Dude. Like, run...
Posted on 09/12/2018 4:44:36 PM PDT by Eddie01
Erik Rintamaki was searching for rocks on a Michigan beach last summer when he made what he calls a "mind blowing" discovery. Resting among the thousands of pebbles covering the Lake Superior beach, Rintamaki saw a glowing rock.
The gem and mineral dealer told CBS News he often goes rock hunting. But on this particular June night, he found a rock unlike any other — a florescent orb that he later named "Yooperlite." Like lava glowing through cracks in the earth, a glowing light seeped out of the lines in the small rock.
Rintamaki knew this couldn't be the only Yooperlite out there, but he couldn't find any information about glowing rocks online. He knows many people in the gem and mineral field, but everyone he asked had no clue what these mysterious rocks were.
A Michigan man who discovered a new rock type uses a black light to search for the distinctive glowing rocks along the beaches of Lake Superior. FACEBOOK/YOOPERLITES Rinktamaki went back to the beach night after night, carrying a black light which helped illuminated the glowing rocks. "I was blown away," he said. "It's insane how many are on the beaches up here." He started collecting Yooperlites by the bagful and sold them online. Michigan State University messaged Rinktamaki with an interest in buying some of the rocks to study.
Michigan State, along with the University of Saskatewan, researched the Yooperlites for months. The universities determined that Rintamaki did, indeed, discover a new type of rock. He says other people may have spotted these gems before, but he was the first person to get Yooperlites verified — making him the self-proclaimed "Christopher Columbus of rocks."
Rintamaki said Michigan State gave the rocks a scientific name: syenite clasts containing fluorescent sodalite.
The name he gave them — Yooperlites — comes from the nickname "Yoopers," which refers to people who live in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, according to Mineral News, a newsletter for mineral collectors that reported on Rintamaki's discovery.
When his discovery was verified and made public in May 2018, Rintamaki says life as he knew it changed. "I've had thousands of messages and I can't get to them all," he told CBS News. He now gives Yooperlite tours on the beaches along Lake Superior.
"I've never had anyone not find stones," Rintamaki said of his tour groups. He takes groups out near dusk and they use black lights to search for Yooperlites for about four hours, he says. He also still sells Yooperlites and bought a machine that can buff them into perfect, smooth orbs.
When he's not with a tour group, he finds himself looking for Yooperlites alone all night long. "I work the night shift at a casino, so when I get out of work at 2 a.m., I get to the beach ... I search until the sun comes up," he said.
Rintamaki's passion has made him a local celebrity. He says his tours are booked solid through 2019 and the videos of his rock hunting have gone viral.
Not going to say what I visualized after reading that.
I don't know. If you're going to mess around with those things, you should bring a reliable condom-mint.
Dude. Like, run...
Rentamaki
These rocks are fluorescent . Ultraviolet light is converted to visible light. They only appear to glow because the black light is invisible to the Human eye. If you wonder around at night with an ultraviolet flashlight glowing rocks are fairly easy to find
Saint Urho’s fire.
I believe that pasties are served at the Talkeetna Roadhouse in Talkeetna, Alaska, also.
The reindeer pasties are really good.
Happened to be in the Taku lodge last week close to Juneau. Did not see that on the menu?
Awesome! Used to love snowmobiling and skiing in the U.P. back when I lived in Wisconsin. Did my first keg stand years ago on a visit to Northern Michigan University. The view snowmobiling into Houghton was cool too.
they aint purple are they
Perhaps none of those mellenia ever walked those beaches with a battery powered short wave UV light.
No need for what? I didn't insult anyone.
Illiteracy is contagious. I do what I can to help keep it from spreading.
Sure.
If it cures baldness though there won’t be a beach left in the State.
Mmm.... pasties.
You can keep the rest, eh?
Erik found it so he should get to name it..,....Yooperlite
Interesting... I’ll have to follow this up. My family has kept a cottage in this general area and it sounds like a fun thing to do sometime. At a quick glance, it wasn’t clear where exactly these rocks were turning up but I’m assuming in the Grand Marais area.
Thanks Eddie01.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.