Killer light bulbs?

Now I think this is probably not true however, when I was a child my mother used to tell me to be very careful when handling a light bulb because if it cut me I could die. The reason for this, she said, was the coating on the glass bulb was poisonous and if it cut me it would enter my bloodstream and make me sick. I have never found anything about this so it leads me to conclude that it is not true, does anybody know for sure?

[Malruhn]

First off, welcome to the boards!!

Now, to the topic at hand...

Flourescent bulbs do have a drop of mercury in them. The powder coating in all lightbulbs isn't good for you. Explody glass can cut you, and the slivers are DARNED small.

So all in all, I think she may have just been really protective and projected what she had heard about flourescent tubes to regular bulbs.

Can anyone else get closer than my WAG (wild arsed guess)??

[Mycroft]

No, your guess would appear to be good; flourescent tubes do have an internal phosphorescent coating which is potentially hazardous, although not in the one-touch-and-you-die league.