Isopropyl alcohol, also known as rubbing alcohol, is very toxic if ingested. This is because it acts to destroy the digestive proteins and other important biomolecules in your stomach. Do this...

Isopropyl alcohol, also known as rubbing alcohol, is very toxic if ingested. This is because it acts to destroy the digestive proteins and other important biomolecules in your stomach. Do this activity to see firsthand the destructive action of isopropyl alcohol on proteins. Crack open an egg, and put the egg white and the yolk into two separate bowls. Pour a capful of isopropyl alcohol into the egg white and observe what happens. In the second bowl, stir the yolk with a fork. Add another capful of isopropyl alcohol to the stirred yolk and observe what happens. The same sort of destruction would occur to your own stomach proteins, as well as various tissues, if you ingested the isopropyl alcohol. Not good! Our skin, however, is more impervious to the destructive powers of isopropyl alcohol, which therefore serves as a good topical antiseptic.