I suggest a box of rocks. Because you care so little that you couldn’t bother with coal.
This site may be what you’re looking for. They send a small bag with some pieces of coal either to you or semi-anonymously to a recipient you specify.
(Disclaimer: I know the people who operate this site but I don’t have any business relationship with them.)
Paging Una Persson, who used to be known as Anthracite. There are few if any people I can thing of who would be better qualified to answer this.
I PMed her this link. She’ll be around soon, I’m sure.
I wouldn’t waste any time looking for coal in lumps near industrial sites or power plants. They use coal that is crushed into small pieces these days.
CVS or other chain pharmacies. They sell a small lump in a decorative tin.
VCNJ~
The other thing you could get (though not exactly coal) is real charcoal. I don’t mean the charcoal brickets, but real hardwood charcoal. It looks enough like coal for a gag gift. You can definitely find it at barbeque or grill stores and sometimes at the major chain stores (like Target).
A question: All my life I’ve just assumed that “coal in your stocking” meant a bunch of charcoal briquettes. Why not?
By the way, there used to be a coal expert on SDMB. Where’d she go?
Just to add my two cents…
Chinese heat thier businesses and homes with thes coal brickettes which in turn are manufactured by other chinese businesses. I do not have a link to one, but it is possible that they could ship a brickette to you. They are a couple of pounds, at least
For everyone wondering where Una is, she’s out of country right now and unable to get some sites to open.
A partial quote of her reply to my PM on Unaboard that sounds kind of fun for coal lovers:
Have a lovely holiday, everybody!
;j
It just so happens that my in-laws live in PRC, though their apartment is heated by hot-water radiators. It also happens that they will be coming here to visit in a week. I’m sure my MIL would get a coal brickette for me if I asked, but the TSA might not be too keen on the idea of bringing coal onto the plane.
Thanks for checking, but the question is largely academic now since I won’t have a chance to get anything in time. (I did get them a real gift, but wanted coal as a gag.)
I would find black lace thongs to be a more than acceptable substitute for coal. I don’t have anything that burns coal, but I do have a
Whoops, hit “Submit” by mistake in the middle of a sentence.
WAG - Watts.
Two average size (500 Mw) units, i.e. 2 ea. 500 Mw Steam Turbine Generators.
What else?
Ha! I got in first, so you owe me! Oh, well, whenever we’re both in the same city (I’m in the Dallas/Fort Worth area) we can buy each other a coke, maybe with something in it to oil the wheels, and just gas about old threads we have known.