Comment by left-struck
11 hours ago
> fun fact: modern cars release so little carbon monoxide, you won't kill yourself by starting one in a garage
Modern cars still release as much CO2 as older cars… which is still incompatible with human respiration.
Another fun fact: the body's suffocation response isn't caused by lack of oxygen. It's caused by high CO2 levels in the blood [0]. If your car floods the air with CO2, you will respond like someone is holding your head under water.
Carbon monoxide kills you by binding more strongly to the hemoglobin than the O2. You don't notice, because the CO2 removal mechanism continues to work fine. You'll usually die before realising anything is wrong.