Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #YouFindARock
Most recents (24)
You know the rules:
Most vibrantly-coloured rocks are on the Do Not Lick list, but ALL rocks that are literally radiating are definitely on the Do Not Lick list.
Most vibrantly-coloured rocks are on the Do Not Lick list, but ALL rocks that are literally radiating are definitely on the Do Not Lick list.
> Record scratch
> Freeze frame of you, the protagonist, contemplating the pros and cons of licking a plutonium puck.
“You’re probably wondering how I got here. It all started when I was strolling around France...”
#YouFindARock.
📷 Roberto Bosi
> Freeze frame of you, the protagonist, contemplating the pros and cons of licking a plutonium puck.
“You’re probably wondering how I got here. It all started when I was strolling around France...”
#YouFindARock.
📷 Roberto Bosi
You pick up the hunk of densely-packed quartz crystals, intrigued by the spatters of matte black.
“Did you mould?!” you ask the rock incredulously. “No, no, that’s not quite right... what IS this?”
>
“Did you mould?!” you ask the rock incredulously. “No, no, that’s not quite right... what IS this?”
>
You’re in the desert. A deep, vibrant blue catches your eye.
It’s neither sky nor water. #YouFindARock!
It’s neither sky nor water. #YouFindARock!
You pick up the perfectly civic blue crystal ans consider your future life choices.
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>
> Lick
Mmm, salty!
> Lick lick lick
So salty. Exactly salty. Just like salt, because it is salt.
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Mmm, salty!
> Lick lick lick
So salty. Exactly salty. Just like salt, because it is salt.
>
Reasons to vote for #MinCup2020 competitors:
#Elbaite: lures the unwary into disappointment & broken teeth by looking like a watermelon jollyrancher but actually being extremely hard & flavourless
#Fluorite: Nature’s glowing d8
#Elbaite: lures the unwary into disappointment & broken teeth by looking like a watermelon jollyrancher but actually being extremely hard & flavourless
#Fluorite: Nature’s glowing d8
You’ve gotten into all kinds of mischief with #Elbaite during #YouFindARock:
Meanwhile, #Fluorite is just wandering around the planet looking like this:
I rolled the dice to randomize the #MinCup2020 bracket.
I’m pretty sure my dice hate me. These are both SUCH GOOD MINERALS, and I’m still working on a deadline so can’t thread yet.
I’m pretty sure my dice hate me. These are both SUCH GOOD MINERALS, and I’m still working on a deadline so can’t thread yet.
My campaign for #gypsum in #MinCup2019:
We’ve played a few games with #gold.
I played out the consequences of some seriously creepy fiction:
& you thoroughly investigated gold during #YouFindARock:
I played out the consequences of some seriously creepy fiction:
& you thoroughly investigated gold during #YouFindARock:
It's #DragonCon weekend and we've still found a way to play. Join us?
All panels are free when they stream on Fan Tracks: dragoncon.tv/virtual
They're also available on-demand for a FULL YEAR with $10 membership: dragoncon.tv/login
All panels are free when they stream on Fan Tracks: dragoncon.tv/virtual
They're also available on-demand for a FULL YEAR with $10 membership: dragoncon.tv/login
Recreational Doom in Video Games
11pm Thursday with @scarlett_jazmin @_adverbia & @M_F_Rose.
The reality, science, & gameplay of enjoying apocalyptic video games while the world burns.
Aired as part of @DragonConVG; now it's in the archives. Apologies for late notice!
11pm Thursday with @scarlett_jazmin @_adverbia & @M_F_Rose.
The reality, science, & gameplay of enjoying apocalyptic video games while the world burns.
Aired as part of @DragonConVG; now it's in the archives. Apologies for late notice!
Pandemic! We Wanted Zombies, Not Face Masks
8am Saturday with Jonathan Sarge, Dorothy Lowry, & George Cavender
Personal preparedness, pandemics, and a hint of zombies
@AR_track_DC: eventeny.com/events/Dragon-…
8am Saturday with Jonathan Sarge, Dorothy Lowry, & George Cavender
Personal preparedness, pandemics, and a hint of zombies
@AR_track_DC: eventeny.com/events/Dragon-…
Oh NO.
If you ever wanted proof #MinCup2020 brackets are randomly assigned, it’s that I would never, ever pit my easy favs against each other in Round 1.
If you ever wanted proof #MinCup2020 brackets are randomly assigned, it’s that I would never, ever pit my easy favs against each other in Round 1.
Once upon a time a hunk of #sodalite glowing under UV light went viral with a stolen video with a misleading caption and capture your imagination:
Meanwhile, you once stumbled upon a chunk of #Wulfenite during #YouFindARock and spent an afternoon playing with it.
To celebrate what would’ve been GateCon weekend, you binge Stargate.
At least, you try to. Rumbling from the local volcano interrupts your revere, forcing you to relocate.
Before you leave, your eyes catch on a distinctive green crystal in the traprock. #YouFindARock
At least, you try to. Rumbling from the local volcano interrupts your revere, forcing you to relocate.
Before you leave, your eyes catch on a distinctive green crystal in the traprock. #YouFindARock
You pluck up the translucent boxy crystals, admiring how they build together to create a distinctive pyramid.
>
>
> Lick
Apophyllite is a mix of calcium silicates with traces of potassium, sodium, and a hint of fluorite.
It’s safe enough for an inedible rock candy, but doesn’t dissolve in spit so you can’t actually taste it.
>
Apophyllite is a mix of calcium silicates with traces of potassium, sodium, and a hint of fluorite.
It’s safe enough for an inedible rock candy, but doesn’t dissolve in spit so you can’t actually taste it.
>
You stumble across a piece of ancient magma slowly cooled underground as crystals grew and grew.
#YouFindARock. You focus on the black shiny bits.
#YouFindARock. You focus on the black shiny bits.
“Ooooh, shiny!” you exclaim, grasping any glimmer of distraction you can while wallowing in the horror of daily news.
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>
> Lick
The biotite mica tastes of nothing, although you appreciate the smooth texture.
Your sensitive tongue picks up the microscopic cliff when it bumps over the tip of one layer to another.
>
The biotite mica tastes of nothing, although you appreciate the smooth texture.
Your sensitive tongue picks up the microscopic cliff when it bumps over the tip of one layer to another.
>
Oh. Oh my.
#YouFindARock. An actual rock for once, not a solitary mineral.
It’s shiny & irresistible.
#YouFindARock. An actual rock for once, not a solitary mineral.
It’s shiny & irresistible.
You reach down and pick up the fist-sized shiny grey rock. It twinkles in the daylight.
>
>
> Pet
You stroke your fingers across the satiny surface, appreciating both the smooth sensation beneath your fingertips and the gentle waves of the undulating foliation.
You could sit here all day petting this beauty.
>
You stroke your fingers across the satiny surface, appreciating both the smooth sensation beneath your fingertips and the gentle waves of the undulating foliation.
You could sit here all day petting this beauty.
>
You find a felt purse masquerading as a rounded cobble. You unzip it.
Out spill a cascade of small pink crystals. #YouFindARock. Many of them, really.
You know what they are because your friendly mineral dealer identifies them, but that doesn't stop you from investigating.
Out spill a cascade of small pink crystals. #YouFindARock. Many of them, really.
You know what they are because your friendly mineral dealer identifies them, but that doesn't stop you from investigating.
You stare at the pile, reminding yourself that despite appearances it is not actually ham.
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> Lick
It tastes like nothing, not a hint or trace of flavour. It is a taste-neutral void so bland you can’t even use it as a palate cleanser.
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It tastes like nothing, not a hint or trace of flavour. It is a taste-neutral void so bland you can’t even use it as a palate cleanser.
>
You wander through the flood basalts of India, imagining when the land was covered in a sea of lava.
You stumble upon a cavity. Within it, #YouFindARock. It may not be a cute lil fluffball that got dropped in sticky yellow candies, but it sure looks like it is.
You stumble upon a cavity. Within it, #YouFindARock. It may not be a cute lil fluffball that got dropped in sticky yellow candies, but it sure looks like it is.
You ignore the yellow not-candy calcite; you’ve played with that enough to not feel charmed by its characteristic bubbling in acid today.
You focus on the white puff of scolecite. Knowing what it is doesn’t abait your curiosity even a smidgen.
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You focus on the white puff of scolecite. Knowing what it is doesn’t abait your curiosity even a smidgen.
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> Pet
You gently pet the fluffball. The extremely fibrous crystals are much silkier than the last scolecite you encountered
“Huh,” you muse. “That’s neat.”
You gently pet the fluffball. The extremely fibrous crystals are much silkier than the last scolecite you encountered
“Huh,” you muse. “That’s neat.”
The pandemic rages unchecked in a country where health care is a commodity. Climate change continues setting horrifying records. It’s all relentless bad news.
#YouFindARock. You cling to it, determined to lose yourself in the stony rose for at least a moment.
#YouFindARock. You cling to it, determined to lose yourself in the stony rose for at least a moment.
You ignore the translucent white beads, fingers rolling the grape chalcedony in your pocket as a reminder of past misadventures.
You focus on the salmon orange crystal bloom.
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You focus on the salmon orange crystal bloom.
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> Pet
You reach out, fingers tracing the delicately-radiating crystal fivers. It’s hard under your touch, but extremely brittle.
A single spine snaps free despite your caution. “Ah, drat!” You mutter under your breath. “So sorry about that.” You pat the crystal reassuringly.
>
You reach out, fingers tracing the delicately-radiating crystal fivers. It’s hard under your touch, but extremely brittle.
A single spine snaps free despite your caution. “Ah, drat!” You mutter under your breath. “So sorry about that.” You pat the crystal reassuringly.
>
You stumble through Elazığ, Turkey. Probably; you’re a bit lost because it’s an uncredited viral image transmitted with no context and near-identical framing for years.
But you think you’re in Elazığ, Turkey, pawing through waste rock at the quarry. #YouFindARock.
But you think you’re in Elazığ, Turkey, pawing through waste rock at the quarry. #YouFindARock.
You contemplate the pile as you search archival imagery with fading hopes of ever identifying the original photographer and context.
You pick up a rock.
>
You pick up a rock.
>
You stick out your tongue.
You lick.
Mmm, dusty. It’s otherwise completely flavourless.
You look around. You’re pretty damn sure you’re at Elazig Visne Quarry, but who really knows? If only content thieves valued credit & context over imaginary points
📷 StoneContact.com
You lick.
Mmm, dusty. It’s otherwise completely flavourless.
You look around. You’re pretty damn sure you’re at Elazig Visne Quarry, but who really knows? If only content thieves valued credit & context over imaginary points
📷 StoneContact.com
You wander around Tasmania. #YouFindARock. It’s unmistakably red lead. You reach out.
It’s red lead. But sparkly!
You know better.
And yet...
>
You know better.
And yet...
>
You appreciate its nearly-adamantine sparkle.
Even knowing it’s a bad idea, your fingers lightly dance across crystal faces, barely detecting delicate striations while careful not to snap the fragile forms.
You lick your fingers.
Mmm, danger tastes bittersweet! Literally.
>
Even knowing it’s a bad idea, your fingers lightly dance across crystal faces, barely detecting delicate striations while careful not to snap the fragile forms.
You lick your fingers.
Mmm, danger tastes bittersweet! Literally.
>
You wander the beaches of Chile, enjoying the sunshine and the soothing sea breeze. You poke around tide pools, smiling at smoothed pebbles and surreal nudibranches.
#YouFindARock. It’s gritty with startling hot pink nodules.
📷 Benito Rosende
#YouFindARock. It’s gritty with startling hot pink nodules.
📷 Benito Rosende
Something is off about this rock, but you’re uncertain what’s twinging your instincts.
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>
You poke the lump with a stick.
It squishes.
Um. Is this a rock?
>
It squishes.
Um. Is this a rock?
>
You spend the weekend playing D&D with your adventure crew.
You reach into your dice bag to roll to sneak past a golem. You pull out what you thought was a d20 and instead #YouFindARock. Ooooh, shiny!
You reach into your dice bag to roll to sneak past a golem. You pull out what you thought was a d20 and instead #YouFindARock. Ooooh, shiny!
Shiny. So shiny.
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>
> Lick
It’s gold. It tastes like gold.
Licking it adds nothing to your culinary experience except decadence and glitter. You get psychosomatic lingering hints of cinnamon from the sense-memory of too many shots of Goldschläger in days gone past.
>
It’s gold. It tastes like gold.
Licking it adds nothing to your culinary experience except decadence and glitter. You get psychosomatic lingering hints of cinnamon from the sense-memory of too many shots of Goldschläger in days gone past.
>
#YouFindARock.
How could you not, when so many people have clamoured to lick it? You have no idea where it’s from. But it looks tasty.
How could you not, when so many people have clamoured to lick it? You have no idea where it’s from. But it looks tasty.
The fist-sized cluster of crystals is disturbingly large for a chicken tender, yet that’s what it looks like.
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>
> Lick
It tastes like nothing.
Absolutely nothing. Not a hint of flavour, a smudge of spice, a whiff of tastiness.
It is the complete absence of stimulation for your taste buds.
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It tastes like nothing.
Absolutely nothing. Not a hint of flavour, a smudge of spice, a whiff of tastiness.
It is the complete absence of stimulation for your taste buds.
>
Oh, my.
You’re extremely busy. The world is full of things that desperately need your attention. But... #YouFindARock and it’s too good to let slip away.
It’s an opaque deep teal with no clear crystal shape.
It calls to you.
You’re extremely busy. The world is full of things that desperately need your attention. But... #YouFindARock and it’s too good to let slip away.
It’s an opaque deep teal with no clear crystal shape.
It calls to you.
You know perfectly well that deep saturated colours are markers of heavy metals and on the Do Not Lick list.
But how dangerous is copper, anyway? Surely just a quick nibble is fine...
>
But how dangerous is copper, anyway? Surely just a quick nibble is fine...
>
> Lick
Your eyes dart around, searching the area for those who would judge you for unadvisable rock-licking. Coast clear, you lick.
The dry, porous mineral sticks gently to your tongue. The hydrated copper sulfate is bitter.
You spit, nose wrinkling in distaste.
>
Your eyes dart around, searching the area for those who would judge you for unadvisable rock-licking. Coast clear, you lick.
The dry, porous mineral sticks gently to your tongue. The hydrated copper sulfate is bitter.
You spit, nose wrinkling in distaste.
>
Feeling moderately obsessed with interior American deserts, you skip gleefully from Utah to New Mexico.
But this time you head underground, straying into a mineshaft to admire the hydrothermal alteration within cracked limestone.
#YouFindARock and it is gorgeous.
But this time you head underground, straying into a mineshaft to admire the hydrothermal alteration within cracked limestone.
#YouFindARock and it is gorgeous.
The pearly aqua-blue globular cluster calls out to you with its silky lustre. It’s so tempting!
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>
> Pet
You stroke the silky gem, delighting in the smooth texture under your fingers.
Curious, you scratch it. No mark from your nails. Copper? Gem still harder, but your trusty field knife leaves a mark. Moh’s hardness 4-4.5!
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You stroke the silky gem, delighting in the smooth texture under your fingers.
Curious, you scratch it. No mark from your nails. Copper? Gem still harder, but your trusty field knife leaves a mark. Moh’s hardness 4-4.5!
>
Wandering through the Utah deserts, you stumble, fall to your knees, and as you climb back up #YouFindARock staring back at you.
You’re transfixed by the pale yellow crystals lining the inside of the cavities. They look familiar. So familiar...
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> Lick
“Smoochy smoochy!” you declare, tonguing the rock.
It tastes like nothing and the yellow crystals are sharp enough to prickle your tongue uncomfortably.
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“Smoochy smoochy!” you declare, tonguing the rock.
It tastes like nothing and the yellow crystals are sharp enough to prickle your tongue uncomfortably.
>
It’s been a long, difficult few days of pain, and it’s not over yet. You go for a walk to rest and recharge your emotional capacity.
#YouFindARock. Two rocks, really. You know what they are, they’re gorgeous, and you’re going to play with them.
#YouFindARock. Two rocks, really. You know what they are, they’re gorgeous, and you’re going to play with them.
The opaque, pearly white mineral is delicate flakes spiraling into a crystalline rose. The clear base is an unusual sea-green glossy enough to provoke visions of candy glass.
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>
> Sniff
You sniff the calcite deeply. Despite being the same mineral that builds the matte part of seashells & a polymorph of the aragonite that creates the pearlescent bits, it smells exactly nothing like the ocean.
Or roses.
Or anything.
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You sniff the calcite deeply. Despite being the same mineral that builds the matte part of seashells & a polymorph of the aragonite that creates the pearlescent bits, it smells exactly nothing like the ocean.
Or roses.
Or anything.
>
You head to southeastern France, wandering between local farms, vineyards, and olive groves.
You slip into an abandoned mine where red sandstone transitions to hydrothetmally-altered conglomerates.
#YouFindARock splayed like hard candy tablets.
📷 Stephan Wolfsried
You slip into an abandoned mine where red sandstone transitions to hydrothetmally-altered conglomerates.
#YouFindARock splayed like hard candy tablets.
📷 Stephan Wolfsried
The fan of pale green translucent tabs calls to you.
You reach out, although you’re not yet certain of your approach with this strange mineral:
>
You reach out, although you’re not yet certain of your approach with this strange mineral:
>
> Scritch & scratch
“Who’s a good lil mineral!” you coo, giving a few good pats before scritching around the smooth crystal faces.
With a bit of experimenting, you determine it’s Mohs hardness 3.5, exactly the same as copper.
“D’aww, you’re a softy!” you tease.
>
“Who’s a good lil mineral!” you coo, giving a few good pats before scritching around the smooth crystal faces.
With a bit of experimenting, you determine it’s Mohs hardness 3.5, exactly the same as copper.
“D’aww, you’re a softy!” you tease.
>
Abruptly, with absolutely no prelude, #YouFindARock.
It is two minerals creating a psychedelic, angular pineapple with a blue tuft.
It is two minerals creating a psychedelic, angular pineapple with a blue tuft.
You contemplate your find. All actions could apply to blue or yellow minerals, with drastically different consequences.
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>
> Lick YELLOW mineral
Your tongue darts out, touching angular calcite crystals.
It tastes like nothing.
You lick more vigorously, appreciating the harsh geometric texture but picking up exactly zero flavour. It’s like sucking on a pearl, but with more interesting texture.
>
Your tongue darts out, touching angular calcite crystals.
It tastes like nothing.
You lick more vigorously, appreciating the harsh geometric texture but picking up exactly zero flavour. It’s like sucking on a pearl, but with more interesting texture.
>
You stagger ouf of the hospital, vowing to identify prior to licking wild rocks.
You head to the Arizona deserts yo bask and recover. In an arid cave, #YouFindARock.
It’s very blue. So blue. Electric blue?
📷 Michael C. Roarke
You head to the Arizona deserts yo bask and recover. In an arid cave, #YouFindARock.
It’s very blue. So blue. Electric blue?
📷 Michael C. Roarke
🎶 I'm blue, da ba dee da ba di🎶 you sing to yourself, picking up your latest gorgeous friend.
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>
Learning absolutely nothing from recently EATING URANIUM, you lunge tongue-first at the strange rock.
“Bright colours are only a warning in animals,” you reason, utterly ignoring the close association between vibrancy and heavy metals in minerals.
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“Bright colours are only a warning in animals,” you reason, utterly ignoring the close association between vibrancy and heavy metals in minerals.
>
