Govinn Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 This may have been the topic of several threads, but I HAVE to share this with you all... To set the story... Our entire family was together for Christmas, which doesn't happen very often. I took advantage of the situation and decided that all my nephews and nieces would receive (from Angela and I) a 5 gallon bucket full of unwashed Aurora spoils pile material as our present. On Christmas eve I gathered our entire family and sat all the children down armed with small strainers and 5 gallon buckets filled with water. I began to put material in their strainers and let them rinse the material. Everyone, adults included, soon became involved looking to see what would pop up in the strainers. Soon the bucket was gone and we moved to the kitchen table where we began looking for teeth and other fossils. I would hear "what's this?" or "ohh, is this a tooth?" It was SOOO much fun, memories were created, and it didn't cost much... It was a win-win for everyone.... little did I know what kind of impression it made on some of my nephews... Cameron, my brother's son, has made display cases and has taken them to school for "show-n-tell." Brayden, my brother's youngest son, well... I'll just attached the email my brother, Angelo, sent me... ENJOY!! I couldn't stop laughing... Oh, and you all are now known as my "shark teeth friends"... LOL Hey Boy! How are things? Tell Angela hello for us.. Today, Brayden lost another tooth. Tonight, he asked me to kneel down with him by his bed to say prayers with him. So I did. He said the prayer and part of his prayer was asking Heavenly Father to bless him with lots of money for this teeth. After the prayer finished, he went to his dresser and got his BAG OF SHARK TEETH and proceeded to put those under his pillow... hahahahahaha I started cracking up. I thought he was talking about his tooth he lost today.... but NO!!! he was wanting the tooth fairy to come and buy ALL the SHARK TEETH... hahahahahha I told him the Tooth fairy does not buy those teeth.... and he better go put those back on his dresser. I figured I would share this story with you... it was too cute to pass up. Maybe you can pass it on to your shark teeth friends, they may get a kick out of it... Love Ya, Angelo History will be kind to me for I intend to write it. ~Sir Winston Churchill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Kids say the darnedest things! You are definitely the "Awesome Uncle" for hosting the spoil-pile party... "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdevey Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Funny.....how about the shock, when someone sees your Fossil cleaning toothbrush..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Andy- Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 *Shows my friend an Enchodus tooth* Me: It's a prehistoric fish tooth. Him: Meh. Just a fish. Me: It's a dinosaur fish. Him: Oh my God! That's really cool, can I hold it please? Looking forward to meeting my fellow Singaporean collectors! Do PM me if you are a Singaporean, or an overseas fossil-collector coming here for a holiday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jocky Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 So picture the scene of me and my brother in some forgotten corner of the Qatar Desert. We have walked for hours in 40 degree heat and found virtually nothing and it's getting to the point of give up and go home. My brother comes over to discuss the route and schedule of going home and we discuss for 5 minutes. He then proceeds to find the biggest and most perfect specimen of Odontaspis tooth ever lying at his feet. Bear in mind that he came into my search area, so technically he was poaching. To this day that tooth is referred to by my daughter as " the tooth you stole from daddy" and it still makes me chortle. CHEERS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down under fossil hunter Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 *Shows my friend an Enchodus tooth* Me: It's a prehistoric fish tooth. Him: Meh. Just a fish. Me: It's a dinosaur fish. Him: Oh my God! That's really cool, can I hold it please? I like how that played out (friends just don't get it). Me: Look at this ichthyosaur it is from the jurassic of England and is my best fossil! Mate: Are you sure its not a long nosed crocodile, cos that's what it looks like..... Me: It is 185 MYO! Mate: If you say so, at least it looks better than those tree rocks you found (points to a slab of Triassic Dicrodiums). Me: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Govinn Posted March 7, 2012 Author Share Posted March 7, 2012 (edited) Kids say the darnedest things! You are definitely the "Awesome Uncle" for hosting the spoil-pile party... Thank you. I posted this because I think it's an awesome idea and a cool way to share our hobby with family... I think I will make this a tradition each year... Funny.....how about the shock, when someone sees your Fossil cleaning toothbrush..... LMBO!!! I didn't bring mine with me on our trip. Since my tooth brush cost $100, Angela was nice enough to give up hers... This post made both of us crack up!! LOL at Jocky's comment!! Edited March 7, 2012 by Govinn History will be kind to me for I intend to write it. ~Sir Winston Churchill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 A certain coworker knows that I like fossils. He said he saw some fossil in the rocks along the shore while fishing at an area reservoir. I don't quite remember how he described it, but it sounded like a large trilobite.... or better. The rocks of the lake are Ordovician and Mississippian, so the potential certainly was there. I asked if he remembered where he found it. He said yes. I then said I'd like to tag along on his next fishing trip and check it out. A little while later, I asked about it again. He said that he went down there again, and the fossil was gone. Gone? Um, sure.... I guess he figured I could call his bluff. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GerryK Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 It's well known that road cuts can be good places to find fossils. If the exposure is a shale, weathered specimens will roll down hill. I was told of a road cut locality where small crinoid calyxes weather out from the shales. The calyxes would fall out and collect in the road ditch because the exposure is close to the road. When I got there, I went to the road ditch and got down on my hands and knees to look for specimens. After being there for some period of time, I heard sirens coming down the road. I got up to see what was happening and saw a police car coming toward me with lights flashing and siren blaring. Next I saw an ambulance with its light flashing and siren blaring coming toward me. When the police car stop in front of me, a female police officer got out of the car and started walking toward me. Then a second police car was coming down the road toward me with its lights flashing and siren blaring. There I was standing in a road ditch with three vehicles flashing their lights around me. As the police officer is walking closer to me I'm thinking, what did I do, is she going to pull out her gun, am I going to be arrested. My heart was pounding and I was worrying what is going to happen next. I ask the office what's happening. She answered, "a trucker called 911 and said there is a body along the side of the road laying in the ditch." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squali Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 A couple of weeks ago I had a day off on a Friday and decided to hit a couple of spots. I parked at a little playground in a neighborhood, grabbed my backpack and proceeded to the deep cut creek. I saw a dad with his 3yr? old playing and the kid said hi. I said hi back and kept walking. The dad looked at me xeyed and grabbed the kid. Whatever, I didn't think about it, he looked like a new parent- first kid- thing. So I'm down in the creek heading down stream a couple of hundred yards. While I'm intently looking at the gravel bars I hear a helicopter overhead. I look up and see a news helicopter. Thinking it's watching a traffic accident or something. I find a 1/4 of a centrum of a vertebrae and am sticking it in my backpack when I hear. "I got him". I wasn't sure if I was thinking out loud or not. As I turned around I saw a policeman standing on the bank looking very business like. " Whats going on here?" He says and I respond " I'm looking for fossils" What??? I repeat "I'm looking for fossils, I can show you" As i swing the pack off my shoulder and open it up to show him. "Why don't you come up here" He insists I climb up the bank. I showed him my partial of a partial vert and he is now convinced that I'm a harmless loon. He explained that there had been a lot of robberies recently and a neighbor had called the police after seeing a man with a backpack and a skull cap in the creek. The policeman actually laughed and said that they had called the news copter when they couldn't locate me. Don't think he liked the stickers and green mud. He said I was free to continue since I wasn't trespassing. I thanked him and he asked how to get out of there. I offered "The same way you got here is your best bet" Think I'll wear my safety vest next time It's hard to remember why you drained the swamp when your surrounded by alligators. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roz Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 It's well known that road cuts can be good places to find fossils. If the exposure is a shale, weathered specimens will roll down hill. I was told of a road cut locality where small crinoid calyxes weather out from the shales. The calyxes would fall out and collect in the road ditch because the exposure is close to the road. When I got there, I went to the road ditch and got down on my hands and knees to look for specimens. After being there for some period of time, I heard sirens coming down the road. I got up to see what was happening and saw a police car coming toward me with lights flashing and siren blaring. Next I saw an ambulance with its light flashing and siren blaring coming toward me. When the police car stop in front of me, a female police officer got out of the car and started walking toward me. Then a second police car was coming down the road toward me with its lights flashing and siren blaring. There I was standing in a road ditch with three vehicles flashing their lights around me. As the police officer is walking closer to me I'm thinking, what did I do, is she going to pull out her gun, am I going to be arrested. My heart was pounding and I was worrying what is going to happen next. I ask the office what's happening. She answered, "a trucker called 911 and said there is a body along the side of the road laying in the ditch." I think you need to move around more next time! Welcome to the forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 A couple of weeks ago I had a day off on a Friday and decided to hit a couple of spots. I parked at a little playground in a neighborhood, grabbed my backpack and proceeded to the deep cut creek. I saw a dad with his 3yr? old playing and the kid said hi. I said hi back and kept walking. The dad looked at me xeyed and grabbed the kid. Whatever, I didn't think about it, he looked like a new parent- first kid- thing. So I'm down in the creek heading down stream a couple of hundred yards. While I'm intently looking at the gravel bars I hear a helicopter overhead. I look up and see a news helicopter. Thinking it's watching a traffic accident or something. I find a 1/4 of a centrum of a vertebrae and am sticking it in my backpack when I hear. "I got him". I wasn't sure if I was thinking out loud or not. As I turned around I saw a policeman standing on the bank looking very business like. " Whats going on here?" He says and I respond " I'm looking for fossils" What??? I repeat "I'm looking for fossils, I can show you" As i swing the pack off my shoulder and open it up to show him. "Why don't you come up here" He insists I climb up the bank. I showed him my partial of a partial vert and he is now convinced that I'm a harmless loon. He explained that there had been a lot of robberies recently and a neighbor had called the police after seeing a man with a backpack and a skull cap in the creek. The policeman actually laughed and said that they had called the news copter when they couldn't locate me. Don't think he liked the stickers and green mud. He said I was free to continue since I wasn't trespassing. I thanked him and he asked how to get out of there. I offered "The same way you got here is your best bet" Think I'll wear my safety vest next time This is why I prefer weekdays (and cold weather) when I hunt outcrops in parks and residential areas. I leave weekends open for road cuts, quarries, and construction areas. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vordigern Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 A couple of weeks ago I had a day off on a Friday and decided to hit a couple of spots. I parked at a little playground in a neighborhood, grabbed my backpack and proceeded to the deep cut creek. I saw a dad with his 3yr? old playing and the kid said hi. I said hi back and kept walking. The dad looked at me xeyed and grabbed the kid. Whatever, I didn't think about it, he looked like a new parent- first kid- thing. So I'm down in the creek heading down stream a couple of hundred yards. While I'm intently looking at the gravel bars I hear a helicopter overhead. I look up and see a news helicopter. Thinking it's watching a traffic accident or something. I find a 1/4 of a centrum of a vertebrae and am sticking it in my backpack when I hear. "I got him". I wasn't sure if I was thinking out loud or not. As I turned around I saw a policeman standing on the bank looking very business like. " Whats going on here?" He says and I respond " I'm looking for fossils" What??? I repeat "I'm looking for fossils, I can show you" As i swing the pack off my shoulder and open it up to show him. "Why don't you come up here" He insists I climb up the bank. I showed him my partial of a partial vert and he is now convinced that I'm a harmless loon. He explained that there had been a lot of robberies recently and a neighbor had called the police after seeing a man with a backpack and a skull cap in the creek. The policeman actually laughed and said that they had called the news copter when they couldn't locate me. Don't think he liked the stickers and green mud. He said I was free to continue since I wasn't trespassing. I thanked him and he asked how to get out of there. I offered "The same way you got here is your best bet" Think I'll wear my safety vest next time lol, I was waiting for this post, its even funnier the second time, heading over there tomorrow for a couple hours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boneman007 Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 (edited) I have been greeted in the field more than once by the fine law enforcement officers of our fine country. I hunt a site in Dallas that is very restricted access. I was there with a couple of friends from the Washinton, DC area. We were crawling the grounds when two SWAT officers in full gear showed up. Having dealt with many fine officers in my time I didnt worry about it, and went up to talk to them. It turns out they had just found a body in the same area. Needless to say, my buddies had never had a run in with a SWAT team while fossils hunting! Since then they have found 2 1/2 more bodies. (How do you lose half a body?) Needless to say, when I go to this site, I notify the police well in advance now... Edited March 12, 2012 by Boneman007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Apparently our hobby is quite perplexing to people who see us hunting, they can't figure out what we're doing so we must be either up to no good or in trouble! I bet I look pretty odd pushing my baby stroller around the hill with no baby in it.... (Actually people around here are not usually that stupid, they often ask me "are you looking for fossils/herkimer diamonds?" but I'm not usually laying in a ditch when they see me) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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