When people think about dry ice, one of the first things that come to mind is how it creates a fog when water is poured on top of it. This helps to create some very interesting special effects that are used in concerts or in a magic show where the magician appears to vanish.

But the smoky fog effect is not the only use of dry ice. One of the most common things that people cook using dry ice is ice cream. Usually when you make ice cream at home, you need to crush the dry ice first by putting it in to a plastic bag with a good seal (Ziploc) and then smashing it with either a mallet or a hammer. The reason you would never touch dry ice is because of what it would do to your skin. Dry ice is composed of solid carbon dioxide, which when it heats up, turns into carbon dioxide gas. Because dry ice temperatures range between -109.3 and -78.5 Fahrenheit degrees, if held for extensive periods of time, would cause severe frost bite and damage to your skin.

Even though it is so dangerous, it is also used to prepare sea food. The extremely cold temperature burns through the food, making it cut into smaller pieces. Though the methods of cooking food using dried ice are innovative, putting such dangerous chemicals near food is a bad idea. If those chemicals get inside our body, they could end up being toxic to us. Absorbing one percent could cause drowsiness; around seven to ten percent would cause dizziness, headaches and seeing as well as hearing dysfunction, and possibly causing one to become unconscious after only a few minutes.