I never thought of bringing my Grandad for Show and Tell but it would have been a great idea. He was a Metis scout for the Canadian west expansion of the railway and had a lot of great stories!
I had a chemistry set in the 60’s. Great fun heating up stuff and making smoke bombs and such. I still have the desk that I used for my lab. It has circular gouges in it from putting test tube fires out!
It is truly amazing how the human race survived and even thrived as long as it has when listening to all the Nervous Nellies doom and gloom these days…
I know this could’ve happened if I were the grandpa, but I don’t think my sons will have this problem. For years my parents had a small ‘button’ hanging on the corner of their bed. It glowed at night. Apparently it contained a small amount of radium flakes and dust. It was something my Dad brought home from WWII. In occupation in Germany, he was a plane and truck mechanic and truck driver. It was to be placed on the rear of a truck, and during convoys it would help the drivers follow one another in blackouts. Also, my high school was going to be closed, and in my senior year, they were cleaning out the chem lab. One of my classmates took home a plastic bottle containing about five pounds of mercury. We used to squeeze a little out and play with it on our desks.
Ratbrat over 9 years ago
I never thought of bringing my Grandad for Show and Tell but it would have been a great idea. He was a Metis scout for the Canadian west expansion of the railway and had a lot of great stories!
MS72 over 9 years ago
we played with mercury, but there wasn’t any radium in the school by the 60’s.
Retired Dude over 9 years ago
In the fifties and sixties kids would play with mercury, rolling it around in their hands and we never suffered any ill effects . . . that we noticed.
ChessPirate over 9 years ago
“I don’t know any ‘Mr. Wizard’, but there’s a Bill Nye you can talk to…”
TLH1310 Premium Member over 9 years ago
Don Herbert was Mr Wizard. He passed away in 2007. I recall Mercury being called Quicksilver when I was a kid..
prince valiant Premium Member over 9 years ago
I had a chemistry set in the 60’s. Great fun heating up stuff and making smoke bombs and such. I still have the desk that I used for my lab. It has circular gouges in it from putting test tube fires out!
neverenoughgold over 9 years ago
It is truly amazing how the human race survived and even thrived as long as it has when listening to all the Nervous Nellies doom and gloom these days…
Dry and Dusty Premium Member over 9 years ago
OH PLEASE! Poor Grandpa!
Marv S over 9 years ago
I know this could’ve happened if I were the grandpa, but I don’t think my sons will have this problem. For years my parents had a small ‘button’ hanging on the corner of their bed. It glowed at night. Apparently it contained a small amount of radium flakes and dust. It was something my Dad brought home from WWII. In occupation in Germany, he was a plane and truck mechanic and truck driver. It was to be placed on the rear of a truck, and during convoys it would help the drivers follow one another in blackouts. Also, my high school was going to be closed, and in my senior year, they were cleaning out the chem lab. One of my classmates took home a plastic bottle containing about five pounds of mercury. We used to squeeze a little out and play with it on our desks.