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I'm not sure I've ever read a paragraph with as many twists and turns and unanswered questions as the description of the radioactive hand-towel in this article:
by michaelbuckbee 10y ago
I'm not sure I've ever read a paragraph with as many twists and turns and unanswered questions as the description of the radioactive hand-towel in this article:
"In 2006, the most radioactive object ever discovered by Scotland Yard was found at the base of a hotel laundry chute in London. Two Russian FSB officers had traveled to the U.K. to take out a dissident using liquid plutonium. They succeeded in poisoning the man but only on their third attempt. After they finished, the two men, who had little knowledge of the material, poured the most toxic substance known to man down their hotel drain and disposed of a polonium-soaked hand towel in the hotel’s laundry chute. The hand towel was sent immediately to the U.K.’s Atomic Weapons facility."
It reads like poorly written fiction. Surely, it wouldn't take trained assassins 3 attempts to kill a person with the most toxic substance known to man. Surely, the people who supplied them with the liquid plutonium would include some basic care and guidance instructions with it. Finally, the story ends with a hand towel being delivered to an Atomic Weapons facility.
It's like a fire at a Sea Parks - the mind boggles at what series of events happened.
- jamessb 10y agoThey didn't use plutonium at all: they used polonium [1]. The article refers to polonium in some places (correctly), but plutonium in others (incorrectly). [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polonium https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polonium
- TeMPOraL 10y ago> It's like a fire at a Sea Parks - the mind boggles at what series of events happened. When I was a kid on a camp, I was in charge of setting up campfires. The other day another kid dared me that I won't make the fire tonight because it's raining and water doesn't burn. Cue in the propane canister I had with me for just such occasions... (Also, not sure if the same camp or the previous year, we also lit the road on fire with acetone during a rain.)