[meteorite-list] Fun questions, or public FAQs

From: Dave Gheesling <dave_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 31 Dec 2008 11:13:01 -0500
Message-ID: <F593D4F0C9FA453AA3065AE012049E54_at_meteorroom>

Mark/All,
Good one here, and the examples could string out a thread for a week. My
favorite in doing educational outreach, which comes up all the time after
answering another question around how we know the ages of meteorites (i.e.
half lives of unstable, decaying radioactive isotopes), is "Are these
meteorites radioactive?" (this question usually comes after they've been
handling them for quite some time, and it's usually asked by a seemingly
concerned teacher). The answer, of course, is "Yes." Panic typically sets
in, until they hear "...but no more radioactive than you are."
Happy New Year,
Dave
www.fallingrocks.com

-----Original Message-----
From: meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com
[mailto:meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com] On Behalf Of Mark
Crawford
Sent: Wednesday, December 31, 2008 5:34 AM
To: Meteorite List
Subject: [meteorite-list] Fun questions, or public FAQs

I was reflecting yesterday on the fun I get showing my collection to guests,
and talking about meteorites to non-hobbyists. It got me thinking that
there are some standard questions which come up time and again.

* "Where do you get them from?" [One of the few opportunities to use the
line 'I buy from dealers by the gram' in polite conversation :) ]

* "How do you know they haven't just gone to the local DIY store and bought
a bag of gravel?" [or various versions of this]

* "How do you know it really comes from Mars/the Moon/the asteroids?"

...and I suppose if the conversation comes round to it:

* "HOW much???" :)


I wondered if other list members had any fun regular (or occasional) ones to
share?

Mark

--
Mark's Meteorite Pages: http://meteorites.cc
______________________________________________
http://www.meteoritecentral.com
Meteorite-list mailing list
Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list

Received on Wed 31 Dec 2008 11:13:01 AM PST