DP MYTHBUSTERS : Blowing in NES Cartridges

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Whatever the case may be, my years of experience as a Nintendo owner since 1985, years as a gamer/collector, and five years as manager of a Funcoland during the absolute height of their NES, SNES, Genesis, GameBoy, etc. trade-in business, I've seen hundreds if not thousands of game cartridges that were clearly in some type of "environmental conditions" that produced corrosion and damage, and every time I took a trade in with cartridges in that condition I would ask "did you blow on these to get them to work?" the answer would always be a resounding "yes".

Admittedly, I'm no scientist, I don't know the difference between a patina and green mold on a molecular level, but if you review my theories with the understanding that I'm just looking for evidence of damage (or the potential to cause damage) based on moisture from human breath, then you should have a clear understanding of what I was getting at.

I Don't know what else I can add.

I don't care if I'm perpetuating an incorrect scientific theory ... if I stop just a few people from blowing in NES cartridges I think that future collectors will benefit from it.

[wiggyx]

God, I hate being "that guy" who's bumping a 4 year old thread after it's already been bumped-back-from-the-dead once before, but I can most definitely provide evidence that the ol' blow the cartridge trick can seriously damage you cartridge-based games over a period of time, and not just leave a pretty patina.

No matter what "science" one may provide as evidence in order to disprove or discredit the efficacy of this technique, in both the long and short term, it seems absurd to do so when there's an incalculable amount of evidence to the contrary, collected over the last ~3 decades by countless gamers that says "it works" (no matter what the actual reason is for its ability to do so). Simply put, people wouldn't do so if it didn't work.

Back on topic, I have an ex-grilfriend who's little brother would literally lick the contacts on his N64 carts. That's right, not a gentle 'phwwwww', but a full-on French kiss. At one point, knowing how much of a game nerd that I was, she asked if I could help him with a few of his games that were no longer working*. I fiddled with them a bit, grabbed some Q-tips from her bathroom along with an alcohol solution in order to give them the gentle cleaning that I'm sure you're all familiar with. I didn't have much luck, and asked if I could take them home to pop 'em open and have a look (I'm not so nerdy that I carry Nintendo security drivers on my person, but I most definitely have a set at home). When I did get them home and pop them open, HOLY SHIT, the contacts (and in some instances, a good chunk of the boards) were coated in mountains of buildup! Repulsive as this sounds (and it was), I saw bringing 'em back to life as a small challenge, on top of the fact that it would most likely score me some reward nookie for helping out**

I performed every trick that I knew with regards to reviving carts in this state. I used an entire bag of 000 steel wool, then a bag of 00, THEN a bag of 0. When I finally cut through all the buildup (think blistered paint on a 93 Honda's rear quarter), all I found were completely severed traces and holes (not pits) in the contacts (sorta like trying to find the actual metal surface under said blistered paint on said early 90's Honda). These things were fucked. And remember, these are N64 carts, not NES or SNES. Also, this was in 1999, when the 64 was still available at your local TRU, not 9 months ago or anything like that.

Of course I understand that this is a pretty extreme example, but if that sort of corrosion can occur in such a short amount of time, with that level of abuse, then it seems fairly safe to surmise that a more moderate level of abuse over a much longer period of time could provide a similar result.



*As a little footnote, before the question is asked, the games were kept in a finished/waterproofed basement inside a lidded plastic container when not in use (all sloppy-like, but still in a closed, air-tight container).

**I received no reward nookie.

[Polygon]

Well, since it's here I'll drop a couple of comments.

When you blow into a cartridge you impart moisture on the contacts. And it's not moisture from your breath. Because the steam from your breath will evaporate within a couple of seconds. When you blow on a cartridge, with that expelled carbon dioxide there is small amount of saliva. Saliva contains a lot of bacteria, minerals, and is also a mild solvent. It is not something you want sitting on electrical contacts, or any part of an electronic device for that matter. It will slowly eat at the electrical contacts through corrosion.

Oh, and patina is just a fancy word for corrosion.

[wiggyx]

Well, since it's here I'll drop a couple of comments.

When you blow into a cartridge you impart moisture on the contacts. And it's not moisture from your breath. Because the steam from your breath will evaporate within a couple of seconds. When you blow on a cartridge, with that expelled carbon dioxide there is small amount of saliva. Saliva contains a lot of bacteria, minerals, and is also a mild solvent. It is not something you want sitting on electrical contacts, or any part of an electronic device for that matter. It will slowly eat at the electrical contacts through corrosion.

You expell far more N2 and O2 than you do CO2, just so you know.

It's far more likely that the exhaled air, which has a relative humidity level of 100%, would evenly coat the contacts than a random spattering of saliva. Blow on a price of glass and let me know how much saliva is still there after the water evaporates. That small amount of moisture need only be present for a seconds. How long do you think it takes to insert the cart after blowing on it? That moisture will have a hard time escaping from two contacts pressed against each other, and as someone else already said, it only takes a very, VERY small amount to promote conductivity.

Water + O2 = corrosion. Sure, saliva will hasten the process (as evidenced by my story), but is NOT a requirement for corrosion by any means.

Oh, and patina is just a fancy word for corrosion.

No shit.

[JSoup]

Simply put, people wouldn't do so if it didn't work.

That, my friends, is an example of staggeringly faulty logic.

[wiggyx]

That, my friends, is an example of staggeringly faulty logic.

Why on Earth would people go out of their way to blow on cartridge contacts if it didn't produce a result?

Care to explain?

[JSoup]

Why on Earth would people go out of their way to blow on cartridge contacts if it didn't produce a result?

Care to explain?

Monkey see, monkey do.

[wiggyx]

Monkey see, monkey do.

[kedawa]

I never blew in my cartridges.
I would just gently breath on the contacts, and it worked every single time.

[treismac]

(I'm not so nerdy that I carry Nintendo security drivers on my person, but I most definitely have a set at home)

**I received no reward nookie.[/I]

Had you been carrying a 3.8 and 4.5 security bit on your key chain, this story would have ended very differently.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

God, I hate being "that guy" who's bumping a 4 year old thread after it's already been bumped-back-from-the-dead once before, but I can most definitely provide evidence that the ol' blow the cartridge trick can seriously damage you cartridge-based games over a period of time, and not just leave a pretty patina.

No matter what "science" one may provide as evidence in order to disprove or discredit the efficacy of this technique, in both the long and short term, it seems absurd to do so when there's an incalculable amount of evidence to the contrary, collected over the last ~3 decades by countless gamers that says "it works" (no matter what the actual reason is for its ability to do so). Simply put, people wouldn't do so if it didn't work.

Back on topic, I have an ex-grilfriend who's little brother would literally lick the contacts on his N64 carts. That's right, not a gentle 'phwwwww', but a full-on French kiss. At one point, knowing how much of a game nerd that I was, she asked if I could help him with a few of his games that were no longer working*. I fiddled with them a bit, grabbed some Q-tips from her bathroom along with an alcohol solution in order to give them the gentle cleaning that I'm sure you're all familiar with. I didn't have much luck, and asked if I could take them home to pop 'em open and have a look (I'm not so nerdy that I carry Nintendo security drivers on my person, but I most definitely have a set at home). When I did get them home and pop them open, HOLY SHIT, the contacts (and in some instances, a good chunk of the boards) were coated in mountains of buildup! Repulsive as this sounds (and it was), I saw bringing 'em back to life as a small challenge, on top of the fact that it would most likely score me some reward nookie for helping out**

I performed every trick that I knew with regards to reviving carts in this state. I used an entire bag of 000 steel wool, then a bag of 00, THEN a bag of 0. When I finally cut through all the buildup (think blistered paint on a 93 Honda's rear quarter), all I found were completely severed traces and holes (not pits) in the contacts (sorta like trying to find the actual metal surface under said blistered paint on said early 90's Honda). These things were fucked. And remember, these are N64 carts, not NES or SNES. Also, this was in 1999, when the 64 was still available at your local TRU, not 9 months ago or anything like that.

Of course I understand that this is a pretty extreme example, but if that sort of corrosion can occur in such a short amount of time, with that level of abuse, then it seems fairly safe to surmise that a more moderate level of abuse over a much longer period of time could provide a similar result.



*As a little footnote, before the question is asked, the games were kept in a finished/waterproofed basement inside a lidded plastic container when not in use (all sloppy-like, but still in a closed, air-tight container).

**I received no reward nookie.

Thanks for sharing, your story is a much appreciated contribution to this ancient thread.

However, in my original time working on this thread as well as all the years prior and the years that followed, I found that there will always been a set of gamers/collectors that will always deny the harmful effects of blowing into cartridges and live convinced that there's nothing wrong with it/that it's a completely reasonable practice to partake in.

I am completely and totally done trying to convince any last person who believes that no damage can be had from blowing into cartridges. I've had it up to here (points at a space about a foot above my head) with people who think that the procedure is harmless and that no amount of evidence says otherwise, so please don't expect any further examination of the process from me.

I'll leave the "mythbusting" to Jamie and Adam in the future.