Geodes

Apparently geodes are so common they are even collected and sold as children's toys. The game is breaking them open.

I did scant research. Too scant.

I watched a few videos on YouTube.

The first one was the hands of a young woman attempting to break one open at the dining room table. She did poorly. The entire video, the portion I saw anyway before clicking off in disgust, was her displaying her bright red fingernails as she turned a stone around in her fingers. She pounded one with a hammer on a cutting board. The whole time I cannot take my eyes off her bright red fingernails and I believe that's the whole purpose of making the video.

The second is a video of a boy with his father watching. The boy has an incredibly difficult time cracking open the geode.

Had I looked further then I'd have noticed there are plenty of other geode suppliers on Amazon.

I bought Amazon's Choice, the set by National Geographic. Ten geodes for $25.00. The set comes with safety glasses, a small plastic magnifying glass, a few plastic tables such as the things included inside a pizza box to prevent the lid from smashing into the pizza, this is for displaying the cracked open geodes. And a pamphlet explaining geodes.

To understand how this gift can go wrong, let's read the 1-star reviews.

9% are bad reviews. That's a lot of disappointed people. Nearly 1/10 of the buyers will never buy these again.

* Every geode was white. I paid more for this kit because they were listed as having a variety of colors.

* The kids adventure fell way flat. We spent a million years trying to crack them open only to have some of them duds. Just rocks. The kids were bored by how long it took to open them. They got all white crystals over and over. The kids thought they were fakes. They were really excited and thn got all bummed out.

* Of the 10 geodes only three had decent crystals. All ten were white inside.

* Waste of money. Every geode was exactly the same inside.

* Used various hammers, Dewalt drill, multiple chisels, finally got one open after 30 minutes. The one we got opened was amazing but unfortunately broke into a thousand pieces.

* "They're just rocks!" Cried my nephew as I kept hitting it over and over until it finally opened to reveal the inside is the same as the outside. Same as rocks you find outside. This was awful.

* Our whole family tried to crack these open. Finally my dad got it opened using a hammer and chisel and the thing was the same inside as outside.

* I paid a higher price expecting a better product but these are actually the lowest quality geodes that I've ever opened. They are very small. Several are just plain rocks.

* Two in the package were just rocks. The rest of them were man-made. Each one was exactly the same.

* Most were just junk. A few had no crystals. Another kit had more crystals but they were all the same. Most are small. Used a tile saw to open.

Well, okay then. The whole thing is a gamble.

The positive reviews are all glowing. The kids were thrilled for a toys that are bashed open. They're appropriate for girls as well as for boys. Each stone is beautiful and interesting and varied. 59% of reviewers were thrilled.

Oh dear.

This could have been a mistake.

"James, please prepare your boys for disappointment."

I had the box sent to the younger boy. I had just sent the older boy a box of 10,000 popsicle sticks, glue and paint. I didn't want the younger boy to feel left out. I had no idea how this would go over.

James called me immediately with the boys in the background excited. They were put on the phone to explain what they did. They were both totally stoked. They had already cracked open three geodes and they were thrilled with all three. They described the geodes in detail. Each one was different.

One was holding back their new puppy Border Collie who was also excited about all the action outside. In one lapse moment the dog shot forward and grabbed half geode and ran to the farthest part of the yard. The dog just had to see what these things are.

I laughed.

James said that he was out doing something and when he returned the boys were ready to start with their project. They were waiting for him to show up and help them proceed. One was already wearing the safety glasses. They had already poured over the pictures in the booklet. They were holding the plastic magnifying glass. They were ready and they wanted to get cracking immediately. The whole thing was pure excitement.

They had done this before.

What?

James said, "This gift was perfect timing. I'm fairly certain you're psychic. We had just visited [some cave] where geodes are part of the tour. They have a huge wooden box filled with geodes and we paid to crack a few open. The boys are thrilled to have their own geodes that aren't part of a tour."

He told me his wife had already read the booklet. She has an interest in this sort of thing.

I told him that I wonder how they know a rock is a geode when they look like normal rocks.

Without any hesitation he told me they are a lot lighter than regular rocks.

So I learned something just by that conversation.

They stopped opening geodes because they were losing the light. They decided to put off the rest for today. Except they have a lot of other things going on besides a basketball game that the older boy played in took up all the interest for the day. So they'll pick up where they left off tomorrow which is today.

James will make a video of the boys opening the remaining seven geodes. If the video is any good then I'll show it to you.

There are other kits. 25 geodes for $30.00, 12 geodes for $24.00, 35 geodes for $25.00, 2 geodes for $15.00,  12 geodes for $18.00,  15 geodes from 5 different places for $40.00.

Some complain the geodes are small as quarters. So far as I am concerned the kit that I bought the boys is already worth the cost based on the three that were opened. I am already satisfied even if the next seven are all duds. The kit was already a blast. The boys loved it. My brother is impressed. And his wife is intensely interested in all of these things. I knew that already by her reaction to Dinosaur Ridge, the tiny museum, and more extensive gift shop filled with interesting things.