Radioactive Fiesta

Picture from here

So I learned a cool little tidbit today at Thanksgiving Point.

Over at the Dinosaur Museum, there's another part of the museum (without dinosaurs, actually). In the back, there's an office where new exhibits are put together. I was down there doing a project for the big Labor Day Luau we're having (you should come!) and I spied two small Fiesta plates.

As most of you know, I have a fondness for Fiestaware. 

I asked Dave, the man making the display, "What are you doing with the Fiestaware?"

"Oh, its for a display on radioactivity" he said nonchalantly.

"Radioactivity?" I asked, "Is Fiestaware radioactive?!"

He explained that back in the 40s and 50s the makers of Fiesta mixed URANIUM in with the paints. To "make the colors more vibrant," apparently.

He said that the government even borrowed Fiesta's Uranium supply to make the Atomic Bomb. Lovely.

Wikipedia confirms - it was "one of the most radioactive commercial products you could buy"

Then Dave added that it was only the orange and red colors that were dangerously radioactive. Whew. The only "vintage" pieces I have are light green and pale yellow. 

Well, luckily they identified this problem and all of the dishes made nowadays is free of Uranium. 

On another note - don't you think my title would be a great name for a band?