[Rockhounds] Fordite

[Stephen Shimatzki]

Shhh... Don't anyone mention bowlerite to him, I wouldn't Larry to
stri..er, stroke!

Lol
Steve in Ohio

On Mon, Dec 14, 2020, 9:30 PM Larry Rush <larryrush at att.net> wrote:

> Recently, as a birthday gift, I received a "specimen" in a mineral box,
> labeled "Fordite- Detroit Agate".
> Thinking I had now in my sweaty, little palm, a NEW mineral species,  I
> took a closer look.If you have not heard of this kind of "specimen", I'll
> save you the time...it is broken polished fragments of solidified paint and
> enamel from the obsolete car-painting booths in the Ford motor plants.
> It does come in finely banded layers and swirls of color, similar to agate
> in looks.
> But, there the similarity to minerals ends!!
> There is no science involved, no mining from ores deep in Mother Earth, no
> crystallization, no eye-catching Geometry.......You won't find this one in
> Dana!In short, it is just a cheap way to merchandize and take name
> advantage of our esteemed love of mineralogy.
> If you haven't heard of this scam, look it up on the Web, and be
> disappointed for yourself.
> For me, I have too much respect, not to mention a lifetime fascination for
> mineralogy, to allow a cheap "look-alike" substitute to occupy my attention
> for very long.I wonder how the mineral-naming committee, the IMA, feels
> about this?
> And, lastly, my gift-giver meant it only as a joke, one which did not make
> me smile!
> Let the buyer beware!
> Larry
>
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