This is Throwback Thursday #115. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc ...), please sent them to [email protected]. Thanks!
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Licking a rock can give you valuable information when trying to identify it. See this story from Discovery.com.
Claire E. Terhune from Discovery.com
Back up. We agree, licking maybe-ancient maybe-fossils doesn't sound like a thing you should be trying. But for seasoned geologists, licking specimens is an average day on the job. According to The Earth Story, poking your tongue at a sample for taste and consistency can give you specific valuable information: "There is sylvite, a mineral closely related to halite, but with an even more pungent, disgusting salty taste. Then there are the "sticky" minerals, like chrysocolla or kaolinite (a type of clay), which make up in texture what they lack in taste. Their flavor is not distinctive but these minerals will stick to your tongue when you give them a lick — a dead giveaway."
The dino fossil lick will be stickier than a stone slobber because of the porous nature of bone. As the organic material of the dinosaur (guts, muscles, fat, etc.) breaks down over time, the inorganic stuff will stick around longer. These parts of the bone were made of minerals like calcium, which leaves a fragile, porous mineral in the shape of the internal bone structure. After licking your fossil, the next step is to seek out a cold glass of water. Unless you've been craving fossilized bone for dinner.
However, be careful as this safety tip from the ESCONI newsletter in June 1972. This was originally published in the Ozark Earth Science News, which seems to be the newsletter of the Ozark Earth Science Club in Mountain Home, AR. Remember, Howard and Olive Knight moved there in 1968. They were very active original members of ESCONI. That explains the shared articles in the early 1970's.
SAFETY TIP
This may sound like bragging-
But there I was--Alone
When I found this funny fossil rock
That looked just like a bone.
Well, Sir, as I studied it
I saw some words was writ
Upon it--so I licked it well.
And cleaned it good with spit--
Then I read this Readin'
"Beware of Rocky Fungus-
Birds and Dogs have passed this way-
And Fungus is among us".
Alas, tis true--California clubs have reported great danger of a lung fungus from licking rocks in certain areas. It is a good practice to break--right now. Carry a squirt bottle of water with you--it's safer.via Ozark Earth Science News
