Here’s an interesting stocking stuffer to consider … and it’s a blast from the past, literally.
A radioactive atomic energy lab kit complete with real uranium is hitting the auction block … and it’s considered the world’s most dangerous toy.
Officially known as the Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Laboratory, the toy is from the early 1950s — back when atomic bombs were relatively new — and it was marketed as an educational toy for budding scientists.
The toy lab kit was created by Alfred Carlton Gilbert … the same guy who came up with the iconic Erector Set.
RR Auction says fewer than 5,000 of these puppies were ever made … making this a super rare find. The toy was discontinued in 1951, with Gilbert’s company blaming “government restrictions” and the “difficulty of obtaining materials.” The toy has real uranium, after all.
Here’s what’s included in the lab kit … a cloud chamber for viewing alpha particles, a spinthariscope to observe radioactive disintegration and an electroscope to measure radiation levels in the four included substances … carnotite, autunite, torbernite, and uraninite.
The kit also has some extras … including a U.S. government guide to uranium prospecting.
Make no mistake, the uranium samples are radioactive … but a 2020 analysis by IEEE Spectrum, the world’s leading engineering magazine, says the radiation is equivalent to UV exposure from the sun … at least as long as the samples remain in the sealed containers.
Bidding ends Dec. 11 … just in time for the holidays.
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