesmanbooks.com/Spokesman/PDF/medvedev69.pdf )

Is tungsten also known to be poisonous?

-- Voragh

-----------------------------------Original Message-----------------------------------
From: Lieven L. Litaer

Am 03.02.2021 um 16:40 schrieb Steven Boozer:
> Voragh, Ca'Non Master of the Klingons
>      Please contribute relevant vocabulary from the last year or two. I’ve fallen
>      behind in updating my files and adding cross-references for related words.

From qepHom 2020:

This seems to be made up of tar "poison" and ngeb "be fake," but Maltz had no idea why this element would be called "fake poison," so maybe it's just a coincidence.
(http://klingon.wiki/Word/Tarngeb)

See also: {targho'nI'} "tungsten":

Here's another element that seems to have something to do with poison (tar), though Maltz didn't know what gho'nI' might mean. He said he'd never noticed a connection between poison and some elements before and doesn't know what to make of it. Did Klingons at some point use uranium and/or tungsten to make poison?
(http://klingon.wiki/Word/Targho-nI-)

Find a list of Elements on this page:
http://klingon.wiki/En/Chemistry