3/11/24 Report - Radium Ore Revigator! You Never Know What You Might Find. Hurricane Season Predicted to Be Active.

Written by the TtreaureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.

Radium Ore Revigators with Spout Like the Mystery Object.

When you research a mystery find, you never know where it will take you.  Sometimes it will take you to places you would never guess or sometimes even never imagine.

Recently I showed a couple mystery objects.  One of them looked something like a hose nozzle when I first picked it up, but then after cleaning it up a little, I thought maybe it was a carburetor part.

Here is the item I'm talking about.

Mark G. did some research and his thoughts evolved as he describs below.

Your mystery object through me off a few times so I had to keep looking. The part that threw me off was the outlet of the pressure valve was soldered on? Pressure valves usually have an inlet and an outlet that can withstand the same pressures which a soldered-on connection would not hold back pressure very well. So I know I am looking for a use that lets out pressure freely. I thought maybe Train whistle, but they are made a little differently. Then I thought maybe a push button beer keg tap but without knowing what was soldered on to it, it’s frustrating. However, I did find some old water cooler jugs that used the push button spigot so I kept digging for the exact shape in brass. I believe I found the item and it’s very old and very unique. It’s a water spout for an ceramic water crock, but not just any water crock, I believe the design and shape is exclusive to the Revigator Radium Ore Co. from the 1920s. The ceramic is lined with radioactive materials (spout may emit a little radioactivity as well) and I would guess the solder is probably lead too, Wikipedia says there was a lead spout. I have tried to find a photo of the instructions on the side, but Wikipedia has it in their article.

If you found the entire piece it would be a “glowing” find. 

Below is what Mark found about the Revigator.

 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from Radium Ore Revigator)

Radium Ore Revigator or Revigator Crock.

The radium ore revigator was a Pseudoscientific medical device consisting of a ceramic water crock lined with radioactive materials. It was patented in 1912 by R. W. Thomas. Thomas was working at the time as a stock salesman in Arizona but, by 1923, had moved to southern California to begin manufacture of his patent. In 1924, following several successful advertisement campaigns that left him unable to keep up with demand, he sold his operation to Dow-Herriman Pump & Machinery Company, selling thousands of the devices in the 1920s and 1930s.

The Revigator was intended to be filled with water overnight, which would be irradiated by the uranium and radium in the liner, and then consumed the next day.

The manufacturer provided the following instructions: 'Fill jar every night. Drink freely … when thirsty and upon arising and retiring, average eight or more glasses daily.’

This was marketed as a healthy practice which could prevent illnesses including arthritis, flatulence, and senility.

The Revigator contained carnotite K₂(UO₂)₂(VO₄)₂·3H₂O. Water stored overnight in a vintage Revigator was analyzed by ICP-MS and radiation detectors. Although the water contained high levels of radon, a Mount St. Mary's University study posited that the health risk from radiation was probably low relative to the other causes of mortality at the time. The water also contained levels of arsenic, lead (due to the fact that it had a lead spout), vanadium, and uranium that pose a health risk.

That is something I never would have thought of. It is something I never knew existed. Very interesting item. I'd like to stumble onto other pieces of something like that and will be watching for anything possibly related.  In fact, I'm thinking that maybe I saw part of a top like that.

Thanks for the research, Mark, and to many others who provided their input.  Mark went through some other possibilities before he finally came up with this one.

I was thinking that it might be a part of a carburetor.   More than one person saw it as a relief valve of some type, or a fuel pump for something like an old Coleman lantern, or sprinkler plumbing.  Thanks to all of you.  Many good answers.

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The hurricane season forecast is already looking grim: Here's why hot oceans, La Niña matter...

Things like El Niño and La Niña are useful in the big picture, said Alan Sealls, a retired television meteorologist and adjunct professor at the University of South Alabama. "But the problem is we all live in the little picture, and they just don't tell us what could happen or where it would happen exactly where we live."

Despite the rising odds, it's worth remembering that everything actually comes down to what the atmosphere will be doing during any given week of hurricane season, Sealls said. Even if the odds continue to increase, he said, it won't give "any advance notice for where things get crazy, if they get crazy."

The threat of an active hurricane season doesn't prompt Louisiana officials to preach an "extra layer" of preparedness, said Mike Steele, director of communications for the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. Louisiana residents suffered four hurricanes that made landfall from August 2020 to August 2021, including three major hurricanes.

The state wants its citizens to remain prepared year round, regardless of the forecast, Steele said. "You can't hang your hat on hope, you hang your hat on being prepared."

Here is that link for much more of the article.

Hurricane season 2024 forecast looks grim as La Niña chances grow (usatoday.com)

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Surf Chart From SurfGuru.com.

We're having some pretty high high tides and low low tides.  The wind has shifted a touch - more to the east, but tomorrow the surf will be a touch higher.

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net