You should probably avoid giving your child this as a holiday present.
The most deadly toy in the world, a lab kit for radioactive atomic energy that includes actual uranium, is up for sale.
The toy, called the Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Laboratory, was designed by Alfred Carlton Gilbert in the early 1950s. It was marketed as an educational toy for kids who wanted to be scientists and was created at a period when atomic bombs were being discussed.
Less than 5,000 Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Laboratories were produced, therefore this is a rare find, according to what RR AuctiontoldTMZ.
Gilbert’s company blamed government constraints and the challenge of getting components for the toy’s discontinuation in 1951.
A Geiger-Miller radiation counter, a spinthariscope to examine radioactive disintegration, a cloud chamber to see alpha particles, and an electroscope to monitor radiation levels in the four contained substances—carnotite, autunite, torbernite, and uraninite—are all included in the lab set.
A U.S. government guide to uranium prospecting is one of the extras included in the kit, which comes in a personalized metal case.
For the next 4.5 billion years, the uranium samples will continue to be radioactive.
As long as the samples are kept in their sealed containers, the radiation intensity is equal to UV exposure from the sun, per a 2020 report published by IEEE Spectrum, the top technical publication in the world.
A comic book with Dagwood from the well-known Blondie comic strip was also included with the package. It was co-written with Manhattan Project director General Leslie Groves and was titled Learn How Dagwood Splits the Atom.
There is still time for someone to purchase the Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Laboratory as a Christmas present, as the bidding finishes on December 11.
Stories by
EmilyAnn Jackman
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