KrishnaRao10 Posted January 30, 2020 Share Posted January 30, 2020 (edited) Greetings kind people, I'm so sorry if this is such a noob question. But I've searched and searched but I couldn't find answers to these on internet. (kindly correct me because I feel I maybe wrong): Smithsonian website said licking dinosaur fossil helps in identifying between a rock or a fossil... But isn't fossil a rock in itself? Fossils are made because minerals get replaced and it's not possible for bone to remain in its original state for millions of years. So, it's not the original material anymore.. so licking a fossil should equal to licking a rock? In that case, licking should not work? Edited January 30, 2020 by KrishnaRao10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilNerd Posted January 30, 2020 Share Posted January 30, 2020 Here is an older thread regarding the lick test that you may find informative. This test is not a 100% accurate way to determine if a rock is fossilized bone or not. It is better to learn the diagnostic characteristics of what fossilized bone looks like. Plus it tastes better! 4 The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it. -Neil deGrasse Tyson Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't. -Bill Nye (The Science Guy) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuMert Posted January 30, 2020 Share Posted January 30, 2020 Not to mention that if its not a fossil, you can contract something not too desired 2 My sites & reports Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrishnaRao10 Posted January 30, 2020 Author Share Posted January 30, 2020 1 hour ago, FossilNerd said: Here is an older thread regarding the lick test that you may find informative. This test is not a 100% accurate way to determine if a rock is fossilized bone or not. It is better to learn the diagnostic characteristics of what fossilized bone looks like. Plus it tastes better! Great! Got all my answers! Thank you so much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrishnaRao10 Posted January 30, 2020 Author Share Posted January 30, 2020 1 hour ago, RuMert said: Not to mention that if its not a fossil, you can contract something not too desired Yes I did wonder that. Thank you so much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siteseer Posted January 30, 2020 Share Posted January 30, 2020 12 hours ago, KrishnaRao10 said: Greetings kind people, I'm so sorry if this is such a noob question. But I've searched and searched but I couldn't find answers to these on internet. (kindly correct me because I feel I maybe wrong): Smithsonian website said licking dinosaur fossil helps in identifying between a rock or a fossil... But isn't fossil a rock in itself? Fossils are made because minerals get replaced and it's not possible for bone to remain in its original state for millions of years. So, it's not the original material anymore.. so licking a fossil should equal to licking a rock? In that case, licking should not work? It's not just dinosaur fossils. Back in the early 90's, I was an inexperienced collector out prospecting a Miocene area with a friend who had been collecting at least fifteen years by that time. He was picking up random bits that looked like bone and licking them. It was an old-school test before he started collecting so it's a good, if not always accurate, indicator. We were in the right place because we did find some mammal teeth and a toe bone later. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kmiecik Posted February 1, 2020 Share Posted February 1, 2020 The other reason to lick a rock or a fossil is to see color and detail more easily. Take a rock, any rock and look at the color and detail. Get the rock wet and look at it again. Also, all of us old farts just like to watch the newbs cringe as they lick rocks. Mark. Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted February 2, 2020 Share Posted February 2, 2020 Liiiiiick...smack, smack, smack.... mmm, tastes like chicken! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siteseer Posted February 2, 2020 Share Posted February 2, 2020 2 hours ago, Mark Kmiecik said: The other reason to lick a rock or a fossil is to see color and detail more easily. Take a rock, any rock and look at the color and detail. Get the rock wet and look at it again. Also, all of us old farts just like to watch the newbs cringe as they lick rocks. Yeah, and those cringing newbs are alright eating fast food (frozen processed whatever) but they freak out at licking a rock. The rock probably got rinsed off by the last rain but who knows what's really in that "chicken nugget." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mediospirifer Posted February 2, 2020 Share Posted February 2, 2020 Just know the geology you're working in. It's potentially hazardous to your health if the rocks are arsenic-bearing minerals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptychodus04 Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 I was in a soils and foundations class in college where our professor made us eat dirt in order to help determine what it is made of. It wasn't a favorite assignment for most of the class. Regards, Kris Global Paleo Services, LLC https://globalpaleoservices.com http://instagram.com/globalpaleoservices http://instagram.com/kris.howe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archeria Posted February 5, 2020 Share Posted February 5, 2020 I've heard of it before,some people do that to see if the rock is a fossil,but is not suggested.a person's uncle died because the bone he licked was touched by a field worker with coronavirus... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilNerd Posted February 5, 2020 Share Posted February 5, 2020 11 hours ago, hugoyip said: a person's uncle died because the bone he licked was touched by a field worker with coronavirus... I see you are new to the forum so hello and welcome. Do you have proof of the above statement? I ask for a couple of reasons... First and foremost we are a scientifically oriented community. This makes most of us skeptical regarding any statement made that is not backed up by a published paper, reputable news article, clear picture, diagram, web link to a reputable source, etc. If the statement was made in jest, as a scare tactic, or hear-say, it is in bad form and poor taste IMHO. People have died from the recent corona virus outbreak. Being that this is an international forum you might inadvertently offend someone. We also don’t want to raise false concerns. Saying things like the above will undoubtedly lead some people to conclude that fossil collecting is now dangerous. We don’t want to feed the growing fear of recent events. I don’t say this to chastise you, as I don’t think you meant any harm, but if I misinterpreted your statement, others will too. I merely want to bring it to your attention, and the attention of others around the world who may be reading. Could licking a rock/fossil be hazardous to your health? Absolutely, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to suggest people are dying from the coronavirus by doing so. Not without proof. So if you have some form of proof then please post it. I have tried to search online regarding the subject and have found nothing. Hence my concern. I would also encourage you and others to read the below linked post regarding the coronavirus living on imported/exported fossils, and recommend reading up on the virus from the statements made by the WHO and the CDC. 2 The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it. -Neil deGrasse Tyson Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't. -Bill Nye (The Science Guy) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megalodoodle Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 Can’t remember this one famous chemist’s name, anyhow he licked and tasted all of his specimens, he died surrounded by many dangerous elements. Of course it was so long ago that no one knew those elements were dangerous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted February 13, 2020 Share Posted February 13, 2020 I wouldn't recommend it. It leaves a 60 million year old taste in your mouth! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aplomado Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 On 2/1/2020 at 5:52 PM, Mark Kmiecik said: The other reason to lick a rock or a fossil is to see color and detail more easily. Take a rock, any rock and look at the color and detail. Get the rock wet and look at it again. Also, all of us old farts just like to watch the newbs cringe as they lick rocks. I read an report about the use of saliva by art restorers... apparently it is a great cleaning agent! https://www.jstor.org/stable/1506167?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2.thumb.jpeg.ecccacfe0375e5db9752a95fccf17ed5.jpeg)
Recommended Posts