The confusion probably arises because both can be used On the skin: ether is used to remove the gunge left by Zinc oxide plaster, but you won't shift it with alcohol. Ethyl alcohol - rubbing alcohol - is used for bedsores And for spiking the fruit cup at junior doctors' parties (I remember using it to degrease my rosy cheeks - (ie my face!) as a teenager - I think it worked. sorry to get squidgy.
You need to look up a 'solvents' table (www) to see what Dissolves what. Ether is highly flammable and even explosive, Which is one reason it was dropped as an anaesthetic (another was that some patients stopped breathing - CNS depressant- and died, while others exploded on the operating table when they struck up the newfangled electric cautery kit). I could once (1950s) to buy it from the pharmacist as part of the mix for model aircraft diesel engines - but the chemist wanted to know why I needed it. You'd probably get a 3am visit from the antiterrorist squad if you tried it nowadays.. I'm told it's one of those sex enhancers like amyl acetate - don't try this at home, folks. The trouble is also, if you're not very very careful, You're going to damage your lovely French polish. Tim
