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Most Dangerous Science-Related Toy Ever!

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posted on Jan, 22 2013 @ 02:12 PM
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While I can see the good part of kids learning about science, I can't believe this was ever conceived, let alone marketed! This science kit contains radioactive materials and cloud chambers for doing experiments...for KIDS! Can you imagine the uproar if this was marketed today? Any one who ordered it would be on 1K watch-lists!


From Article:

Science kits these days don’t contain many items that you couldn’t already find around the house: salt, balloons, magnets and a few odds and ends. But kids who were lucky enough to have wealthy parents in the early 1950s had the unprecedented chance to play with uranium ore in this very cool science kit. The Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab was only sold from 1951 to 1952, and at the time its $50 price tag was too steep for many families. The kit came with four different types of uranium ore, a geiger counter, a miniature cloud chamber, an electroscope, a spinthariscope and an educational comic book called “Learn How Dagwood Splits the Atom!” Kids could perform their own experiments at home to discover the secrets of radioactive materials and learn how they made “clean, safe” atomic energy.


Mods: I didn't see this anywhere when I searched. Haven't posted too many things here, so please be nice if it I missed it somewhere.



posted on Jan, 22 2013 @ 02:16 PM
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Yikes, they also suggested it was safe for pregnant women to smoke back then too.

I wonder if those children later developed any cancers?



posted on Jan, 22 2013 @ 02:17 PM
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Sometimes marketing hits it out of the park and other times WELLL. I wonder how many law firms would be jumping all over this if they knew. I can see the TV comercials coming



posted on Jan, 22 2013 @ 02:17 PM
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I don't know how that entire generation doesn't have cancer yet!







posted on Jan, 22 2013 @ 02:25 PM
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reply to post by Merlin Lawndart
 


She has such a glow about her!!!



posted on Jan, 22 2013 @ 02:27 PM
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Anyone can still order uranium ore, from unitednuclear.com, tho they only have the low radiation 1000-3000 CPM availible right now. only $15 what a deal!


Interesting note: they also sell death ray's, which no Evil Mad Scientist should be without. You can see people testing them out on youtube.



posted on Jan, 22 2013 @ 02:38 PM
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Originally posted by Kr0nZ
Interesting note: they also sell death ray's, which no Evil Mad Scientist should be without. You can see people testing them out on youtube.


Why buy a deathray when you can make your own with mirrors and an old satellite dish.



posted on Jan, 22 2013 @ 02:41 PM
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reply to post by Merlin Lawndart
 


Ahh radiation!



We're not all getting cancer. Playing the odds.



posted on Jan, 22 2013 @ 03:03 PM
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Originally posted by TheSparrowSings

Originally posted by Kr0nZ
Interesting note: they also sell death ray's, which no Evil Mad Scientist should be without. You can see people testing them out on youtube.


Why buy a deathray when you can make your own with mirrors and an old satellite dish.


No, no, just use the magnetron from an old microwave oven.

That's all the death ray that a young mad scientist will ever need!




posted on Jan, 22 2013 @ 03:13 PM
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Unrefined uranium ore is not really a controlled substance. In many places across the US you can pick big chunks of it off the ground where it is just laying around. You can sometimes find it in natural gravel and rubble beds. Or you can go to old mines and look through the mine tailings.

You have to get into the refined uranium to get into the controlled substances. Also known as yellowcake.

en.wikipedia.org...


As the other poster state, you can buy uranium ore online at places like united nuclear.



posted on Jan, 22 2013 @ 03:26 PM
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Apparently the child could start with this .........


and then work his way up to this kit here.

edit on 22-1-2013 by bluemooone2 because: (no reason given)



posted on Jan, 22 2013 @ 03:34 PM
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When I was a kid I had to make my own cloud chamber. Fortunately, the Science Lab of the Month Club provided the rubber sheet, some tubing and an alpha particle source (a small sample of radium). Unfortunately, a Geiger counter would have been prohibitively expensive to include in the kit. Nevertheless, it was awesome to see particle interactions with my own eyes.

Edit to add: And no, it was nowhere near as dangerous as my Gilbert chemistry set. KABOOM! [Evil laughter]
edit on 22-1-2013 by DJW001 because: (no reason given)



posted on Jan, 22 2013 @ 03:38 PM
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Never mind this stupid stuff ; where's my home genetic engineering kit ? I am still waiting .

Actually mildly radioactive stuff has always been pretty much ignored , even uranium is harmless (relatively) without some very expensive equipment to refine it .



posted on Jan, 22 2013 @ 03:58 PM
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reply to post by Gu1tarJohn
 

Hehe good find, I haven't seen those before. I do have a couple of 'science for boys' type books of experiments from the 1940's somewhere, from memory there are instructions for preparing chloroform, and some experiments with white phosphorous, and the thermit reaction is in there too. My favourite though, was 'why does water roll off a duck's back?'. In brackets underneath the title it said "you do NOT need a duck for this experiment". Well it made me chuckle anyway.



posted on Jan, 22 2013 @ 04:01 PM
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I love posting stuff like this, always learn from other posters and stuff. Didn't realize it was relatively harmless until refined, I thought it was dangerous no matter what and got more dangerous when people process it. Thanks for the replies so far folks!



posted on Jan, 22 2013 @ 04:03 PM
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Originally posted by freebornman
reply to post by Gu1tarJohn
 

Hehe good find, I haven't seen those before. I do have a couple of 'science for boys' type books of experiments from the 1940's somewhere, from memory there are instructions for preparing chloroform, and some experiments with white phosphorous, and the thermit reaction is in there too. My favourite though, was 'why does water roll off a duck's back?'. In brackets underneath the title it said "you do NOT need a duck for this experiment". Well it made me chuckle anyway.


LOL I chuckled too.



posted on Jan, 22 2013 @ 04:14 PM
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reply to post by bluemooone2
 


My son would love those! And I'd still rather they were on sale than the children's pole dancing kit that Tescos was hawking a couple of christmases ago


But no...probably not a good idea...how times of changed though, you get lab standard safety goggles with the Slime Laboratory, and that just contains sodium phosphate...those kits would price themselves off the market simply to meet health and safety requirements...no longer feasible in this day and age...

edit on 22-1-2013 by KilgoreTrout because: (no reason given)



posted on Jan, 22 2013 @ 04:20 PM
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reply to post by Gu1tarJohn
 


I saw a similar kit in an old antique store back in the late 90's in Georgia. The guy who was selling it said that it contained actual radioactive ore and that it was removed from the kit long ago. But it had everything else. My grandfather and I thought it was really neat and I could see that it reminded him of an era passed.

Boy, times have changed!



posted on Jan, 22 2013 @ 04:33 PM
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Originally posted by Auricom


Boy, times have changed!

Yes they have, since the toys are now made in China the dangers are not so obvious.

Sure the toys aren't going to harm right away, look safe and assumed safe and radiation free, they just kill a bit slower by toxic buildup of heavy metals and other great things like arsenic.



posted on Jan, 22 2013 @ 04:40 PM
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Originally posted by bluemooone2
Apparently the child could start with this .........


and then work his way up to this kit here.

edit on 22-1-2013 by bluemooone2 because: (no reason given)


In 2006 one of the 1951 Complete A.C. Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab kits was up for auction, one bid for nearly $8,000
www.americanmemorabilia.com...

Here are some more atomic toys...
www.oobject.com...
edit on 22-1-2013 by hellobruce because: (no reason given)




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