# I own three pieces of Trinitite! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 28, 2004, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-own-three-pieces-of-trinitite/266444 "2004-09-28T06:06:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-own-three-pieces-of-trinitite/266444/21 "2004-09-28T23:38:41Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > \*\* Triskadecamus\*\* – > What do you think of my list? A Trilobite Fossil: I used to have a cast of that famous big one, but it broke. A piece of amber with an insect in it: I actually have a piece of amber, but no bug. Plasma sculpture: Nope. Don’t even want one. Not geeky, tacky. At least 1 Lava Lamp: Please. A collection of powerful magnets (away from your computer). Got Those. And why not a lodestone?: Gave it to a kid I know. A replica dinosaur skull: Naah, all the really cool ones are too big. A stuffed armadillo: Ewwww, taxidermy! An Astrolabe: I came -\> \<- This close to buying a model of Tycho’s own astrolabe. But man, that sucker was expensive! I would kill for a daggar with an inscribed Elvish name. Still haven’t lost all hope on the silver bullet thing, either. Tris ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-own-three-pieces-of-trinitite/266444/22 "2004-09-29T00:21:42Z")
> [@Triskadecamus](#): > > OK, [The turtle dung is on the left, Trinitite in the center, and a penny for scale.](http://www.alwaysbackup.com/~michaelk/images/Trinitite.jpg) > Tris Cute, it looks like a little map of Iraq. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-own-three-pieces-of-trinitite/266444/23 "2004-09-29T01:18:19Z")
**Tris** , check your e-mail . . . _again_. Tripler I’d be willing to “trade” things. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-own-three-pieces-of-trinitite/266444/24 "2004-09-29T01:33:56Z")
> [@Tripler](#): > > I’d be willing to “trade” things. 😃 I don’t think **Tris** is that kind of guy:D ::FLEEEEEEEEEES:: ---
**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-own-three-pieces-of-trinitite/266444/25 "2004-09-29T01:42:24Z")
> [@iampunha](#): > > ::FLEEEEEEEEEES:: Run through here naked, and you get exposed to more radiation than you get living in Denver for a year! Tris ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-own-three-pieces-of-trinitite/266444/26 "2004-09-29T01:50:47Z")
> [@Jonathan Chance](#): > > Ecosphere’s are cool, man. Don’t bring them down. > > I got one for Lady Chance for her birthday last year and she’s loving it. Those shrimp are like sims to her. i hate to break it to you, but Ecospheres are _NOT_ balanced environments, not even close… [Cite](http://www.petshrimp.com/hawaiianredshrimp.html) > [@Petshrimp.com](#): > > Sadly, this little shrimp is currently being abused by being sold in tiny, spherical, fully sealed glass containers widely called “ecospheres.” It is claimed by the companies that sell them that they are selling a fully functioning ecosystem with the shrimp and the algae keeping each other alive. However, that is a sad and devious lie, which is being propagated by these companies for the sake of profits and to the detriment of these wonderful animals. The truth is that these shrimp are slowly _starving to death_, _suffocating_ and being _poisoned_ in those containers, due to lack of food and oxygen, and the accumulation of shrimp waste. This kind of container would kill any other shrimp within a few days, but it takes 1-3 years for Hawaiian Red Shrimp to finally die, since it has developed such a remarkable physiology to deal with extreme situations. During this 1-3 year torture, they actually _shrink_ (every time they molt) due to lack of food, which means that they are basically consuming their own body. ---
**Author:** ![emekthian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecae2f/32.png) [@emekthian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emekthian)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-own-three-pieces-of-trinitite/266444/27 "2004-09-29T01:54:01Z")
The Trinitite’s pretty cool. I’d prefer the Klien bottle or an Astrolabe myself, but still, rock that came from a nuclear explosion is pretty damn nifty. ---
**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-own-three-pieces-of-trinitite/266444/28 "2004-09-29T01:57:07Z")
So my thread has been take over by the Brine Shrimp Anti-defamation League? You don’t hear anyone speaking out for the molds, do you? No. Just spray the old Shower Stall WMD Spray, and watch their little bodies shrivle and bleach into oblivion. Get over yourselves guys, and go crusade for Easter Chicks, or something else with a notochord! Tris ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-own-three-pieces-of-trinitite/266444/29 "2004-09-29T06:58:11Z")
When I was a kid, I had a rock collection (Christmas gift). Anyway, it included a chunk of carnotite (which is an ore of uranium). I liked it, becuase it would glow a faint blue in the dark! This chunk of ore spend years on my bookshelf…was it harming me?? ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-own-three-pieces-of-trinitite/266444/30 "2004-09-29T07:32:36Z")
**ralph124c** —Probably as badly as the Depleted Uranium 20mm round that’s on my bookshelf. By the way, **Tris** , are you sure it’s REAL Trinitite? (Aside from using a geiger counter, though, I’m not sure how you’d check…maybe sticking it next to some unexposed film before you developed it. Or maybe checking for [condensation trails left by Alpha particles in a cloud chamber](http://www.ap.stmarys.ca/demos/content/modern/alpha_particles_in_a_cloud_chamber/alpha_particles_in_a_cloud_chamber.html)…assuming Trinitite’s even an alpha emitter.) Anyway…I know the silver bullet project kind of fell through, but is there any kind of supernatural or science-fiction beastie you could use a Trinitite bullet on, if the situation called for it? ---
**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-own-three-pieces-of-trinitite/266444/31 "2004-09-29T12:56:18Z")
I am assured by the folks at [Wegotyertrinitite.com](http://Wegotyertrinitite.com) that this sample does indeed emit on the band between 656.57 - 666.47 keV, indicating the presence of Cesium 137, which is present in all authentic Trinitite specimines. And, they guarantee it! Tris ---
**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-own-three-pieces-of-trinitite/266444/32 "2004-09-29T13:00:49Z")
And aside from throwing sand into the faces of oncoming hordes of Elemental Salamanders I don’t think Trinitite has much in the way of weapons application. It’s just a by-product of a very low level air burst nuclear fireball. The predominate emission half life is only thirty years, so it is currently at one quarter of what it emitted back in 1945, right after the . . . um . . . big bang. Tris ---
**Author:** ![Encinitas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Encinitas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Encinitas)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-own-three-pieces-of-trinitite/266444/33 "2004-09-29T17:13:13Z")
So you have three pieces…and **MsRobyn** and **Tripler** have dibs on your two spares? Waaaaaaaaaa! Daddy! I wanted a piece of Trinitite!!! Make him give me one! You don’t love me…waaaaaaaaa! ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-own-three-pieces-of-trinitite/266444/34 "2004-09-29T18:51:08Z")
> [@MacTech](#): > > i hate to break it to you, but Ecospheres are _NOT_ balanced environments, not even close… > > [Cite](http://www.petshrimp.com/hawaiianredshrimp.html) Maybe because I’ve been wanting one so long, I’m having a hard time accepting this. I can’t seem to find any other references to these being bad, but I am still looking. Has anyone else heard this? ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-own-three-pieces-of-trinitite/266444/35 "2004-09-30T01:50:14Z")
> [@Triskadecamus](#): > > And aside from throwing sand into the faces of oncoming hordes of Elemental Salamanders I don’t think Trinitite has much in the way of weapons application. It’s just a by-product of a very low level air burst nuclear fireball. Yeah, but surely it has some techno-magical qualities to it. I mean, it was forged by the heat of the _first atomic explosion on Earth,_ fer cryin’ out loud. That’s just _got_ to attach some kind of juju to it. God knows what you could magically slay with it, though. Maybe one of those nature-spirits you used to see in those “enviromental awareness” cartoons. (Of course, those guys could get mortally wounded by car exhaust, so that’s not counting for much.) Maybe if Ned Ludd rose from the grave, you could stop him by a Trinitite stake through his heart? ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-own-three-pieces-of-trinitite/266444/36 "2004-09-30T05:27:21Z")
Ok, **Tris** , that’s pretty freaking cool, but I don’t think you’re as weirdo geeky as I am unless your klein bottle fits on your **head** like [mine](http://www.kleinbottle.com/klein_bottle_hats.htm). Yes, I really did buy one of those. And yes, I really do wear it. ---
**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-own-three-pieces-of-trinitite/266444/37 "2004-09-30T07:21:16Z")
> [@Alan Smithee](#): > > Yes, I really did buy one of those. And yes, I really do wear it. From the exact same folks that sold me my Klein’s bottle! But then again, I suppose two such source would be even less likely Tris ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-own-three-pieces-of-trinitite/266444/38 "2004-09-30T07:29:43Z")
I’m pretty sure they were one of the SD’s few paying advertizers once. At least I think that’s how I discovered them. Someday I’ll get a glass one, but I just can’t afford it right now. The wool one I could justify as a “practical” expense. (And it really is a great hat, even if it looks supremely dorky!) I actually bought three! One for my dad (who is almost as big a geek as I am) and one for myself. Only the day they came in the mail and I showed them to a friend who’s brother is a physicist of some sort. She insisted on buying one for him from me immediately for cash, so I had to order another one for my dad! ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-own-three-pieces-of-trinitite/266444/39 "2004-09-30T12:32:21Z")
I once read that fermi, Oppenheimer, and Gen. Groves rode out to the blast site just days after the explosion…of course, nobody knew how harmful radiation was in those days. Is there any evidence that these gentlemen’s lives were shortened by their exposure to the bomb site radiation? ---
**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-own-three-pieces-of-trinitite/266444/40 "2004-09-30T15:49:42Z")
[QUOTE=Ranchoth] Yeah, but surely it has some techno-magical qualities to it. I mean, it was forged by the heat of the _first atomic explosion on Earth,_ fer cryin’ out loud. That’s just _got_ to attach some kind of juju to it. [QUOTE] OK, I have to confess. The placement of the newest mineral, and a piece of precambrian shale on opposite sides of a Klein’s bottle does have a somewhat obvious “spell componant” feeling to it. But I was just mumbling, really. " ~ ~ Ti ii ii ii m, is on my side, Yes it is. ~ ~" Tris [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-own-three-pieces-of-trinitite/266444.md?page=1)