Tintin Forums

Tintin gets chloroformed many times during the series, sometimes even by accident. One could say it is his most formidable foe. Not only am I curious as to whether some of the scenes involving chloroform should be believable (such as the one in Black Island), but I'm also wondering how chloroform works in real life.

For example, how does chloroform make you faint? Could it knock a person out as easily as it does Tintin in many of the books, and does it do that by making you feel very sleepy? Does it really give off a sweet smell and could you build up a resistance to it? And how long does it take to recover from getting chloroformed and would it make you feel ill and give you uncomfortable after-effects like nausea once you've woken up?

I would prefer facts, but speculation and opinions would be interesting too.

Interesting question, I've also wondered this myself!
Without knowing the correct answer I would guess that there would be side effects upon waking up.
I'm guessing you would be slightly disorientated, possible headache and slightly nauseous..
I'm sure you would be quite tired and sleepy!..

Don't quote me on this, but I think I heard somewhere that too much exposure to it can lead to longterm damage overall. So Tintin better watch out!

Chloroform has been used as an anaesthetic. I read somewhere that Queen Victoria used chloroform while giving birth to one of her children since it eased the pain.

Here is an interesting article on its medical use - simple enough for laymen like me.

However, according to an article on the criminal use of chloroform, its use by robbers and kidnappers is more legend than fact. It requires a certain amount of expertise in order to get the right dose to knock out a victim without doing considerable damage to his health or even killing him. Also, even for an expert anaesthetist working in a hospital, it can take up to five minutes to actually render a patient unconscious using chloroform.

Thus, if you tried to use it in order to rob someone, chances are that the victim will be able to fight back long before the chloroform has had any effect.

There have been cases of doctors being accused of using the stuff in order to commit sexual assault, but apparently it was very difficult to prove in court that chloroform was actually used.

The scene in "Black Island" may be possible: without doing the research I'm assuming that a large amount of chloroform from a bottle combined with the heat of the burning house could have knocked Tintin out.

On the other hand, the scenes in "Unicorn" in which Sakharine and Tintin are put to sleep by chloroform are unlikely.

I think it is the concentration. I got what you mean by amount, but for better clarity I'd suggest you use this word. Amount could become a dubious word, especially when you talk about chemicals.


I don't think it's that unlikely. It's just possible, though just little volume is used, when the concentration is high enough to put them into sleep. Say, were these thugs clumsy enough in dosage, the chloroform could be just enough to get them into the sleep. (but considering that high-concentration chloroform wasn't sold freely, I think this comment gets its point.)

I just get the impression from reading the articles mentioned above that a small dose would not be enough to knock a man out instantly - as in the case of Tintin in "Unicorn". It would take some time, almost five minutes.

When it comes to criminal usage, chloroform is just seen as not a very effective weapon compared to say a cosh, like the one used on Tintin on board ship in "Crab with the Golden Claws".

This might interest you.
It's more than a century old, but perhaps could give you some insight into the usage.
When I read the article mct16 linked ti, chloroform is actually used and preferred for it gave quicker anesthetic effect compared to ether (though now other anesthesia is used for chloroform is anticipated as a human carcinogen - something that can give human cancer).

I've also checked Wikipedia, and it shows that 10ml (14.8 gram) is actually enough for you to have a death due to respiratory or cardiac arrest.

And speaking of knocking man out with any kind of poison (whatever it could be - arsenic, chloroform, anything), it might never give quicker results than knocking out the man physically (like, for instance, by cosh). Poison (yes, any poison) takes time to react in the body, and depending on the man's immune system, the time the poison takes to react might vary for each man. While 10ml of chloroform can give you death, it still takes time for reacting in your body.