It makes me remember the time when I accidentally broke our mercury thermostat and my dad got so angry at me… At least I was able to pick up the mercury before long. My parents then told me how dangerous it is to have mercury lying about in your house…
This is pretty cool, a common misconception with mercury is that it is toxic. It is, however only the vapors and the nitrates that form when they react with air. The metal itself is pretty safe, but can react with air, etc.