# Ordering esoteric materials

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordering-esoteric-materials/12287>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [December 26, 1999, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordering-esoteric-materials/12287 "1999-12-26T19:23:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\
**Post date:** [December 27, 1999, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordering-esoteric-materials/12287/1 "1999-12-27T06:47:00Z")

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Is there anywhere a person (as opposed to a commercial enterprise) can order legal substances that aren’t widely available? Suppose I want to own a one-ounce ingot of iridium, or a liter of gallium; any chemical or specialty metals places that will take such an order?

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**Author:** ![Ursa\_Major](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a88e57/32.png) [@Ursa\_Major](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ursa_Major)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 1999, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordering-esoteric-materials/12287/2 "1999-12-26T19:23:00Z")

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You can buy and trade these sorts of things as mineral commodities on the stock market. To actually possess them physically, you probably need a permit from a government agency. This is the case with many chemicals and rare minirals.

If you’ve got the right software and infinite patience you might want to check out this USGS site for more info.  
[http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/mcs/](http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/mcs/)

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**Author:** ![Ursa\_Major](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a88e57/32.png) [@Ursa\_Major](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ursa_Major)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 1999, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordering-esoteric-materials/12287/3 "1999-12-26T19:32:00Z")

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Actually, you can order gallium online:

[http://www.sciencealliance.com/products/g.shtml](http://www.sciencealliance.com/products/g.shtml)

I think you may need a little more paperwork to get your hands on iridium.

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 1999, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordering-esoteric-materials/12287/4 "1999-12-26T23:40:00Z")

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For those _other_ esoteric-type materials you might want to purchase, always make sure they’re delivered in a plain brown wrapper! Or just make a visit to your local Pleasure Chest (or is this just in LA?) - they’ve got some amazing items!

* * *

**StoryTyler**  
“Not everybody does it, but everybody should.”  
[I Spy Ty.](http://sites.netscape.net/storytyler/homepage)

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 1999, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordering-esoteric-materials/12287/5 "1999-12-26T23:53:00Z")

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Well, I found 500 mg of Iridium powder @ $67 & change by going to a Fisher Scientific Chemical catalog (remember all those bottles with F in your chem labs? F=Fisher)

Here’s the full link:  
[http://www1.fishersci.com/dhtml.jhtml;$sessionid$KLG354AAABG40CWIZEEAAAA](http://www1.fishersci.com/dhtml.jhtml;%24sessionid%24KLG354AAABG40CWIZEEAAAA)

## but, [www.fishersci.com](http://www.fishersci.com) will get you there too.

Sue from El Paso

Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.