# How did I get duped? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 24, 2025, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-i-get-duped/1017458 "2025-04-24T21:34:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2025, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-i-get-duped/1017458/61 "2025-04-26T18:40:06Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > Another subset I have noticed is that there are companies that produce ingots of pure elements in the same form as gold or silver bars. Nice looking but a display bar of copper or aluminum costs about a hell of a lot more then the melt value. You can also buy lots of metals as 1 cm cubes [https://www.amazon.com/Tungsten-Aluminum-Cube-Set-1cm/dp/B01MYFH3VJ](https://www.amazon.com/Tungsten-Aluminum-Cube-Set-1cm/dp/B01MYFH3VJ) (1 cm cubes have been used as scale references in photos long before bananas.) ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2025, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-i-get-duped/1017458/62 "2025-04-26T19:00:45Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > There’s a pretty good chance that there are a few molecules of all the elements in the display. The plexiglass is full of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, so there’s that. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2025, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-i-get-duped/1017458/63 "2025-04-26T19:36:38Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Aren’t a bunch of those elements at the bottom only in existence in a lab for a fraction of a second at a time? Yes, as Randall indicated, which means that that bottom row will be in constant flux as the decay products decay themselves in turn until they finally hit a stable isotope, leaving a huge smouldering radioactive crater in the ground. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2025, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-i-get-duped/1017458/64 "2025-04-26T19:56:39Z")
Don’t forget the five elements in the air in your room! We’re not giving that away for free you know! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2025, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-i-get-duped/1017458/65 "2025-04-26T20:22:47Z")
Given your Avatar avatar, those would be earth, fire, water, air, and ??? ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2025, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-i-get-duped/1017458/66 "2025-04-26T23:15:23Z")
I thought this thread was going to be about this. [![](https://greenwoodsoftware.com/misc/duped.jpg) ](https://greenwoodsoftware.com/misc/duped.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2025, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-i-get-duped/1017458/67 "2025-04-26T23:29:15Z")
No, no apparently that is a different word from “duped” as in scammed. That’s a duplicate Kirk. Oh wait, isn’t a “dupe” as in duplicate or fake, just another way of saying scam or rip-off? ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2025, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-i-get-duped/1017458/68 "2025-04-27T00:13:36Z")
Never mind. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2025, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-i-get-duped/1017458/69 "2025-04-27T00:45:17Z")
No, they’re unrelated words. “Dupe” meaning to copy comes from “duplicate” which comes from Latin “duplicare” meaning “to double”. “Dupe” meaning to scam or deceive comes from French “dupe” or “duppe” meaning “a deluded person”. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2025, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-i-get-duped/1017458/70 "2025-04-27T01:15:51Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > No, they’re unrelated words. Though you might get duped by a duplicitous person. Basically “two-faced”. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2025, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-i-get-duped/1017458/71 "2025-04-27T01:18:31Z")
Or a bird. It seems. Hooboo or something like that. Considered a dumb bird. I guess. “Dupe” like copy or “Dupe” like hooboo bird? I don’t know. Think I’m gonna believe it my way. Keep it straight in my head. Don’t need to confuse a Dodo bird and Hooboo bird when I call someone a “Dupe” or a fake who effing scammed me on a periodic table of fake (or “duped”) elements embedded in acrylic. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2025, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-i-get-duped/1017458/72 "2025-04-27T01:41:46Z")
If you want to be absolutely positive that you aren’t getting duped, this one seems pretty legit. It is a touch bigger and you want to make sure you mount it on studs, not drywall. It’s also back-ordered, but that just means that it must be a bargain. > **[Cube Display and 118 Element cubes (temporary backorder)](https://engineeredlabs.com/products/cube-display-and-118-element-cubes?pr_prod_strat=e5_desc)** > > This Cube Display is a "plug and play" set meant for everyone from universities to private collectors. It comes with all 118-element cubes as well as a custom-built display case to hold them. If you are looking for a piece you can get excited about... ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2025, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-i-get-duped/1017458/73 "2025-04-27T02:02:39Z")
[![](https://img.gifglobe.com/grabs/montypython/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail/gif/PVXLGRk9kooy.gif) ](https://img.gifglobe.com/grabs/montypython/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail/gif/PVXLGRk9kooy.gif) [sorry for the ‘just a GIF,’ but it needed to be done] ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2025, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-i-get-duped/1017458/74 "2025-04-27T13:31:45Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > For some time I have wanted a periodic table with tiny pieces of real elements to display. Here is what happened to a guy in Australia who wanted the same thing: > **[Australian who ordered radioactive materials over the internet walks away...](https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/australian-who-ordered-radioactive-materials-over-the-internet-walks-away-from-court/4021306.article)** > > Emmanuel Lidden had been attempting to collect every element on the periodic table > **After ordering various radioactive samples over the internet in an effort to collect the entire periodic table** , Emmanuel Lidden pleaded guilty to two charges: moving nuclear material into Australia and possessing nuclear material without a permit. > > **While his actions were criminal, the judge concluded that Lidden had mental health issues** and displayed no malicious intent. He is the first person in Australia to be sentenced under the 1987 nuclear non-proliferation act for the importation and possession of nuclear material without the appropriate permits. > > The delivery of the materials – which included a quantity of plutonium, depleted uranium, lutetium, thorium and radium – led to a major hazmat incident in August 2023. The entire street that Lidden lived on was closed off and homes were evacuated as Australian Border Force officials, firefighters, police and paramedics investigated. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2025, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-i-get-duped/1017458/75 "2025-04-27T13:52:52Z")
That one looks good, but what I _really_ want is a periodic table table or a periodic table ^2, If you get a coffee table periodic table, the squares for the radioactive elements could be used to keep your coffee hot (though ideally not hot, as in radioactive). And while doing research on periodic table tables, you may want to build a chart showing the various options, including the number of elements included and their cost. That could be a periodic table table table or a periodic table ^3. Another option; I’m thinking of writing a comprehensive large format tome on the history of the periodic table and all of the elements. A periodic table coffee table book in other words. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2025, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-i-get-duped/1017458/76 "2025-04-27T13:58:41Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > The delivery of the materials – which included a quantity of plutonium How in the heck did that guy get ahold of ‘a quantity’ of plutonium, I wonder?!? I thought that, as one of the most toxic substances in the world, it was also one of the most tightly controlled. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2025, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-i-get-duped/1017458/77 "2025-04-27T14:41:42Z")
Just get hydrogen and label it ‘some assembly required’ ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2025, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-i-get-duped/1017458/78 "2025-04-27T15:59:54Z")
Everything changed when krypton attacked. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2025, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-i-get-duped/1017458/79 "2025-04-27T16:23:48Z")
> [@solost](#): > > How in the heck did that guy get ahold of ‘a quantity’ of plutonium, I wonder?!? I thought that, as one of the most toxic substances in the world, it was also one of the most tightly controlled. “Oh, my God, they found me, I don’t know how, but they found me. Run for it Marty!” ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2025, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-i-get-duped/1017458/80 "2025-04-27T16:44:48Z")
> [@solost](#): > > How in the heck did that guy get ahold of ‘a quantity’ of plutonium, I wonder?!? I thought that, as one of the most toxic substances in the world, it was also one of the most tightly controlled. Here you go. > **[Soviet Union Era Smoke Detector Source RID-6M (plutonium sample) | eBay](https://www.ebay.com/itm/316718259382?_skw=plutonium&itmmeta=01JSW2183D5PJ6VA11HCRBYYKD&hash=item49bde11cb6:g:0NEAAeSwFFRoDHtG&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA4FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1exfbiDjX051ZQoFpoZIrGIXhwZQA9HSmXqf6PHFsYl0nPtnGUXIt6boakpNdv0D1dwCDeQ9ab0MuzubPqtdd%2BZ%2FHROUvCd1jlDD%2BvXn75jlMcKKHKwGcfD29pDLawE32rnRlZ%2BjJdSPKure6yMcSQf7oMlrFhvObIx%2FzLPCLAFDwEyrowulEQLSfk1QHB%2FqlS%2Bk%2FWPHculsNWTiP0x5CrVIoncWy9fLqWqsn7uZs3BQ8LO2Rs9GlK68TaWbW5rj%2BR06Thoi9om84NKH80Ic4zR%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR5SChYLPZQ)** > > Im fairly certain it is a RID-6M although im not 100% sure, im almost certain its a smoke detector source from the soviet union era which means it contains Pu-239 and Pu-241, as well as Am-241 as a daughter isotope, all amounts in tangible... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-i-get-duped/1017458.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-i-get-duped/1017458.md?page=5)