Uranium

A story from teaching - I got my first "teacher gift" the other day :)

I usually stand outside the classroom door and greet my students as they walk in and one of my kids said to me "Ms. Labbate, I have a Christmas present for you." He walked to his locker (about 10 feet from the door) and was digging around in his bag for a time before coming back to me with a clenched fist. Mind you this kid is a jokester, so I often have trouble taking him seriously, so when he asked me to hold out my hand, I was skeptical about what was about to be dropped into my palm. Five rocks. And not just average rocks collected while bored at the bus stop, but five gorgeous shiny rocks that must have come from a rock collection of some sort. Not being a rock connoisseur, I had no idea what kind of rocks these were but graciously smiled and said thank you. I still have no clue what to do with them, so they are sitting on my counter top in my apartment. It's the thought that counts, right?

Not much else exciting in Michigan, except that it's 50 degrees in January - clearly I should be blogging about global warming.


Historical Reference: The Manhattan Project, a group of scientists who built and tested atomic bombs during World War II, had only enough uranium to build one bomb, so they never tested their creation before dropping it on Hiroshima.

Fun Fact: Red orange Fiestaware made prior to 1942 is famously radioactive and will set off Geiger counters, as its glaze contained uranium oxide.

Fun Fact Take Two: It is illegal for a single person to own more than 15 pounds of natural uranium.