Practical advice!! About office supplies
From my dad:
If you find an old tape dispenser at a thrift store, and it's really well weighted down so that when you pull the tape the dispenser doesn't fly off the table and hit you on the head: don't buy it!!! They used to weigh them down with uranium and, apparently, it's been long enough that they now emit some radiation - enough to "set off your geiger counter" (my dad assumes people own geiger counters, I guess). And whatever you do, don't open it up and play with the uranium!
From my environmental health class:
Don't sit near the office copy machine. It lets out particulates, which are bad when inhaled.
posted by Sara @ 2:57 PM
6 Comments:
Is playing with Uranium as fun as playing with Mercury?
And many of us let out particulates that are bad when inhaled, so I don't see why you would discriminate against the poor copy machine.
I once saw an old tape dispenser in a thrift store, but I didn't buy it. I've regreted it ever since, more so now than ever. Radioactive? Cool!
At work I sit not far from two big laser printers. Do they count?
Yes, they do count.
More radioactive things to buy for later!
http://www.orau.org/ptp/collection/consumer%20products/tapedispenser.htm
Why would they use uranium instead of leadshot? It seems that lead shot would be MUCH cheaper.
Of course, they used to put radium on watch hands to make them glow in the dark...
Maybe I should ask Mythbusters.
Non-reactive Uranium is actually pretty cheap, and even heavier than lead. It's abundant in New Mexico naturally.
Aren't you from New Mexico? When's the last time someone's run a Geiger counter over you?
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