Principia Discordia > High Weirdness
A traffic stop turns up whiskey, a gun, a rattlesnake and uranium
Brother Mythos:
When police officers pulled over Stephen Jennings in Guthrie, Oklahoma, on June 26, they searched the car and got a lot more than they bargained for.
As per the article:
'Jennings was pulled over about 11 a.m. after an officer noticed that his car tags were expired, police say. He alerted the officers that there were a few other issues likely to arise: There was a gun in the vehicle, for starters.
His passenger, Rachael Rivera, was charged with possession of a firearm after a former felony conviction.
Then, police said, the officers found that the car had been reported stolen and began to dig a little deeper.
And their discoveries: one bottle of Kentucky Deluxe whiskey and one rattlesnake.
"So now he's got a rattlesnake, a stolen vehicle, firearm and somebody under arrest," Guthrie Police Sgt. Anthony Gibbs told CNN affiliate KFOR.
Then they found one more thing: a canister of radioactive powdered uranium.'
Here's the link: https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/11/us/rattlesnake-uranium-oklahoma-trnd/index.html
I have no idea how easy it is to get ones hands on “radioactive powdered uranium.” But, I would hope it's not as easy as it appears to be in this case.
altered:
It’s piss easy to get a hold of uranium. Proof: you can buy some yellowcake right here! http://unitednuclear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=873
But it’s not actually particularly dangerous. It takes a nation state to do anything of serious scale with it and a metric assload to do damage to someone else on a personal level with it. Fiestaware is hideously radioactive, but it’s mostly alpha particles. Don’t powder it and then snort it like cocaine, basically. The scary shit is stuff like lead and cobalt isotopes, and I guess polonium (but that one only because it’s outrageously toxic, not because it’s radioactive).
Brother Mythos:
--- Quote from: nullified on July 12, 2019, 01:26:14 am ---It’s piss easy to get a hold of uranium. Proof: you can buy some yellowcake right here! http://unitednuclear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=873
But it’s not actually particularly dangerous. It takes a nation state to do anything of serious scale with it and a metric assload to do damage to someone else on a personal level with it. Fiestaware is hideously radioactive, but it’s mostly alpha particles. Don’t powder it and then snort it like cocaine, basically. The scary shit is stuff like lead and cobalt isotopes, and I guess polonium (but that one only because it’s outrageously toxic, not because it’s radioactive).
--- End quote ---
The only non-fission uses I am aware of for refined uranium are high mass projectiles, and high mass vibration dampeners. I have read, and been told, that both are made from spent uranium fuel rods. (A co-worker used to keep a uranium vibration dampener in his desk drawer. It's weight versus physical dimensions was truly impressive.)
I am aware that Yellowcake was once used in ceramic glazes, as my wife has a collection of vintage Fiestaware. I was completely unaware that the stuff is available to the general public. I can understand its use for laboratory experimentation, but I can't think of any other practical use for it today. The Wikipedia article on Yellowcake mentions no practical use for it, other than refining it into metallic uranium for fuel.
On the other hand, mildly radioactive, thoriated welding rods, for TIG welding, are readily available from any good welding supply house. Still, I'm very surprised to learn that Yellowcake is just another readily available commodity.
altered:
There are legal limits on how much you can own. Just about anything you can imagine short of chemical weapons, fully automatic firearms, and smallpox is available for purchase on the open market, really. But large quantities of radioactive material require special permits, lest serious men in serious suits knock on your door and then rearrange your internal organs with high velocity injection of heavy metals.
Doktor Howl:
He was just trying to have a good time.
It's not easy, having a good time.
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