John: Uh, this is something JC turned me on to, and I—so I got one and I checked it out. It’s kind of cool to have. I think it’s important to have one around the house—a Geiger counter.
Adam: I have a Geiger counter.
John: Do you have the little handheld one? It’s about the size of a cell phone.
Adam: No, I have a World War II Geiger counter.
John: Yeah. I had one of those. They’re too big and clunky.
Adam: Yeah, they’re very clunky.
John: This is a modern Geiger counter. Of course, it’s made in China—GQ Electronics. It actually says Seattle, Washington on the box when it opens—but it’s Chinese. Give me a break. It’s the GQ GMC-800. You can get that, but there are other ones that are similar. They’re all under a hundred dollars, and they have a little sensor on the side of the Geiger tube. At least the modern versions, I guess—somebody’s miniaturized it. And I think it’s handy to have.
I checked it out. I have a uranium rock amongst my collection.
Adam: Of course you do. Doesn’t everybody have a uranium rock laying around? Next to the uranium rock, next to the cheddar cheese hat?
John: It’s sealed in a lead thing. And I checked it—yup, it could see the uranium. So it works.
It’s funny, because I’m actually slightly radioactive.
Adam: Wow.
John: I mean, the background on this—the background is around 8, or just no radiation at all. And then when you’re hanging it around a person, it’ll go up to 10.
Adam: Now, have you tried a banana?
John: Not yet. Now that you mention it—I should try a banana.
Adam: What other things… I mean, what is the actual usefulness of a Geiger counter around the house?
John: To check your water supply. Maybe to see if somebody’s serving you tea—you might want to make sure it’s not laced with plutonium to try to kill you. That’s one good use.
Adam: Is this a portable device you can take with you?
John: Yeah, it’s the size of a cell phone. It’s very small.
Adam: Oh, you can take it with you to the Russian Tea Room where they might try something.
John: You could take it to the Russian Tea Room and pull it out. You could also take it to the fish market to make sure you’re not getting radioactive salmon.
Adam: this is tips within tips.
John: Yeah, there’s a lot of potential uses. So I just think everyone should have a Geiger counter. Come on, it’s 2025.
Adam: That’s right, everybody. Get your Geiger counter.