# What’s going on with this rock? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 25, 2010, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-going-on-with-this-rock/533801 "2010-03-25T21:22:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-going-on-with-this-rock/533801/21 "2010-03-26T13:46:16Z")
> [@](#): > > there will be a stone like that within arms reach of you. As an avid rock collector, I just have to say,“I want!” ---
**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:** [March 26, 2010, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-going-on-with-this-rock/533801/22 "2010-03-26T14:03:22Z")
I’ll grab some as soon as I can - and if you want to pay the postage, I’ll send you one. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-going-on-with-this-rock/533801/23 "2010-03-27T05:23:08Z")
I am totally on board with this plan and will happily pay the postage.🙂 And when people ask me, it is my intention to tell them each a different one of the explanations proffered. Oh, and I’ll probably throw in ‘meteor’, too. My friends will be amazed. I am especially fond of the hammer tool idea, but it needs embellishment, in my opinion. I’ll have to think about it. Also, I don’t believe I’ll mention it to my spouse, I’ll just let it arrive in the post, that should be fun! Thanks so much for doing this, I really appreciate it. You rock!😃 ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-going-on-with-this-rock/533801/24 "2010-03-27T15:31:30Z")
I would’ve wagered hammer, too A WAR hammer. Some Stone- or Bronze-age warrior could tie that stone to the end of a stick and crack some skulls, easily. ---
**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:** [March 28, 2010, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-going-on-with-this-rock/533801/25 "2010-03-28T14:16:52Z")
I made it to the beach this afternoon. The tide was fully in, restricting my search a bit, but I found about a dozen flint pebbles/rocks with holes in them - none quite as large as **Racer1** ’s example, but that was mostly because the stones were generally smaller on this beach - if I’d visited one where there were flint cobbles, I’m sure I could have found something bigger. However, they are the same kinds of rock and the same kinds of holes - here’s what I found: [Specimen 1](http://img138.imageshack.us/i/dsci4450.jpg/) is probably the closest to the OP’s rock in terms of surface colour - the hole is about the size of a pencil, but does not fully perforate the rock. [Specimen 2](http://img545.imageshack.us/i/dsci4451.jpg/) has a straight through hole about 9mm in diameter. [Specimen 3](http://img98.imageshack.us/i/dsci4452b.jpg/) is pierced by multiple smaller holes. [Specimen 4](http://img222.imageshack.us/i/dsci4453.jpg/) - again, pierced by multiple holes, in a configuration superficially resembling a skull. [Specimen 5](http://img109.imageshack.us/i/dsci4455.jpg/) has one pencil-thick hole straight through, intersected at right angles by a toothpick-sized hole (not visible in this picture) and small, blind hole. [Specimen 6](http://img31.imageshack.us/i/dsci4456.jpg/) has multiple blind holes opening into a pitted concavity. [Specimen 7](http://img214.imageshack.us/i/dsci4457.jpg/) has an olive-sized concavity with a toothpick-sized hole through the bottom, out to the other side. [Specimen 8](http://img52.imageshack.us/i/dsci4458.jpg/) is roughly conical with a pencil-thick hole straight through axially. [Specimen 9](http://img704.imageshack.us/i/dsci4459.jpg/) - flattish, with a pencil-sized blind hole. [Specimen 10](http://img522.imageshack.us/i/dsci4460.jpg/) has several small holes, and a larger one that follows a curved path through the rock. [Specimen 11](http://img185.imageshack.us/i/dsci4461.jpg/)has the largest hole - almost big enough to jam my little finger into. [Specimen 12](http://img522.imageshack.us/i/dsci4462.jpg/) is roughly spherical with a hole opening into a hollw centre, in which remains what appears to be part of a fossil sponge. I was also lucky enough to find [this](http://img51.imageshack.us/i/dsci4464.jpg/) fossil urchin. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2010, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-going-on-with-this-rock/533801/26 "2010-03-28T14:46:30Z")
That urchin fossil is SO cool! I found a beautiful little white arrowhead when I was a kid (on the Saskatchewan prairies), but I think my parents sent it to a museum so I don’t have it any longer. I’m a rock collector too, **elbows**. I can spend hours on a pebbly beach, looking at all the rocks and picking up the interesting ones. I have rocks from all over North America (and finally got the big idea of actually labelling them). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-going-on-with-this-rock/533801.md?page=1)