cationic cocktail

hardware (Or "Downy cocktail") Diluted fabric softener

sprayed on computer room carpets to prevent static electricity

from being built up by feet shuffling on carpet.

The canonical cationic cocktail is one part unscented liquid

fabric softener (in the US, usually "Downy" brand) to five

parts water.

"Cationic" is the chemical term for the most common active

ingredient in fabric softeners. The use of the term

"cocktail" may be influenced by its use in other jargons,

especially pharmacological and chemical, to denote a mixture

which, like cationic cocktail, typically contains no alcohol

and would be unwise to drink.

(1998-04-04)