This week's collection of whimsical and curious stories will talk about Christmas presents (given that we are 12 days away from the actual event). However, we will stay away from socks, ties, or expensive, fruit-branded electronics, and look at a time when Christmas presents seem to have been all around more exciting - the 1950s.
Putting on a glow - Inspiring your offspring to embark on a solid STEM career is not easy (especially at a time when "Influencer" is considered by some as a viable alternative). Some parents might resort to gifting their children a telescope or a model ISS to spark their interest in science. The 1950s had a better answer: the Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab:
Mr. Gilbert, the toy lab's inventor, believed that toys were the foundation in building a "solid American character" (and having children handle uranium in the comfort of their bedroom was apparently "character-building"). Among the activities suggested in the user manual was a version of hide-and-seek, where a child would hide with radioactive material, and see if a friend could find the hiding place by using a Geiger counter.
To appease the more skittish parents, Gilbert pointed out that none of the uranium ores contained in the kit were actually dangerous as long as the three ore sample jars were not broken (which could otherwise "raise the level of background count" - and likely rearrange your DNA in interesting ways).
Scavenger hunting - In today's world, young adults have to be much more inventive to prepare for a career as nuclear scientists - like Justin Kasper and Fred Niell in 1999. It all started with the University of Chicago’s annual scavenger hunt where students can collect points by acquiring difficult-to-get items over the course of a long weekend. The 1999 list contained a "breeder reactor", which is a type of reactor that creates a larger amount of fissionable fuel material than it uses. With some thorium powder from vacuum tubes, scrap aluminium, and carbon sheets, the two physics majors managed to create a very small amount* of weapons-grade plutonium and earned second place in the competition (which begs the question what else was on the list that year).
Fred Niell, AB’99 (left), and Justin Kasper, AB’99, in front of the reactor they built
Since this will be the last newsletter prior to the New Year, I wish all readers a relaxing holiday break!
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*a few thousand atoms, or 1×10-18 grams