Over a decade ago on an internet forum for mineral collectors, Alysson Rowan stumbled upon a post from another user. The man said in his post that he’s terrified because some of the mineral specimens that he bought were apparently radioactive. Fortunately, Rowan is a radiation safety professional, and, in response to the man’s post, she wrote an article about nuclear safety and the reality of radioactivity. Naturally, Rowan’s article became popular for many radioaction enthusiasts, but with more readers came more follow-up questions. Rowan could have answered these questions one by one, but she followed someone’s advice.
‘Look, forget about these bits and pieces: Just compile this all into a book,” Rowan says. “And so that’s what I did.”
And so, Rowan wrote a book titled Here Be Dragons: The Care and Feeding of Radioactive Mineral Species. The better news? The book is free!
Just like her article which introduced people to nuclear safety, Rowan’s book also became popular and is now the “go-to resource for the radioactive rockhound community.”
Learn more about the book, as well as stories from various collectors, over at Atlas Obscura.
(Image Credit: Andrey Stoev/ Atlas Obscura)