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My cousin keeps calling any dark shiny rock obsidian and it's driving me nuts
I mean, we were at the rock show in Tucson and he pointed at a piece of anthracite coal saying 'cool obsidian'. I tried to explain the difference in hardness and how it forms, but he just shrugged. Does anyone have a simple way to explain this stuff to people who aren't into geology?
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emery9652mo ago
Okay but have you tried showing him the actual difference? Like, get a piece of real obsidian and a piece of that coal and scratch a piece of glass with each one. The obsidian will scratch it because it's harder, the coal will just leave a smudge. Sometimes people need to SEE it, not just hear the words.
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sammurray1mo ago
Exactly, they need to see it. I had a friend who was sure his "gold" coin was real. Telling him it was fake did nothing. So I got a magnet. The look on his face when it stuck was everything. Some people just won't believe it until it's right in front of them. Simonl86 might say let him have his fun, but proving it is way more fun.
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